Hide and go Sniff

01/08/2025

We spent yesterday afternoon at the Thursford Collection, combining some big odour with barriers to prevent over handling and encourage some independent searching.

24/07/2025

👇👇👇

NOW REHOMED 🥳

We currently have a Chocolate Cocker Spaniel that is looking for a new home. If you are interested in offering him a home and would like further information, then please WhatsApp Steve on 07795 466007

23/07/2025

Last minute chance to search at Thursford next Thursday (31st) 12-3pm. Any level, any odour

This will be the last time we use this venue in 2025.

Book here 👇

https://bookwhen.com/hideandgosniffevents/e/ev-sxtl-20250731120000

22/07/2025

Congratulations to everyone who qualified 👏

Huge Congratulation to all the below teams who have qualified for the Summer Prelim Detection Dog Trial Championships which will be held on 18th August.
All teams that have either won an element or gained High Trial in a Prelim Trial in 2025 have qualified. Invites have been emailed out to each team. Don’t forget to check junk mail!

Sarah and Teddyetna
Helen and Noodle
Sooz and Goose
Sooz and Shadow
Amelia and Mia
Sarah and Bodger
Suzanne and Spud
Hannah and Kali
Annie and Trinket
Dee and Squid
Carol and Saffron
Sue and Halle
Julia and Sienna
Bronwen and Luna
Caroline and Charlie
Vee and Daisy
Meg and Tess

Well done teams 🎉🎉

25/06/2025

Sometimes the hide isn’t just about where the odour is — it’s about how the dog gets to it.

In her 1:1 session, I set a number of “get to source” challenges for Zinny. The odour was accessible, but not easy — tucked behind, above, or beyond a few carefully placed obstacles. This was a dog-focused exercise, designed to let Zinny work independently and solve the problem in her own way.

Exercises like this help develop grit, focus, and confidence — the kind that transfers into real-world searching. When dogs learn they can reach the tricky hide, they are more likely to follow through and less likely to seek an easier reward.

23/06/2025

Got a dog who’s been politely uninvited from more than one training class? Can’t focus, can’t sit still, can’t seem to settle? Oddly enough… they might be a perfect candidate for scent detection.

At Hide and Go Sniff, I offer 1:1 training that works with your dog, not against them. We build motivation and focus first, then layer in the skills. No group pressure. No “one size fits all.” Just structured chaos turned into scent-driven brilliance.

If you’ve got a whirlwind of a dog and a gut feeling scentwork is their thing — get in touch. You’re probably right.

20/06/2025

2.30pm class is cancelled. It will be too hot for dogs to wait their turn in the carpark today.

18/06/2025

More hides is often seen as progress… but is it really?

In the world of sport detection, advancing through the levels often means increasing the number of hides. More hides = more skill, right? That’s the common thinking.

But here’s something we see time and time again in pet dog scent detection: dogs learning to expect multiple hides — and not necessarily becoming better searchers because of it.

What can happen is this: a dog hits a tricky hide, hesitates… and leaves it. Not because they don’t recognise it, but because they’ve learned from experience that there’s usually another one, and it might be easier.

So instead of building precision and persistence, we sometimes accidentally teach our dogs to gamble — skip the difficult hide and find something easier.

If we want reliable, motivated indication, the real progress lies in teaching focus, not forecasting. Single-hide searches, varied setups, and rewarding effort in odour help dogs develop the kind of commitment that wins trials and makes for more satisfying searches.

👇 Does your dog ever skip the tough ones? Let’s talk about it in the comments.



Picture just because we like working in the woods 😊

13/06/2025

It's getting warm already. Although it's always cooler in the training room, please consider how far and for how long you have to travel to get here (and back again).

Refunds or transfers are available if you decide its not for your dog today.

13/02/2025

Probably the biggest difference between the "find it" games that you are already playing with your dogs at home and the scent detection we teach at Hide and go Sniff, is the introduction of an "indication", but what is that?

Simply put, an indication is just a behaviour a dog performs to show us that they have found the odour we've trained them to find. It could be a sit, a down, a stare, a bark, or even a combination. Most commonly, for sport purposes, we choose a freeze/stare making it clear not only that the odour source is found, but also it's location.

I'm not fussy about whether that happens in a stand, sit or down, preferring to allow the dog to choose a postion which they find comfortable depending on their mood or the location and/or height of the hide.

Here's Trev finishing this mornings 121 with some simple indication training. 👇