The Sniffing Zone

27/09/2025

These are hilarious but one little puppy's ears prick up [further] when i watch these videos 😆

26/09/2025

😆

Be smart. Be like Kate.

15/09/2025

Lulu 😆

07/09/2025

05/09/2025

INTRODUCTION COURSES

Out with the old and in with the new... I'm doing away with the 3 week Intro Course and instead, introducing an hour of power for new teams to learn as much as they want to learn. Meet our 'Intro Hour'!

We'll still cover off the same skills - and if your dog happens to be a pup [from 2nd vax to under 12 months], a rescue, or even a less 'worldly' dog, you can nominate to do a few extra session, to work on extra confidence building... learning things make noises and move and things fall and feel different under your feet and spaces can be tight. And it is all gonna be alright.

We're still starting off food/toy based. But our usual courses will each be broken down into 8 sessions, and teams can then seamlessly transition from an Intro to Nose Work to the Intro to Odour. Or stop at any point. No set dates to try and attend.

That being said, if there are three or more teams that want to start around the same time, I'm still happy to run an Intro to Nose Work over 3 weeks!

⫸ FOCUS OF THESE SESSIONS:

The FIRST 8 sessions will cover off the Introduction to Nose Work concept:
⇾ Introducing the "game" [hunting!]. We build foundational skills by having the dog search for their favourite reward [food or toy] while you learn how to read your dog, as they work.

⇾ We work to build a desire for this game, as dog's rediscover their natural hunting instincts! Growing your dog's motivation, confidence + independence are essential during this initial phase.

The SECOND 8 sessions will cover:
⇾ Introducing your dog to searching for a target odour! More puzzles. New target! Watch your dogs learn and grow as their use their hunting skills to find their new target.

⫸ THESE SESSIONS ARE BENEFICIAL FOR:
⇾ bond building with your dog;
⇾ adding more enrichment into your dogs routine;
⇾ dogs that are environmentally sensitive;
⇾ reactive dogs who have limited options for formal activities;
⇾ dogs who may need a little hand building confidence + independence; +
⇾ most dogs!

The first session is THIS Sunday at 1pm! Message me if you want to pop along this week. All other sessions can be made via the bookings link: https://www.thesniffingzone.com.au/service-page/introduction-hour

29/08/2025

Caught my eye! I've recently been discussing this issue with friends too - is it the LAZY way of "training"? Do trainers that use shock collars feel can get a "result" more quickly?

Using electric shock collars on dogs in the twenty-first century might be a competence issue: a trainer may feel dependent on using them and not know how to wean themselves off. It might also be a psychological issue: a trainer might feel competent training without one but prefer shocking dogs. If you think about this latter case, it is either that such trainers either don't see the suffering inflicted or they don't care. If it were a child inflicting pain deliberately on an animal, we'd flag them for possible psycopathy. Child or adult, it's an issue for mental health professionals.

13/07/2025

I have a saying: "noone likes working for a micro-manager... and that includes your dog!". Thoughtful hide setting, fun [for your dog!] drills and awesome reinforcement, go a long way to building a motivated and independent dog.

09/07/2025

Guilty 🙋🏼‍♀️

…more expensive too 😅

30/05/2025

The small and mighty!

Factoid: One of the lesser (and smallest) known heroes of 9-11 was a Rat Terrier named Ricky. He was one of the search and rescue dogs brought in, and measuring 17″ and weighing 280 ounces, Ricky was able to squeeze into holes too small for other dogs and robots in which to navigate. Ricky and his trainer, Janet Linker of the Seattle Fire Department, searched the ruins for 10 days, helping to find the bodies of several victims, according to The Seattle Times. You can read more about Ricky at the link, but the dog seen here is of Dice by Pawz To Pose Photography and shared by Erin McDaniel. https://365dogheros.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/ricky-the-smallest-dog-at-ground-zero/

24/05/2025

This webinar is perfect timing for me: Helping Puppies Succeed for a Lifetime of Sniffing.

Holly Bushard hosts a fabbo webinar so if you've recently welcomed a puppy into your home, this might be an insightful take on setting your new doggo up with foundation skills that will help them flourish in the future.

With Snoop now on board, and at the ripe old age of 9 weeks, I've been thinking about his Scent Work future. He's sharp as a tack [mind and teeth] but I won't be pushing this puppy into competition any time soon.

Pic of Snoop for the cuteness factor 😍

Link to webinar:
https://www.scentworku.com/products/helping-puppies-scent-work-webinar

26/03/2025

𝙼𝙾𝙳𝚄𝙻𝙴: 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚁𝚘𝚘𝚖
𝚆𝙷𝙴𝙽/𝚆𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙴: 𝚂𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝟸𝚙𝚖 @ 𝙱𝚕𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚜 𝙷𝚊𝚕𝚕, 𝚂𝚞𝚕𝚙𝚑𝚞𝚛 𝙲𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚔!

This Sunday, in a small group session, we delve into skills that will help you call the F-word with confidence!

We see many teams at the pointy end of competition:
➳ Overworking dog's in spaces that are blank;
➳ Unsure if they have missed hides; and
➳ Calling 'Finish' after the 30 second warning, hoping they are correct.

Start to change that mind-set with by learning how your Team-mate is communicating these things with you.

*This Module is suitable for teams approaching Excellent Interiors, Masters elements and working towards Ultimate. Spectators welcome.

Booking Link:

Do you know how to READ THE ROOM? Can you call finish with confidence - and not because you are guessing or nearly out of time? In a small group setting, LEARN HOW TO: ➳ Identify how many hides are potentially set; ➳ Determine that your team has found all hides; ➳ Recognise blank rooms; SUITAB...