Category: Scent work
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Why Does My Dog Pull on the Lead? Understanding the Walk Before Changing It
You leave the house with good intentions. A bit of fresh air, some time with your dog and perhaps a pleasant stroll before a coffee. Your dog appears to have booked a slightly different experience. Something involving speed, several urgent hedge inspections and you following behind like luggage with opinions. If that sounds familiar, you’re…
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Inside My Positive Dog Training Toolbox
My dog training toolbox has had a proper workout over the last week and a bit. Clickers, whistles, longlines, harnesses, freework, shaping, capturing, markers, luring, scentwork… I’m beginning to think it needs wheels. It’s been a busy time, with plenty of opportunities to use different equipment, games and ways of teaching. And that’s one of…
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Don’t Let Five Difficult Minutes Write the Whole Day
There are 24 hours in a day. That’s 1,440 minutes. Yet sometimes, just five difficult minutes manage to influence how we feel about all the others. Someone makes an unkind comment, something doesn’t go to plan, or we have an awkward conversation. Hours later, we’re still replaying it, possibly coming up with the brilliant reply…
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A Dog Friendly Bank Holiday on Romney Marsh, Without Overwhelming Your Dog
A Bank Holiday weekend often means making plans, getting outside and enjoying some extra time with our dogs. Here on Romney Marsh, we’re lucky to have beaches, countryside, cafes and plenty of places to explore. From Dymchurch and Greatstone to Dungeness, Hythe and the villages in between, there’s no shortage of dog friendly adventures. However,…
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What’s Happening at SkellyWAGS?
After a summer that has involved heat, cancelled sessions, rearranged appointments and more conversations about the weather than even we British would normally consider reasonable, it’s lovely to be looking ahead to a busy few weeks at SkellyWAGS. We have new courses, practical workshops, scentwork and even an opportunity for the humans to do some…
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Life Skills Classes for Dogs in Kent
Life Skills course is a great follow on course from our puppy classes as well as a great starting point for training for the first time.
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What Is Scentwork for Dogs? A Beginner’s Guide
Have you ever watched your dog investigate one particular blade of grass for what feels like three working days? To us, it may appear that absolutely nothing is happening. To our dogs, however, that little patch of ground can contain an entire story. Who has been there, how long ago they passed through and possibly…
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VARK, Not BARK: Dog Trainers Need to Understand How Humans Learn Too
As dog trainers, we spend a great deal of time learning how dogs learn. We talk about reinforcement, association, motivation, timing, environment and whether the piece of cheese in our hand is actually more interesting than the spaniel disappearing into the undergrowth. All very important stuff. However, there is another animal standing at the end…
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How Does a Dog’s Nose Work? Scentwork, Sniffing and Hot Weather
Scentwork is often suggested as a good alternative to walking when the weather is hot. That makes sense. It can be done indoors, it doesn’t need lots of space and a dog can enjoy using their nose without racing around or covering miles. However, scentwork isn’t a magical hot weather loophole. When it becomes extremely…
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Sharing Your Lovely Words Without Feeling Like a Show Off
I’m very lucky to receive some truly lovely reviews from the people who bring their dogs to SkellyWAGS or homes I visit. I read and reply to every one of them. I appreciate every one of them. Occasionally, they even make me feel as though I might know what I’m doing. Then comes the difficult…
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Puppy Classes in Kent
Kind, practical five-week puppy classes in Old Romney, Romney Marsh. Build confidence, recall, loose lead walking and everyday skills together.
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The Dogs Came First. Every Time.
July 2026 has officially entered the record books. It was England’s driest July on record and its second warmest, while here in Southern England it was both the warmest July and the driest month ever recorded. Those figures probably won’t surprise anyone who spent much of the month checking the temperature, looking hopefully at rain…
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One to One Dog Training Isn’t Just for Dogs Who Need Space
When people hear the words “one-to-one dog training”, they often assume it must be for a dog who is reactive, nervous or unable to cope in a group class. 1-2-1 training can certainly be a brilliant option for dogs who need more space. It allows us to carefully manage the environment, work at the dog’s…
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Why Is Sniffing So Important for Dogs?
You’ve left the house with your dog, planned a decent walk and perhaps even imagined returning home before the kettle has completely forgotten about you. Then your dog finds a particularly interesting patch of grass. They sniff it from one direction, approach it from another, investigate the neighbouring lamppost and then return to the original…
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Scentwork Classes for Dogs in Kent
Our scent work courses are an introduction into the world of scent work for your dogs…we will not teach them to search for explosives…but we will teach them how to train for a scent!
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The Dog Training Questions Everyone Asks – And Where to Start
If you’ve ever typed “How do I stop my dog from…” into Google, you’re certainly not alone. In fact, I’m fairly sure the words “stop my dog” have been followed by everything from pulling on the lead to stealing socks, barking at the window and disappearing after a squirrel. Many of the most common dog…
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Scentwork: A Practical Guide to Building Your Dog’s Confidence Through Nosework
Scentwork: A Practical Guide to Building Your Dog’s Confidence Through Nosework Scentwork is a rewarding dog sport and enrichment activity that encourages dogs to use their most powerful sense: smell. It is suitable for almost any dog, from high energy youngsters to older dogs who need low impact exercise. Better still, it is easy to…
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Why Connection Is the Foundation of Everything We Do at SkellyWAGS
A Busy Week That Reinforced an Important Lesson As another busy week at SkellyWAGS comes to an end, I’ve found myself reflecting on just how many different dogs, people and conversations I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of. It’s been one of those weeks where no two days have looked the same. There have…
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SkellyWAGS Adventure Dogs
A New Adventure Every Week! Beginning August 2026 What if your dog’s next training class wasn’t about getting everything right? What if it was simply about having fun, trying something new and building confidence along the way? Welcome to SkellyWAGS Adventure Dogs a brand new weekly class where every session is a different adventure. Designed…
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Looking for More to Do With Your Dog Without Committing to a 5-Week Course?
Flexible Dog Training in Kent That Fits Around Your Life One of the questions I’m asked more than almost any other is, “What can we do after we’ve finished our course?” It’s a great question. For some people, another five-week course is exactly what they’re looking for. For others, life simply gets in the way.…