Coastal k9

Coastal k9 dog training, walking and pet supplies services

03/06/2026

👃🐶 One of the biggest mistakes I see in scent work is judging a search by how quickly the dog finds the odour.
The fastest search isn't always the best search! ⏱️❌
Some of my favourite searches are the ones that take a little longer because you get to watch the dog work the odour picture 🧩💨. You see that moment they first pick up scent 👃, and then the puzzle begins...
"I can smell it... but where is the source?" 🤔
This is where handlers often think their dog has missed the hide because they move away from it. In reality, the dog may be doing exactly what it should be doing ✅.
Remember, dogs don't smell the hide itself. They smell odour particles moving through the air 🌬️. Odour drifts, pools, settles, and moves around obstacles. This means a dog may first encounter odour several feet away from the actual source 📍.
The first dog to search and the last dog to search are often working completely different odour pictures 🐕➡️🐕. The hide hasn't moved, but the odour has 💨.
As handlers, our job isn't just to recognise the final indication. It's to understand what odour does, how airflow affects it, and learn to read our dogs when they first encounter scent 👀🐾.
The best teams aren't always the fastest teams 🏆.
They're the teams where the handler understands what the dog is telling them ❤️🐶.
Next time you watch a search, don't just watch where the dog finishes...
👃 Watch where they first pick up odour. 🧩 Watch how they solve the puzzle. 🐾 Watch how they work through the scent picture.
That's where the real magic happens ✨🐶💨.

02/06/2026

Anyone can copy an exercise. 🐾
Understanding the what, the why, and the how is where real progress happens. 🎯✨
Because training isn't just about following steps — it's about understanding the process behind them. 🧠🐕💙

02/06/2026

✨ One thing I want to do more of is show you the entire journey of training a behaviour, not just the starting point.

I see a lot of videos showing dogs following a lure, and whilst that's often part of the learning process, what interests me is everything that comes after. How do we take that movement and turn it into a behaviour the dog truly understands? 🤔🐾

We're currently working on contact heel with Bryn 🐶, a behaviour she has never learned before. Focused heel work has always been challenging for her because she's a very pressure-sensitive dog, so I'm definitely not picking a dog that finds this easy!

What makes this exciting is that you'll get to see the real process 📈✨ The successes, the setbacks, the problem-solving, and all the little adjustments that need to be made when working with a sensitive dog.

Credit where credit is due 🙌 This project is following the approach outlined in a contact heel course by Sarah Rida 🇳🇿.

The way I taught contact heel to my other dog worked for that individual, but Bryn is a very different dog, and I feel this approach is a much better fit for her. 💙

So instead of just showing you the start, I'll be sharing the journey from start ➡️ middle ➡️ end.

Let's see where it takes us! 🚀🐾

🐾 A Huge Shout-Out and Thank You! 🐾I just wanted to take a moment to give a massive thank you to Simon from K9 Manhunt &...
01/06/2026

🐾 A Huge Shout-Out and Thank You! 🐾
I just wanted to take a moment to give a massive thank you to Simon from K9 Manhunt & Scentwork Scotland.
Over the past few months, Simon has been working with both myself and Coastal K9 Scentwork instructor Susan through private lessons, helping us continue to develop our skills, expand our knowledge, and delve deeper into the world of scentwork.
There are many excellent scentwork associations and instructors throughout the UK, but what Simon brings to the table goes far beyond simply teaching exercises or running searches. His depth of knowledge, attention to detail, and ability to explain both the science and practical application behind scentwork are second to none.
I first started training with Simon over 10 years ago, and one thing that has never changed is his willingness to share knowledge and challenge you to think differently. Even after all these years, I still come away from every session having learned something new.
As trainers, it is important that we never stop learning. Investing in our own education allows us to continue providing the very best experience for both our dogs and their handlers.
Thank you, Simon, for your continued support, guidance, and for helping us keep pushing our skills to the next level. We really appreciate it. 👏🐾

🐾 "But I thought you said your older dog doesn't really like your younger dog?"I do.And yet, my dogs live together perfe...
31/05/2026

🐾 "But I thought you said your older dog doesn't really like your younger dog?"

I do.

And yet, my dogs live together perfectly happily.

One thing I think we need to stop doing is viewing relationships between dogs as either "best friends" or "they need to be separated 24/7". There is a huge amount of grey area in between.

My older dog would not choose to spend every waking moment with my younger dog. They are very different individuals. But that doesn't mean they can't coexist successfully.

The difference is that I don't leave it to chance.

I set clear boundaries and expectations. I use control and management where needed. I reward behaviours I want to see more of and there are consequences when criteria aren't met. Most importantly, I don't put my dogs into situations where poor choices are likely to happen.

Can my dogs relax together in the same room while I'm home? Absolutely.

Do I leave them together when I'm out? No.

Would anything happen? Probably not.

But "probably not" isn't a good enough reason to take unnecessary risks when I'm not there to supervise and manage the situation.

Living successfully in a multi-dog household isn't always about creating best friends. Sometimes it's about creating clear rules, predictable patterns, and an environment where every dog feels comfortable and understood.

Not every dog has to love every dog.

They just need to know how to live together successfully. 🐾

"This is Sunny.If you looked at this photo, you'd probably see a happy, relaxed Border Collie.What you wouldn't see are ...
31/05/2026

"This is Sunny.
If you looked at this photo, you'd probably see a happy, relaxed Border Collie.
What you wouldn't see are the months of investigations, appointments, imaging, rehabilitation, pain trials, and questions that come with trying to understand why some behaviours and symptoms are occurring.
Sometimes the hardest part isn't the training plan.
It's finding the answers."

31/05/2026

Scentwork isn't just about teaching a dog to find a scent. 🐾🔍
There's a much bigger picture to it than that.
We're introducing a new odour, building value for that scent, developing a clear indication, teaching the dog to problem-solve, and helping handlers learn to read their dog every step of the way.
🐾 Recognising when the dog first goes into odour. 🐾 Understanding changes in body language and breathing. 🐾 Learning about airflow, scent cones, odour pooling, and residual odour. 🐾 Building confidence and independence in the search.
One of the most important skills isn't teaching the dog to find the scent—it's teaching the handler to recognise what the dog is telling them. 👀
The goal isn't just finding the hide. It's building a dog and handler team that can work together to solve the scent puzzle. ❤️🐶

29/05/2026

🐾 Breaking Down the Exercise 🐾
A lot of people see the finished behaviour and think it's just a scent exercise. In reality, there are multiple skills being trained at the same time.
One of the exercises we're currently working on with Sunny is human scent discrimination amongst identical objects. 👃
The goal is simple: locate the correct scented article from a group of identical articles.
But because this is an active search, the job doesn't stop when he finds the correct one.
✅ Discriminate the correct scent from identical articles. ✅ Commit to source. ✅ Retrieve the correct article. ✅ Return to the handler. ✅ Present the article correctly, either to the front or side position. ✅ Hold the article calmly until asked to release.
One of the challenges we're currently working through is the hold itself. Interestingly, Sunny has a lovely calm hold on a dumbbell, but when it comes to a wooden scent article, he has a tendency to chomp it. 🦷
This is why training is rarely as simple as "the dog knows it" or "the dog doesn't know it."
Different objects create different pictures for the dog. Different textures, shapes, scents, and previous learning histories can all influence performance.
Rather than rushing to the finished exercise, we simply break the chain down into smaller pieces and strengthen each link individually. 🔗
Good training isn't about seeing the mistake.
It's about identifying which part of the chain needs a little more work and helping the dog become successful at that specific skill. 👌🐕

29/05/2026

Do Bryn and Indy ever get to do anything?" 🤔
Of course they do! 😆
Every dog in my household gets to do something every single day. It doesn't always have to be a long walk or a formal training session. Sometimes it's about providing activities that fulfil the individual dog and allow them to use the skills they were born with.
One of Indy's absolute favourite activities is active scent searches. 🐾👃
Hide his Kong, send him out to find it, and watch him come alive. The moment he catches odour, starts working the scent picture, and then locates and retrieves the source, you can see just how much he enjoys it.
This type of activity is especially beneficial for older dogs too. ❤️
🐾 It encourages gentle movement and keeps them active without the impact of high-intensity exercise.
🧠 It allows them to problem-solve and work through the scent picture, keeping their brain engaged and challenged.
👃 It taps into one of their most natural and instinctive behaviours — using their nose.
💪 It helps maintain confidence and independence by allowing the dog to make decisions and work things out for themselves.
😊 Success in the search can be incredibly rewarding and helps maintain motivation and enthusiasm as dogs age.
⏱️ Best of all, it is self-paced. The dog can work at a speed that suits them, making it an ideal activity for older dogs.
For Indy, finding his Kong and bringing it back is definitely one of his favourite jobs. ❤️🐕
By the way he is 14 years old ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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