The College Of Scent Dogs Ltd

The College Of Scent Dogs Ltd Empowering UK pet-dog instructors with expert scentwork training. Build confident dogs, skilled handlers, and a thriving training business.

Join the College of Scent Dogs and raise your standards, grow your skills, and unleash your potential. Welcome to the UK COLLEGE OF SCENT DOGS page! The UKCSD provides education, qualification and support to all of those involved, or interested in becoming involved with scent dogs. We provide courses for operational AND pet dog Instructors as well as training and accreditation for detection dog ha

ndling. With locations throughout the UK & Eire, ALL of our Instructors have at least 15 years professional operational search dog experience and adhere to a strict code of conduct to ensure professionalism, ethics and quality. We provide courses, education and accreditation worldwide. For more info, please email [email protected]

If your dog can see a hide.. is it really a hide? We take the setting up of our search areas very seriously at the colle...
19/06/2026

If your dog can see a hide.. is it really a hide?

We take the setting up of our search areas very seriously at the college - we want to be truly testing the skills of you and your dog, and that means a blind search really is a blind.

Hide placement is so important, because if a handler can see the hide, it can:
🔷 Impact body language
♦️Cause accidental handler intervention in the search

And if your dog can see the hide:
🔷 They don’t have to use their nose!
♦️ They may start relying on visual cues rather than scent

There are ways of changing the difficulty of a search, and making the hide an obvious visual is not one of them!

As 2027 marks our 10th Birthday, we are launching some exciting new courses...Here is the first (I can't wait, it will b...
09/06/2026

As 2027 marks our 10th Birthday, we are launching some exciting new courses...

Here is the first (I can't wait, it will be a blast)

NEW TRACK & TRAIL COURSE (City & Guilds Assured)

Train the dog. Trust the nose. Transform the partnership. Allowing the dog to choose, as we can't see the odour!

Based on Dr Rob's operational experience as a Metropolitan Police Dog Handler. Our brand-new three-week Track & Trail Programme brings together the precision of tracking and the excitement of trailing in one incredible scent-dog course. Training concepts and allowing the dog to choose.

Dogs understand scent in ways we never can. Our job is to clearly train the concepts rather than methods, then give them the confidence to problem-solve for themselves. Track? Trail? Ground scent? Human odour? Let the dog show you.

Led by Dr Robert Hewings and the amazing College of Scent Dogs team, this course includes:

Three weeks of expert in-person training, split throughout the year.
Online support throughout your journey.
Flexible payment schemes available.
Tracking and trailing taught together, introducing Hydrotrailing & Hydrotracking.
Confidence, connection and real scent skills.
Perfect for trainers, behaviourists and passionate dog owners.

If you want to unlock your dog’s natural ability and offer something truly exciting, this is the course for you.

Places are limited — book now and join the Track & Trail revolution!

https://www.thecollegeofscentdogs.com/thetrackandtrailprogramme

We had the best time hosting a wonderful refresher workshop for our City and Guilds students, where we worked on progres...
05/06/2026

We had the best time hosting a wonderful refresher workshop for our City and Guilds students, where we worked on progressing various skills such as:

🟦Indication
🟥High hides
🟦Leash to off-leash searching
🟥Bulk hides
🟦Environmental Steadiness
🟥Independent working

As well as theory surrounding the science of scent!

We had a fantastic couple of days and loved seeing our students again. We cannot wait to see you again!

Some very very exciting news... we have become an assessing organisation for the ! We are so proud to take this next ste...
03/06/2026

Some very very exciting news... we have become an assessing organisation for the ! We are so proud to take this next step on our journey. Our goal in the dog world is to provide professional, ethical, rewarding and backed-by-science training that helps you become the best dog trainer/handler/guardian you can be.

Our courses are rooted in our love for dogs and their capabilities, and a commitment to provide training that leaves you feeling inspired and your dogs fulfilled. We are so passionate that when you undertake our courses, you leave with a very real and meaningful way to show just how much hard work, time and effort you put in to completing the training. As well as being City and Guilds accredited, this now feels like another fantastic step in a recognised and established qualification that shows ethics, commitment and knowledge in dog training.

We are so pleased. We hope The College of Scent Dogs continues to grow and support trainers for a very long time to come.

19/05/2026

Mantrailing but make it vogue 💅

Week 2 is going swimmingly. There’s never a dull day at 🐾

If you watched two dogs tracking and trailing, you might think they’re doing a very similar activity. In reality though,...
17/05/2026

If you watched two dogs tracking and trailing, you might think they’re doing a very similar activity. In reality though, they’re working scent quite differently. 👀

🟦 TRACKING

Following ground disturbance + human scent
Odour source is primarily on or very close to the ground
Dogs often work nose-down, carefully scanning the track

🟥 TRAILING

Starts with a matched scent article
Following the scent left behind in the air and environment by a specific person
Dogs often work more nose-up, air-scenting and problem solving through scent pools and movement

Now, this isn’t to say a tracking dog won’t air-scent, or that a trailing dog won’t use ground disturbance information. Scent work is fluid, and dogs will use whatever information is available to them. But the way they tackle the odour problem is usually very different.

One of the biggest differences is how the search begins.

In tracking, the dog locates the scent track and follows it through to reinforcement, often a toy, food jackpot or another reward at the end. They may come across cross tracks or change of surfaces, but the goal is to stick to the odour they started with. Their 'starting odour' is the start of the track.

In trailing, the dog is first presented with a specific scent article. They then have to:

❓Recognise that odour
📍Locate the correct trail
👣Ignore other human scent in the environment
🧑🏻Locate the person they’re searching for

Same incredible noses. Two different skillsets!

Week 2 for our trackers and mantrailers kicks off tomorrow!

Week 2 has been kicked off with some fantastic searches! Day 1: building searches Day 2: building assessmentDay 3: area ...
13/05/2026

Week 2 has been kicked off with some fantastic searches!

Day 1: building searches
Day 2: building assessment
Day 3: area and route searches

The rest of the week will be area / route assessment and vehicle! So much learning & so much fun.

Even though the weather has kicked up a notch with wind and rain, the dogs and humans are working fantastically and we’ve seen some real progress.

07/05/2026

Not long till we’re back at Statfold! We cannot wait to be back teaching our 2026 cohort, and we can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to with your dogs!

The countdown is on 🕣

See you soon!

We’ll always be proud of the teaching, knowledge and experience you receive during your learning journey at The College ...
27/04/2026

We’ll always be proud of the teaching, knowledge and experience you receive during your learning journey at The College of Scent Dogs, but some of the most special moments happen when you’re getting to know your fellow students in between the sessions.

Each year, we somehow manage to bring together the most supportive cohorts: people who encourage each other, help each other grow, and celebrate every step of the journey.

It’s a truly lovely thing to see, and we’re so grateful for the people who make our courses what they are.

Reactive dogs, nervous dogs, old dogs, young dogs — we want to see them all thrive, and we can help you do that.

Not long till we're back at Statfold with our 2026 groups!

Kav (@_thedrivendog) is on our scentwork course - her lovely boy can struggle with new people and dogs, but what we saw during their first week was magical. Although he had some difficult moments, Kav handled him beautifully and by the end of week one, they were both flourishing with more confidence.

We cannot wait to have them both back soon.

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that The College of Scent Dogs is now a recognised Practitioner Organisation with...
14/04/2026

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that The College of Scent Dogs is now a recognised Practitioner Organisation with the Animal Behaviour and Training Council.

This represents a significant milestone in our journey and reflects our unwavering commitment to the highest standards of professional practice and animal welfare.

What this means for our new candidates is dual recognition. That's City & Guilds credentials, and now they have a pathway to ABTC practitioner status. This is not simply about adding credentials. It is about being part of a professional community that holds itself accountable, that continues to learn and develop, and that puts animal welfare at the centre of every decision.

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