Scent Work Training – Time Brings the Magic !
With any human and dog activity, the magic rarely appears straight away. While I can’t speak with authority on every dog sport, scent detection is the world I know, and it’s here that I see that time brings the magic connection time and time again.
Perhaps it is because scentwork is rooted so deeply in a dog’s innate behaviour. This is their world, one they generously allow us to step into. But stepping in does not automatically mean we understand it, or that a deep connection is instantly formed. The extraordinary bond and silent communication that scentwork offers takes time to nuture and mature.
Over the years, I have hosted countless beginner workshops, introducing this incredible activity to companion pet dog owners. I explain what scentwork is, how the training unfolds, and the huge benefits it brings, not just for dogs, but for the relationship we share with them. My passion inevitably spills over when raising awareness, and each workshop is filled with fun, curiosity, and excitement. Many people leave eager to continue.
Those first sessions feel exciting, learning something new always does. But then comes the foundation work. Repetition. Similar exercises. The building blocks that matter most. And this is often where human enthusiasm can dip. The exercises may feel basic, even a little underwhelming. This is the point where I gently encourage novice handlers to keep going, because the magic doesn’t live here yet but it is being built. Especially the connection.
As teams progress and with learning any new skills for the human and the dog there comes the little blips, false indications, uncertainty, moments of confusion, motivation dips, frustration. If someone says this doesn’t or shouldn’t happen, I can honestly say that in my experience in the pet scent work training sector, it absolutely does. There is the lows on the learning curve, and if handled correctly, the peaks that follow are well worth it.
In many scentwork training protocols, though not all, we begin with item searches, lines of pots, containers, tubing, in controlled setups. These aren’t random games. They build value for the odour, encourage independence, increase confidence through success, and promote methodical searching. They are fundamental. They also give new handlers the space to develop their own skills before moving into larger, more complex search areas. Within this phase it can feel like it’s just your dog’s sole game, from what I see it’s rarely where the deep. magical connection appears, but it will come. I promise.
I experienced this clearly with my retriever. For a long time, I felt like a mum watching her daughter from the sidelines at dance class, proud, supportive, but not quite in it together. Then we moved into area searches, and suddenly… there it was. The wow. We weren’t just training, we were a search team. That moment came after well over 18 months of training.
With my young dog now, trained from puppyhood, we are not there yet and that’s perfectly okay. Right now, it’s about learning each other within the search scenario. Trusting each others movement, decisions, and timing, the ‘search dance’. Observing him as he learns to navigate odour, work the plume to source, and problem solve across different environments and search setups. One day, we will reach that place where I can intuitively read him and he will trust that it’s worth listening to me, letting me further into his natural, instinctive scent world.
On starting out on your scent detection journey, stay with it. Honour the basics, even when they feel slow or repetitive. The magic takes time, but when it arrives, it’s worth its weight in gold and you will know when it does and remember the exact search when it happened. There’s nothing else quite like it.
Would you like to start the scent work training fun with your dog? My Nose Magic introductory course is the doorway into the scent work kingdom. Ten fun ‘nosey games’ to play with your dog. Easy to set up and no expensive equipment. Just fifteen minutes will see your dog’s tail wagging and find them mentally relaxed.
Mandy Rigby
Instructor & Founder
Canine Scentwork Academy – est. 2017