Wizz Dog Training

26/01/2025

Another Fantastic Scent Work Weekend at 🐾💪

What a brilliant weekend filled with amazing dogs and dedicated owners!

🐾 Saturday was all about UK Sniffer Dogs, teams returned to push on with their Bronze and Silver course. It’s always lovely to see the teams progressing and building on their skills. A huge well done to:

Jill and Rafa

Susie and Rocco

Vickie and Meg

Polly and Buddy

Di and Hugo

Anna and Luca

Sandra and Nala

🐾 Sunday welcomed lots of new teams for an Introduction to Scent Work and gave others the chance to continue building their scent work skills. Great work by:

Billy and Roxie

Therese and Percy

Kathleen and Isla

Natalie and Rufus

Wendy and Tag

I just love watching each team’s confidence grow throughout the workshops. It’s amazing to see dogs thrive, handlers build trust, and the bond between the team, all while enjoying the many benefits of scent work.

21/01/2025

The Importance of Foundation Training

We’re all guilty of rushing ahead, eager to dive into the “fancy” stuff with our dogs—advanced retrieves, scent work, or tricky obedience drills. But for my own dogs at gundog training, we’re stepping back and focusing on the basics.

Why? Because without strong foundations, everything else crumbles.

It’s not easy to change your mindset and slow down, but it’s so rewarding. Thanks to Georgia for an amazing session that reminded me how crucial this work is and to slow down, I am just as bad as a spaniel🙈.

It’s not just about improving my dogs—it’s quality time with them and a chance for me to grow as a handler and trainer.

Strong foundations build better dogs, better teams, and better trainers. If you’re feeling stuck, maybe it’s time to go back to basics.

What “foundations” are you focusing on with your dogs right now?

19/01/2025

Just look at the breed diversity! 💕

As we wrap up the week, I’ve had the privilege of working with so many incredible breeds—all for scent work!

While the Labrador takes the top spot for numbers, closely followed by the Working Cocker Spaniel, the variety of breeds that have joined us is amazing:

🐾 German Shepherd
🐾 Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers
🐾 English Pointers
🐾 Greyhound
🐾 Lurcher
🐾 Schnauzer
🐾 Irish Water Spaniel
🐾 Patterdale
🐾 Curly Coated Retriever
🐾 Doodle
🐾 Poodle
🐾 Golden Retriever
🐾 Entlebucher Mountain Dog
🐾 Boxer
🐾 Bichon Frisé
🐾Labrador
🐾English Springer Spaniel
🐾Working Cocker Spaniel
🐾 Crossbreeds!

This just goes to show that any dog—regardless of breed, size, or shape—can do and enjoy scent work!

It’s such a brilliant activity to stimulate their minds, build confidence, and strengthen the bond between dog and handler.

My aim for the year is now to complete an A-Z list of dog breeds and see how many I can tick off for scent work at Wizz Dog Training. Who’s going to help me get there? 🐶✨

15/01/2025

🐾 Welcome to the new recruits for the UK Sniffer Dog Bronze Course! 🐾

Well done to Amy and Hank, Mark, Stephan and Ralph, Brian and Hank, Jen and Bonnie, and Sheena, Antony, and Marni for getting off to a fantastic start!

Scent work is all about building fun into the game as well as putting in the foundations. Both dogs and handlers worked hard!

I can’t wait to see how you progress over the next six weeks! 🐕🎉

12/01/2025

🐾Another fab day at Dog Confidence 🐾

First up, we had Natalie & Mr. Darcy and Fiona & Rhonda—two fantastic partnerships who worked their socks off! Today wasn’t just about the dogs; we really put the handlers to the test too. We focused on line handling and cleaner mechanics to help sharpen those all-important indications, and it was great to see the progress throughout the workshop.

Next, we introduced four new teams to the wonderful world of scent work. Kathy & Isla, Rachel & Amaya, Jo & Tresco, and Mandy & Hugo got off to a flying start! It was amazing to watch their confidence grow throughout the session.

What makes scent work so special is how inclusive it is—it’s perfect for dogs and handlers of all ages, breeds, and abilities. It’s a low-impact activity that offers huge benefits, from providing mental stimulation to allowing dogs to express their natural sniffing instincts in a positive and rewarding way.

Well done to all teams! ⭐

11/01/2025

🌟 A day at Dog Confidence ! 🌟

A big well done to Vickie with Meg, Susie with Rocco, Polly with Buddy, and Jill with Rafa for starting their UK Sniffer Dog Bronze journey today! 🐾

Today's session focused on building solid foundations, and both the dogs and handlers are off to a fantastic start.

Following that, we moved into the UK Sniffer Dog Silver course with Di and Hugo, Anna and Luca, and Sandra and Narla. This group really pushed their skills as we introduced a new odour, fine-tuned handling techniques, and added some new mechanics to the mix. Incredible work by everyone involved! 👏

Excited to see all the progress in the coming sessions! 🐶✨

07/01/2025

❄️ Snow Day = Cancelled Classes ❄️

Unfortunately, due to the snow and unsafe driving conditions, I’ve had to make the decision to cancel classes this evening (Tuesday 7th). Everyone’s safety comes first!

I’m absolutely gutted, as I’ve been itching to get back to classes. To cheer me up, post a picture of your dog enjoying the snow below – I’d love to see them having fun!

Stay safe! 🐾

Tuesday night classes you should have all received a message 📱

02/01/2025

Reminder-UK Sniffer Dog Classes Start Back Next Week! 🐾

I can't wait to see you all and get started again! Here's the schedule for next week:

Tuesday:
🕕 18:30 & 🕖 19:30 – Gold classes

Wednesday:
🕕 18:30 – Bronze class (1 space available – message me to book!) No previous experience required.

Thursday:
🕕 18:30 – Silver class
🕖 19:30 – Gold class

Looking forward to starting Gold and lots of scent work in 2025! 🐶💨

📩 Let me know if you have any questions or want to grab that last spot in Bronze!

23/12/2024

🎄 Training Tip: Thinking of trying the wrapping paper trend with your dog this Christmas? If you have a spaniel... maybe think twice! Trust me, it’ll be chaos! 😂 Spaniels and wrapping paper are a recipe for festive mayhem, not peaceful gift exchanges.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas from my gang to yours! 🎅🐾 Thank you to all my incredible clients (both two-legged and four-legged) for an amazing year.

Here's to more fun, training, and sniffing adventures in the new year! 🎁✨

19/12/2024

🎉 Congratulations to our final UK Sniffer Dog Bronze graduates of the year! 🥉

It's been amazing to watch how much Willow, Charlie, Pepper, and River have progressed over the past six weeks. Seeing the teamwork between dog and handler grow as you’ve gained confidence in reading body language and handling is what scent work is all about!

You’ve all worked so hard. Next up in the New Year… Silver! 🥈 🐾✨

Well done, teams – you’ve done yourselves proud! 👏

17/12/2024

Congratulations to the latest UK Sniffer Dog Silver graduates🥈🎓

A huge well done to Mazie, Enzo, Beau, and Molly (and their fantastic handlers) for completing their Silver course! Over the past six weeks, you’ve all made incredible progress, and tonight put all your skills to the test, with all the dogs passing with either merits or distinctions ⭐

I’m looking forward to seeing you in the New Year as you take on the challenge of the Gold course. Keep up the great work, and enjoy practising those skills over the holidays!

Well done, teams! 🐾

10/12/2024

Some spaces are still available. Pop me a message to book on and get in the festive spirit🎄🎁🎅☃️🦌🛷

There is still time to join our Christmas Scent Competition in collaboration with Wizz Dog Training! You can win these lovely rosettes and fantastic prizes.

Join us this Saturday at 9 AM at the New Brighton Community Centre,Flintshire. Entry fee: £30. Odour Kong

10/12/2024

🎉 Happy 13th Birthday, Izzy Wizz! 🎉

A special dog who has been by my side through it all. At 13 years young, she’s still loving her adventures and hasn’t lost her cheeky streak!

Enjoy every adventure, big or small, because they’re all part of the journey and it flies by! Here's to the original superstar, still showing us all how it’s done! 💛

04/12/2024

Looking forward to running more scent work workshops at Dog Confidence, based just outside Nantwich – there’s so much planned for 2025! 🐾

Check out Dog Confidence for more information, and if you haven’t tried Barn Hunt yet, make it a priority on your 2025 to-do list with your dog. Vickie’s workshops are fantastic (and Barn hunt is scent work-related 😉).

Remember, ANY dog can do scent work, and the benefits are endless – building confidence, focus, mental stimulation, and a stronger bond with your pup. 💛

Head over to Dog Confidence for all the booking links! 🐶👃

03/12/2024

🎉 Looking for a new activity to try with your dog in the New Year? 🎉

Why not give scent work a go? 🐶👃

Our first UK Sniffer Dog Bronze class of 2025 kicks off on Wednesday, 8th January, at 18:30, held at Dora's Doggy Daycare, Runcorn.

🌟 What to expect:
✔️ Fun and engaging activities for you and your dog
✔️ Build your dog’s confidence and focus
✔️ Strengthen your bond while learning a new skill

💰 £90 for a 6-week course – 1 space remaining!

📩 Message now to secure your spot. Start your scent work journey in 2025! 🐾✨

02/12/2024

The weather may have been gloomy today, but this little cutie certainly brightened things up! 🌧️

Meet Bobby, a Working Cocker Spaniel puppy🐾

We focused on key areas such as appropriate socialisation, building strong foundation behaviours, and incorporating breed-specific activities to meet his mental and physical needs. It's all about setting him up for success whilst he is learning about the world around him.

I’m looking forward to seeing Bobby again for his next session – he’s already a little superstar in the making!⭐

30/11/2024

Never did I think buying some bricks would make me so happy – but when they’re used for dog training, it’s a different story!

These bricks are going to be used to build a focus wall, a fantastic tool to aid detection skills. From building systematic searching to indication training, there are so many skills that this can help develop!

The dogs can't wait to get started. 🧱 🐾🎾 Now just to make a portable version for classes!

23/11/2024

Three soggy spaniels later, but they had the best time! The rain made the country park nice and quiet—who else ventured out today?

Physical exercise is essential for dogs, offering numerous benefits:

Maintains a healthy weight: Regular activity helps prevent obesity and reduces the risk of related health issues like diabetes and joint problems.

Improves mental well-being: Exercise provides mental stimulation, reducing boredom and preventing undesirable behaviors.

Supports joint and muscle health: Staying active strengthens muscles and keeps joints mobile, especially as dogs age.

Burns off energy: A well-exercised dog is happier, calmer, and more content at home.

Builds the human-dog bond: Shared activities strengthen your connection and improve communication.

Rain or shine, exercise is vital for their overall health and happiness!

Post a picture of your dog enjoying the weather below!🐾 🌧️