"Unlock Your Dog's Potential"
Training for real life experiences
Did you know, dogs have such an incredible sense of smell that they could identify the individual ingredients in your food? Where us humans typically smell ‘spaghetti bolognaise’, ‘fish & chips’, or ‘doughnuts’, your dogs can easily pick out each of the herbs, seasonings, and flavourings.
Depending on the breed, a dog’s olfactory sense is around ten thousand - to a hundred thousand times more sensitive than a human’s. They may have up to 300 million scent receptors in their noses, where as we have only around 6 million. They also use proportionally 40x more of their brains to processes that information than we do!”
“Not only do dogs have a great sense of smell, but there are also many benefits to exercising it. Unlike our reliance on sight, dogs see the world primarily through sniffing, so we should give them opportunities to have fun doing it!”
The Many Benefits of Scent Work!
Why teach your dog scent work?
With scent work, the dog takes the lead and we are there as support, suggesting areas they may not have searched, encouraging them and giving them confidence in their own decision making. It is a real partnership that builds the bond between dog and handler has a range of desirable benefits and potential impacts on other areas of dog handling.
​​For any dog, sniffing activities are extremely enriching and also very tiring: a 10 minute scent exercise is approximately equivalent to a 1 hour walk.
For dogs that seem to lack an off-switch, never calm down and nothing seems to wear them out, having time spent sniffing around can really take the edge off those energy levels. It gives them something to do that is fun and engaging on their level. Not only this, but you’re giving them a task and a purpose that only they can do, leading to a much happier and more fulfilled dog with their needs being far better met.
For the anxious and fearful dog, sniffing brings security. Have you ever noticed your dog sniffing around to avoid or lessen tension? Creating fun scent games for them to practice their skills increases their confidence in this vital sense and helps them feel more at ease.
Even for well-behaved and balanced dogs, scent work is really beneficial, serving as a very low-impact exercise that is suitable for all breeds and ages.
For both dog and handler, engaging in scent work helps build a stronger bond and a more equal partnership.
Above all, scent work is fun and enriching for humans and dogs alike, making everyone happy as it provides an appropriate outlet for some of their most natural behaviours
​​​​​​
You Will Learn
You will learn everything you need to know to teach your dog to search like a police dog.
INDICATION
SEARCH
ODOUR
RECOGNISITON
HANDLING
SKILLS
BODY
LANGUAGE
