Train and Simple Dog Behaviour Consulting Avis 10

Scent Skills 101 is such a great class for any dog and human team. No past sport experience is required. Your dog knows how to use their nose and the first lessons are geared to teaching the handler the foundations of nose work and what to look for in your dog’s body language. The written instructions are equally thorough and in plain. Clear and simple instructions that are broken down into steps you can easily follow. Still unsure, class is a great opportunity to ask questions. The online meetings and video review are invaluable. Kate knows dog body language so well and breaks down what they see to help sharpen your own eye. It’s also so fun getting to watch all the other dogs in class.

The class is 100% beginner friendly for both dogs and humans. That said, if you do want to geek out on things more, there’s room for that too.

I also want to highlight, as others have, how amazing Kate is about being mindful about accessibility. One of my boys has spine and nerve issues. They modified the resets between rounds and certain drills to be easier on his body.

I’ve continued to work with Kate beyond this class and I’m always highly impressed with their advocacy and professionalism. It’s been a tough chapter for one of my boys and having Kate on his team has been the biggest blessing.

I continue to recommend scent skills 101 to basically anyone I can get to listen. What are you waiting for? Go sign up!

My dog Nestor and I took Kate's scentwork class in November/December, and audited it for another term afterward when they very graciously allowed us to do so because they started to rework some of the curriculum to make it even more accessible to dogs of differing abilities. It can be hard to find a "sport-adjacent" class that takes into account varied dog and handler abilities, and Kate has really set up this class to be about paying close attention to how your dog is feeling as you teach them various scent games. The instructions and explanations are clear and simple, but there are also opportunities to get nerdy about little training details and odor movement. Despite having a chronic neurological condition that affects his movement, Nestor has been able to progress beautifully through the activities in this class and gets super excited to play his sniff game!

I signed up for Kate's Scent Skills 101 class on a whim while looking for new ways to connect with my mother in law's Havanese. I was pleasantly surprised by the accessibility of the material and collegiality of the interactive meetings. You can also highlight sections of the material right in the browser, which is awesome for a visual person like me. It's truly a great learning platform. The course helped me intuit my dog's worldview better because scent work provides great visual feedback on how a dog interacts with the world based on its background, physiology, and so on. Just a few weeks in, my dog derailed from his usual walking route and found a pile of rabbit organs! It signified to me that he was getting more in touch with his sense of smell and expanding his bubble. It also helped me, too! I suffer from scent-induced migraines and the section on scent pooling taught me where to sit on the bus when trying to avoid strongly perfumed patrons. THANKS KATE!

I have now taken 2 courses from Kate and both have been excellent, one focused on reward strategies and the other on scent work. I appreciate the format of their online courses: there is a written component that covers weekly material, followed by a virtual group meeting to watch video and discuss. As someone who likes to go through material a few times to properly digest it, I love that I can take my time with the written portion (and take notes within the course player). Watching other humans (& dogs!) process and approach the material during the weekly meeting is always informative.
As someone with a medically unwell dog, I appreciate that welfare & health are addressed at all points and aren't an after thought. Kate suggests adaptations throughout the material and safety is a primary not secondary concern. I would recommend any course from Kate without hesitation!

Kate has supported me during my journey with my dog. My dog has chronic pain, and they were one of the first people to point out something was weird about him. I knew he was not „normal“, but I always thought I was just not being good enough. They helped me learn how to spot behaviour changes, how to quantify them in a realistic way, and how to journal and track these changes.

After we had pain management on board, i found their scent classes accessible enough to try them out. The class did not require me to buy any fancy scents or containers (but you could do that also if you wanted). We both enjoyed the classes very much and it’s been very fun to watch him be more confident and finally do some other training that was not behaviour modification.

Another thing I have to say about Kate is that all their knowledge has a very strong science basis so if you really enjoy getting deep into a topic, you will definitely enjoy the classes/coaching. It’s not mandatory to get deep into the science but you can if you want to!

Their muzzle course is amazing! We kept failing at muzzle training our dog, but this course broke it down in small, easy steps for us. Our dog Maui can now comfortably wear his muzzle for vet and physio appointments! Highly recommend this trainer for any cooperative care need.

I'm more than halfway through a Scent Skills 101 class and it has been great! Chock full of information but in a way that's digestible to a newbie. Kate really goes out of their way to answer questions, offer suggestions, troubleshoot, and is just such a kind (and funny!) person. I also appreciate how thoughtful they are in their feedback. I'm grateful for the community they bring and will absolutely take more classes with them in the future!

I've been working with Kate since the very beginning. We were one of their first students in their first virtual class. Kate is kind, compassionate, and goes above and beyond for each and every student. From reward strategies to cooperative care to scentwork, Kate brings a wealth of knowledge, particularly about dog body language, to share. Their passion for what they do is clearly evident. Without Kate's expertise in the early days, I would not have made the slow and steady progress with my handling sensitive dog to where he is now seeking out touch and affection. I don't think I'd have such a beautiful, trusting relationship with him if it hadn't been for Kate's help and guidance. 5 stars isn't enough.

Kate goes above and beyond for their clients; they are understanding and do their best to make lessons accessible for dogs and people. Kate is also good at creating challenges and puzzles that are fair and fun for the dog to work out, without compromising on safety. So many scent work classes aren’t actually safe for compromised dogs, but Kate does a good job at designing safe exercises, and weaves recognizing medical behaviour into each lesson without watering down the training content. The course material is fulsome, and their unique take on scent work has really enriched my dog’s life.

I recently took the Scent Skills course and my dog and I had a blast! I love the hybrid format of self paced, with weekly live meetings. Kate knows their stuff and provides not only solid course material and resources, but also feedback and observations via video review. So helpful! We continue to practice and grow what we learned in the course and it’s a great way to have fun with my mutt! Thanks Kate for the work you put into your courses and content, you approach dogs and behaviour with a sense of humour that is super relatable. We woof you!