A Lanarkshire business is looking for dogs to sign up for sniffer classes.
Nicola Masterton from Hamilton set up her own dog training business Cheeky Wee Rascals, in August 2021.
The animal-lover has always had dogs in her family from a young age, but she only really began learning more about training after adopting her first dog, Rascal from a Romanian rescue.
She went on to adopt more dogs from Romania and wanted to help them with their anxiety and reactivity, so she went on to study to become a dog trainer.
The business has since gone from strength to strength, and she is now offering sniffer classes for man’s best friend.
She told Lanarkshire Live : “I first became interested in scent work when my dog could no longer attend his agility classes due to joint issues. We found scent work, and we've never looked back.
"When I first started my dog training business I knew that scent work would be one of the first classes I offered. It's just so accessible and beneficial for everyone. Earlier this year, I qualified as a UK Sniffer Dogs instructor for scent detection and tracking.
“Scent detection involves training your dog to find and alert you to a specific odour; like the drug dogs at the airport.
“Tracking involves teaching your dog to follow the scent of disturbed ground and alert you to 'evidence' found along the way; like the police dogs following the trail of a criminal.”
Any dog of any age or breed can learn scent work, the classes currently have a variety of trainee sniffers from spaniels to retrievers.
She added: “Honestly dogs love to sniff. It releases chemicals in the brain, including dopamine, that make your dog feel great. Scent work has also been shown to make dogs more optimistic.
“It's low impact on the joints but a great mental and physical workout. It doesn't look physical but the dogs breathing rate increases significantly whilst sniffing and 10 minutes of scent work is the equivalent to a 1-hour walk.
“It's also a great relationship-boosting activity; you learn to work with your dog, learn to read their body language and put your trust in them; they're the experts after all.
“People are amazed at how quickly their dogs learn, and it's a real team effort between the owner and their dog. They also love how much it tires out their dogs.”
The next dog beginner scent detection course starts on Monday, September 5, and classes take place in both Blantyre and Strathaven, other classes are also available such as Puppy Poopers and Parkour.
More information can be found here.
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