Totem Dogs Scentwork

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Totem Dogs Scentwork Derbyshire based Scentwork Coaching focused on building confidence in you and your dog.

I am a 29 year old dog-obsessed woman living in Derbyshire with my two dogs, Charlie and Poppy. I am currently studying various courses and workshops through Canine Principles, and I am a Professional Member of the Pet Professional Network. I aim to teach dogs life skills using positive training methods- no nasty equipment or punishments here!

26/08/2025

Enzo showing off his skills, with a toy we found at the field so not even one he's played with before.. We will pop it in the lost property box!

🐶 National Dog Day!Today is National Dog Day, a day to celebrate our four-legged friends and family members.♥️What do yo...
26/08/2025

🐶 National Dog Day!

Today is National Dog Day, a day to celebrate our four-legged friends and family members.

♥️What do you love about your dog(s)?

My three are a lot of work, cost a fortune and always keep me on my toes. However they give me a reason to wake up each morning and fill my life with more love than I could ever have imagined 💕

Three happy pups at Paws and Play Paddock at Leashaw Farm ❤️
24/08/2025

Three happy pups at Paws and Play Paddock at Leashaw Farm ❤️

Reggie was not overly impressed with another visit to the Dog Wash at PetFit- Petshop, Raw, dried and live food ...but h...
22/08/2025

Reggie was not overly impressed with another visit to the Dog Wash at PetFit- Petshop, Raw, dried and live food ...but he shouldn't stand under Charlie when he's weeing 😅

If you're ever thinking about getting a Terrier... Don't.
22/08/2025

If you're ever thinking about getting a Terrier... Don't.

How can you not smile at that gorgeous face... And sandy nose 😂❤️
21/08/2025

How can you not smile at that gorgeous face... And sandy nose 😂❤️

I bought this pretty snuffle mat the other day and decided it was too delicate for my dogs to use, so who better to try ...
21/08/2025

I bought this pretty snuffle mat the other day and decided it was too delicate for my dogs to use, so who better to try it out than Pickle and MOUSE 🌸

Decided to try a different route with Sid today.He walked past a pony with no shouting which is awesome for him!And then...
21/08/2025

Decided to try a different route with Sid today.

He walked past a pony with no shouting which is awesome for him!

And then I realised the terrible mistake I'd made as I reached the point where we had to go back up the hill.

After getting to the top I realised I was too fat to fit through the stile, and had the horrible realisation that I was going to have to go back down the hill and go back the way we came... Until fortunately I found a gap in the wall 😂

Sid was a little star as always, even when a swarm of wasps started following us 😬 (I'll remember to give that bush a wide berth from now on 😂)

Absolutely knackered but Sid enjoyed it which is the main thing 😂❤️

Tora says WTF is that 😂
20/08/2025

Tora says WTF is that 😂

20/08/2025

This is a very uneventful video, which is perfect.

I like to try and think of some positive spin for whatever happens, and today when I was walking Sid, I had a very random panic attack.

Around 8 million people in the UK alone have some form of anxiety disorder. The severity of it can very from person to person, and some people can manage it better than others.

Anxiety is something I have struggled with for as long as I can remember, and after 25+ plus years of dealing with it, panic attacks can still be debilitating.

Today I had to sit down and try to lower my heart rate, which meant poor Sid had to hang around and wait for me. One of the many bonuses of using a walking belt is that if for whatever reason I can't hold the lead, the dog is still attached to me and not going anywhere.

I'm sure there are hundreds, if not thousands of other people who may need time out on a walk. Whether it's anxiety or through a disability or chronic illness of any kind.

Sid is very good at being still and patient, but as I slowly started to feel better I felt bad that he was stood waiting for me, so as I started feeling better I just started tossing some treats for him to find.

I videoed it because it's such a simple thing to do for anyone who needs their dog to be occupied for a while whilst they have a moment. As I was doing this I was also doing some breathing exercises to help slow my heart rate, I'm not good at multi tasking but I can manage it 😅

Sid was awesome, and I did apologise to him afterwards!

I appreciate this might not be a good 'advertisement' for me walking your dog, but regardless of how bad I feel I always make sure the dog is safe first! And if it maybe gives an idea to someone else who struggles then it's worth posting :)

Yesterday's walk with Hazel was all about watching her and how she interacts with her environment.I noticed some key thi...
20/08/2025

Yesterday's walk with Hazel was all about watching her and how she interacts with her environment.

I noticed some key things about her behaviour that may otherwise have gone unnoticed.

1) Despite her eagerness and enthusiasm to get out of the car when you pull up somewhere, when she's walking without Charlie and Reggie, she is actually quite anxious.

2) Little things let me know she was anxious, the more obvious ones being stopping, whining and looking back to me.

3) Every few minutes she takes a break, she will either chew on some grass or splat on the floor. I allow her to take breaks as and when she needs them so she has chance to decompress and relax.

4) Terriers generally aren't great at stopping or slowing down, so I also call her back for a reward from her squeezy treat dispenser. We all know licking is a tension reliever!

5) She gets so excited when she catches a scent. As someone who loves Scentwork, this works well for me and I encourage her to track it for as long as she can (within reason, I'm not climbing through hedges and ditches for her 😂)

6) Despite being a year old now, simple things baffle her. A fallen feather, she's seen feathers many times but of course they all have their different smells. She will be happily trotting along and then drop to the floor when she comes across a feather, before excitedly investigating it.

7) People, she's very drawn to people. Despite living with 2 other dogs she does potentially feel isolated from the group as they find her too much, and although they will play and interact with her on walks and at secure fields, at home they are much less tolerant of her.

She likes people though, people are fun and kind!

8) Despite being adventurous and wanting to follow scents and explore, she likes to be close to you and will return to check in often.

I sat on a bench and she jumped up next to me for a few minutes, before going off for a wander and then coming back to splat by my feet.

Her often excessive barking may be seen as excitement, or even defiance (which we know it's not) but in reality it seems to be a lack of confidence.

She relies on her older brothers for confidence (which quite frankly is a terrible idea 😂) so this has given me a few things to work on...

1) Confidence.. That's basically it. Before I work on her barking and overarousal, she needs to feel safe and confident. Small dogs like terriers are often labelled as feisty and stubborn, when in reality they are often coping with their anxieties the only way they know how.

Unfortunately due to timing, and vaccinations she didn't get out and about soon enough, and if I could go back to last year I would do things very differently. But she's still young, has a desire to 'do things' and is very intelligent, so she's got plenty of time to keep building her confidence.

Also, it's important to remember that she is still an Adolescent, her hormones are still changing, she's been through a second 'fear period' and her body is changing.

Loving our Houdini Strap from Indi-Dog !Hazel has come very close to pulling out of her harness, and I was on the hunt f...
19/08/2025

Loving our Houdini Strap from Indi-Dog !

Hazel has come very close to pulling out of her harness, and I was on the hunt for a new harness with a belly strap.. Then I found Indi-Dog's Houdini Strap and it fits perfectly on her current Perfect Fit Harness.

I feel so much better knowing she can't just slip out whenever she feels like it 🤦

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