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Scentwork Trainer Subscription Scheme

TDS Scentwork Trainers

Join our family

Join our family!


You know how hard you've worked to get where you are. You know the hours of study, the time spent practising and the days spent striving to be the best trainer you can be. You know how much your clients love and value your efforts, your dedication, and how much they rely on you to be a shoulder to cry on and a friend to celebrate their successes. Someone who is there through the cute times, and the stinky times, the hard times and the surprising times.

Well now it's your time!

Becoming part of the Talking Dogs Scentwork® family truly is the gift that keeps on giving. When you need someone to lean on, someone who can give you advice and support when you're not sure where to turn, turn to your TDS family. Distance is no barrier. Scentwork experience is no barrier. We were all beginners once. Whether you are ready to add starter scentwork sessions to your class schedule or have been preparing to run full day workshops to clients of all skill levels, I can offer just the right level of membership. From Enterprise through to Professional and on to Elite, I'm here to help you make the most of your skills and to deliver the very best scent training you can.


Dog training can be a very lonely business. Many of us run our businesses alone, but think how much more supported you would feel being part of a network of likeminded trainers? And think about how confident your clients would feel to discover that you are part of a long established, reputable, forward thinking company. One glance at your website and they'd see our logo, see your affiliation to Talking Dogs Scentwork®. In that instant they would know that they were in great hands.


Great scentwork trainers are different

The art of teaching requires that the trainer makes the skill they are teaching look easy. But I'm not going to sugar coat it: recognising the dog’s physical, behavioural and emotional needs in addition to a thorough understanding of both learning theory and scentwork systems is far from easy. There are no short cuts. Recognising the dog’s physical, behavioural and emotional needs in addition to a thorough understanding of both learning theory and scentwork systems is far from easy. There are no short cuts. You cannot teach this effectively and with empathy without having experienced courses as both delegate and trainer. Lack of experience can turn dogs off scentwork completely, usually as a result of adding needless pressure to the dog through inappropriate search areas and lack of understanding of the role of handling skills. Instead of building confidence, reducing anxiety and building strong bonds with their handlers, the opposite results are all too easy to produce. Ethical and professional standards dictate that you must have a thorough, not fleeting, knowledge and understanding of the subject before asking people to pay for you to teach them. Trainers work hard learning the art of practising and teaching scentwork in addition to their existing general dog training and behaviour skills. Great trainers keep their skills up to date by regularly attending seminars, workshops and conferences led by respected industry professionals from all over the world. When you come to a Talking Dogs Scentwork® workshop or class, you know that the trainer has all the skills you and your dog needs to have a sublime scentwork experience. But learning your craft doesn't have to be a slog. The process is the prize, enjoying learning and wanting to pass that knowledge on to others is a real gift.Great scentwork trainers are different. And that's why your clients can feel secure when they choose you to help them train their precious companion.


Our trainer scheme aims to provide a central meeting point for trainers and clients looking for great scentwork trainers.


Jump on board and start reaching out to new clients, start offering scentwork classes to pups and seniors and everyone in between. Show your skills, display the Talking Dogs Scentwork® Trainer logo and tell the world how good you are!


 

Elite Trainers can:

  • Deliver Talking Dogs Scentwork® Workshops: Scent 1-Scent 5
  • Deliver Scent 6 (once trained by Pam to deliver this workshop)
  • Deliver classes and/or 121s incorporating Talking Dogs Scentwork® methods
Elite Trainers get:

  • Free membership to the Scent Seekers Community
  • Premium listing including photograph, logo with hyperlink, plus social media, phone, email and website details on the scentwork.com website (linked to the detectordog.co.uk site)
  • Event listings on the scentwork.com website
  • If using Facebook, you can add Talking Dogs Scentwork® as a host for your events in order to have them listed on the Talking Dogs Scentwork® Facebook page in addition to your own
  • Permission to use the classic Talking Dogs Scentwork® and Elite Trainer logo
  • Client confidence gained by being part of the Talking Dogs Scentwork® family

Do you qualify?
To be an Elite Trainer you must be a Talking Dogs Scentwork® Accredited Handler and then be invited by Talking Dogs Scentwork® founder Pam Mackinnon. If you think you might qualify and are interested in joining us as an Elite Trainer, you can contact Pam to discuss your options.
 

Professional Trainers can:

  • Deliver classes and/or 121s incorporating Talking Dogs Scentwork® methods
Professional Trainers get:

  • Free membership to the Scent Seekers Community
  • Listing including phone, email and website details on the scentwork.com website (linked to the detectordog.co.uk site)
  • If using Facebook, you can add Talking Dogs Scentwork® as a host for your events in order to have them listed on the Talking Dogs Scentwork® Facebook page in addition to your own
  • Permission to use the classic Talking Dogs Scentwork® and Professional Trainer logo
  • Client confidence gained by being part of the Talking Dogs Scentwork® family

Do you qualify?

To be a Professional Trainer you must have graduated from the Talking Dogs Scentwork® Detector Dog School course How to Teach Scentwork and be a Talking Dogs Scentwork® Accredited Handler.

 

Enterprise Trainers can:


  • Deliver starter scentwork classes and/or 121s incorporating Talking Dogs Scentwork® methods
Enterprise Trainers get:

  • Free membership to the Scent Seekers Community
  • Your name listed on the scentwork.com website (linked to the detectordog.co.uk site) (Allows clients confirm your TDS credentials)
  • Permission to use the classic Talking Dogs Scentwork® and Enterprise Trainer logo
  • Client confidence gained by being part of the Talking Dogs Scentwork® family

Do you qualify?
To be an Enterprise Trainer you must have graduated from the Talking Dogs Scentwork® Detector Dog School course How to Teach Scentwork


When you join the trainer scheme, you get free membership to the Scent Seeker Community. This is the central hub of all we do and is the best place to meet fellow trainers and connect with clients old and new. The more people get to know you, the more they will want to use your services. Learn new skills can make us feel vulnerable, so how much easier would it be to learn from someone we've already 'met', someone with our sense of humour, our values, and our love of scentwork.


Meeting people in the Scent Seeker Community is a wonderful resource

and I'm delighted to include it with your trainer subscription.

You want the security of being affiliated to the first national (GB) scentwork providers specialising in teaching pet dogs, run by someone who has been both a professional detector dog handler and has dedicated her life to teaching dog training to fellow trainers and pet owners alike, and has never compromised, always putting the welfare of the dog above all else. Talking Dogs Scentwork® has an impeccable reputation and this is your chance to be right at the heart of what we do, spreading the scentwork love to more dogs, more people, more scentwork teams. We know how useful scentwork training can be. Not just a joyful activity that people and dogs can participate in together, but as a tool for building relationships, confidence and engagement. Supporting scentwork teams as they learn how to use their dogs' innate scenting talent to best effect is one of the most important gifts you can offer. And with increasing numbers of clients wanting to learn about scentwork, this is a great time to step forward and show what you know.


You deserve to be part of this story, to make your mark and get the recognition you've worked so hard for. No matter what country you are in, where you are on your training journey, you will find a home here. Don't hesitate, pick your tier and click the button.

Good things are waiting for you on the other side!

Get started now!



Frequently Asked Questions


When does the subscription start and finish?
Your subscription starts now and ends when you decide to leave the scheme (or in the very unlikely event, if you are asked to leave.)
When I join the scheme, how to I access the Scent Seeker Community?
Don't worry, you will find full instructions in the Welcome message when you subscribe to the scheme.
Where can I find the T&Cs for the scheme?
The Terms & Conditions for the scheme can be downloaded from the Welcome message when you join. If you would like to see a copy before joining, just drop me an email to [email protected] and I'll gladly send them over.
Can I join the scheme if I don't meet the entry standards?
The short answer is - not yet! But the fact that you want to join shows me that you want to get involved on a more professional level. So I'd urge you to take the required courses and then come back and join us. In the meantime, you could join our Scent Seeker Community to learn more about scentwork and make friends and contacts along the way.
Will I be removed from the scheme if I have joined without having the requisite qualifications?
Sadly, yes. I will be checking the details of everyone who joins the scheme to ensure that trainers have the required skills and experience. If I find this is not the case I will contact you to discuss your options.

Your Instructor


Pam Mackinnon
Pam Mackinnon

As a professional dog trainer for 30+ years, I have used scentwork to help thousands of dogs work with their owners to be more attentive, less reactive, more relaxed, less agitated. As a universal skill that can be learned by all dogs and all owners, the flexibility, fast results and good old fashioned fun found in scentwork led me to form Talking Dogs Scentwork® in 2011.

Since then I've been working hard to keep up with demand, such is the interest in scentwork. I work hard to stay at the forefront of my profession, staying creative, pushing boundaries and confounding expectations of what pet dogs can do. As the first national provider of scentwork training for non-selected (pet) dogs in Great Britain, TDS has quickly grown into the go-to scentwork training provider, with the TDS Detector Dog manual proving more popular than I could have ever imagined, selling well all over the world, but particularly in the UK, Europe and USA. I specialise in teaching all breed types, all ages, all abilities (physical, mental and emotional) Combining my years as a professional drug detector dog handler for HM Customs with my experience as a pet dog training and behaviour consultant, I tailor my teaching to dogs who don't have jobs, those who have been selected as companions rather than tools of the trade.

I work full time teaching Talking Dogs Scentwork® at workshops. online, at conferences and with major organisations, including Dogs Trust, Puppy School, Victoria Stilwell and the prestigious Woof! Conference.

Some of my working highlights include:

  • Drug Detector Dog Handler with HM Customs & Excise
  • Sirius Puppy Trainer in association with Dr. Ian Dunbar
  • Assistance Dog Trainer for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People
  • Behaviourist for Wood Green Animal Shelters
  • Founding & running Talking Dogs Scentwork®, part of Talking Dogs Ltd.
  • Creating TD Rally® - a sport for pet dogs & their people