Talking Dogs Scentwork

Talking Dogs Scentwork We speak your dog's language! Our aim is to work together with our dogs so that we better understand each other and make the most of every day together.

This isn’t just for dogs who give active indications. If your dog has a trained passive indication, these same principle...
02/09/2026

This isn’t just for dogs who give active indications. If your dog has a trained passive indication, these same principles still apply. The trained indication isn’t where communication starts. It’s where we finally notice it.

Long before that final response your dog may already be changing pace, breathing differently, adjusting their body position or making tiny changes that tell you they are hitting target scent.

The better we become at recognising these moments, with passive or active indicators, the better we become at reading our dogs.

Save this for the next time you watch one of your searches back.

31/08/2026

From the very beginning of teaching scentwork I filmed as many searches as I could. I knew handlers would see far more when they watched the video back than they ever could in the moment.
15 years later it’s still one of the most valuable training tools I use.
If you’re not already filming your searches, give it a try. Your dog may have already shown you exactly what you were looking for.

We often spend so much time looking for the ‘right’ way to search that we forget there may be many right ways. Fast or s...
27/08/2026

We often spend so much time looking for the ‘right’ way to search that we forget there may be many right ways. Fast or slow. Methodical or direct. Immediate or thoughtful.

The questions isn’t whether your dog’s search looks like another dog’s. The question is:

Did they solve the scent puzzle?

Save this for the next time you’re tempted to compare your dog with someone else’s.

24/08/2026

People sometimes assume companion dogs scentwork is simply detector dog training for pet dogs. It isn’t .
The structure may the similar but companion dogs expanded the way I see scentwork.

Professional detector dogs are carefully selected for the job, so the range of working styles is relatively narrow.

Companion dogs showed me just how many different ways there are to solve exactly the same scent puzzle.

Watching that diversity forced me to observe more carefully, question my assumptions and broaden my expectations.

That’s made me a better scentwork trainer.

‘So you’re telling me that I’m 7 now?! Are you sure?’Happy birthday to this little munchkin. We’ve had a few times when ...
23/08/2026

‘So you’re telling me that I’m 7 now?! Are you sure?’

Happy birthday to this little munchkin. We’ve had a few times when we never thought she’d make it this far. But this month’s drama just shows that she is a dynamo and that there’s no stopping her ###

Trust your dog. Good handling isn’t about doing less, it’s about making thoughtful choices that give what your dog needs...
20/08/2026

Trust your dog.
Good handling isn’t about doing less, it’s about making thoughtful choices that give what your dog needs in that moment.
Sometimes that’s moving.
Sometimes that’s speaking.
Sometimes it’s stepping back.
The skill lies in knowing the difference.

Long before Talking Dogs Scentwork, I went to work every day with a drug detector dog.I worked as a professional drug de...
18/08/2026

Long before Talking Dogs Scentwork, I went to work every day with a drug detector dog.

I worked as a professional drug detector dog handler with HM Customs, and over the years I've been asked so many questions about that part of my life.

How were the dogs trained?What did we search?What happened when a dog found something?And what was it actually like to do the job?

I talk about it all the time, but usually in snippets, stories and asides. I've never devoted a whole session to it.

So on Sunday 20 September, I'm doing exactly that.

I'll be talking about the dogs, the training, the searches and some of the stories I've collected along the way. I'm also leaving plenty of time for questions, so if there's something you've always wanted to ask a professional drug detector dog handler, this is your chance.

I've deliberately kept the price at £5 because I wanted this to be accessible to everyone who's asked me about it over the years.

Can't make it live? It'll be recorded too, so no excuses.

Sunday 20 September | 7–8pm UK | £5

Booking link in bio.

For everyone who’s been asking after her, Ettie is slowly making progress. Tired and sore but starting to eat and drink ...
17/08/2026

For everyone who’s been asking after her, Ettie is slowly making progress. Tired and sore but starting to eat and drink again. Thanks for all you well wishes x

17/08/2026

One step is all it takes. Stepping towards the dog can make them step back. Not because they’re stuck but because your movement is always part of the information they are working with.
We can think that support means stepping in. Sometimes the most supportive thing we can do is to stay back, stay quiet and let the dog work.
Support doesn’t always look active. Sometimes it looks incredibly quiet.

Spent a few hours at the Vets Now Glasgow emergency vet’s last night and wow what a shift everyone put in. Never seen it...
14/08/2026

Spent a few hours at the Vets Now Glasgow emergency vet’s last night and wow what a shift everyone put in. Never seen it so busy. So many emergencies. In the two hours I was there I witnessed such compassion, anxiety, love and even laughter. And at least three families left heartbroken at the loss of their beloved companions. Staff were incredible.

(Ettie is doing ok, back to our usual vets for a follow up today)

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464 Bearsden Rd
Glasgow
G61 1QH

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