Scent Work Classes
"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
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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
An Amazing New Partnership!
I am excited to announce that I will be running my scent work classes with the amazing Liz. This woman has a wealth of knowledge and experience in scent work and has even found missing persons in a real-life Search and Rescue context!
I have known Liz since mid 2022 and would say she is one of the best. I feel very fortunate and am honoured to now run these classes with her.
Together, we are bringing something special to the area, creating a fun and close-knit community in which we can learn, train our dogs, and have a laugh while doing so.
Find out more about myself and Liz below
About our Classes
We will jump in with leading you to train the dog to search for a target scent using ‘active indication’. This is a more effective and rewarding way to scent-train since ‘active indication’ is the dog’s natural way of signalling themselves to have found the target; we effectively train the handler to recognise the dog’s normal communication!
We will typically choose mild cheese as the target & treat since it does not crumble and contaminate the area, is greatly enjoyed by most dogs, and can easily be pressed into search items to make it harder for the dog to eat, giving the handler more time to recognise that the search has been successful. (Don’t fret if there is reason not to use this in your dog’s case, we can work with you to find an alternative.)
Scent Work Levels
Bronze - Level 1
Here, we will teach you and your dog fundamentally how to search for a specific target scent.
You will learn basic handling skills for supporting the dog’s search.
You will learn how to recognise and read your dog’s body language and natural indications.
We will cover basic search patterns and the concept of layers.
Silver - Level 2
In Silver classes, we will work with increasing layers and search complexity.
We will perform baggage, car, and postal bag searches.
Outdoor searches will become part of the routine, as well as linear searches and the use of a lead.
Workshops
These are for those who have completed both Level 1 and Level 2.
They will be offered once a month, with more information to come!
Practice Sessions
These are for those who completed one of the levels but would like to keep attending sessions to maintain progress, work on something particular, or even just for the love of it.
Rosettes achieved on completion of each Level.
Who we are!
Laura,
" I am the owner of Ruskies Dog Training, and am a qualified, professional trainer and behaviourist. My journey began with simply dog walking. Through working with numerous dogs in need of help and assistance, including my own who was particularly reactive, I became very interested in training.
This was when I began to take it seriously. I began studying and completed my certifications in dog behaviour and training, including reactivity courses, psychology, and Scent Work with the WSDA. I also have a love for neuroscience!
My passion lays with scent work, obedience and helping reactive dogs. I am so excited to start these scent classes with the incredible Liz and, together, bring something amazing to the local area."
Liz,
" I have been training dogs in various contexts and disciplines for the past 50 or so years. My love of scent work began in the early 2000's with when I trained up my beloved Black Labrador, Teasel, as a Lowland Search and Rescue dog with NSARDA Anglia, as it was then (since split into two different entities). I attended numerous callouts with the police, during which Teasel and I located 2 missing persons.
Since then, I have trained three dogs to search for cheese, much as we will do with you and your dogs based on and then following the experience of a seasoned Customs and Excise handler. I set up a scent work group at my previous club in Suffolk, and I remain ever passionate about the special bond that this kind of training grows with ones dog.
Cody and I have been training with Laura for nearly 2 years, finding her classes both stimulating and great fun. I am excited to be invited to set up this new venture with her."
