Earlier this month, we had the absolute pleasure of hosting something a little bit special, the first Sniffer Shop Scentwork Workshop with the brilliant Santi Font of Scentdogs. All the way from Gran Canaria to our little patch in Bristol, Santi brought his wealth of experience, infectious passion, and a super effective Scentwork training process that got both dogs and handlers buzzing!
Over 2 jam packed days, we welcomed a fantastic group of scentwork teams. The workshop was designed to suit all levels, and it absolutely delivered, from those just starting out in scent detection to experienced handlers, fine-tuning their dogs searching, handling and indication niggles!
What most of us shared was a goal - to deepen our understanding of scentwork. We worked on building a solid, reliable indication by unpicking our dogs motivation and enjoying the learning process along the way. There were even a few moments where the dogs well and truly outwitted us—especially during the toy searches. Let’s just say, some clever canines had us adjusting our strategies more than once! It was a brilliant reminder that our dogs are often training us, as much as we’re training them!
The workshop had just 8 handlers slots, this meant that teams had space to work, time to ask questions, and the opportunity to get stuck into some proper hands-on training, exploring new skills with individual guidance from Santi. It was learning by doing, with plenty of lightbulb moments and wagging tails!
🐶 What Santi Said about the Scentwork workshop..
“It was such a pleasure to work with this group in Bristol. So many committed Scentwork handlers and fantastic dogs. We focused a lot on shaping solid indications and boosting motivation. A big thank you to The Sniffer Shop for the warm welcome!”
The Method behind the Magic..
At the heart of the weekend was Santi’s brilliantly practical 6-step scentwork system, a method that gets results without ever forgetting the most important part: the dog needs to love it. It’s a simple concept, but in practice, it’s a game-changer. By focusing first on motivation and joy, the system helps teams go from curious sniffers to focused and enthusiastic scent detectives!
As Santi reminded us, “Play and motivation are going to be our main focus. Without motivation, we are not going to get the desired results.” That philosophy ran through every scentwork exercise. We kicked things off with toy-based searches, encouraging dogs to dive into the fun with easy, fast-paced seaches designed to build confidence and motivation.
“We’re going to start having fun with first searches of our dog’s favourite toy,” Santi said. “We want dynamic, positive experiences from the get go..”
It was a powerful reminder that great scentwork doesn’t start with pressure or perfection, it starts with play. When dogs are genuinely enjoying themselves, they work harder, learn faster, and show up eager for more. And watching those lightbulb moments unfold across the weekend? Pure nosejoy.
Santi’s 6-Step Scentwork System:
- STEP 1. LOVE FOR THE TOY Creating excitement and focus on toy through play.
- STEP 2 - SEARCH FOR A TOY Building hunt drive before introducing odour.
- STEP 3 - INDICATION Establishing a clear, repeatable behaviour
- STEP 4 - SEARCH AND INDICATION We focus on searches; we train in every possible situation, focussing on novel and new environments, further developing a confident search pattern.
- STEP 5 - IMPRINTING introducing the target odour
- STEP 6 - SEARCH OF NEW TARGET -The dog learns to search confidently for the new target odour
Our Takeaways..
The scentwork weekend was a great reminder that the joy of scentwork isn’t just in the final performance, it’s in the process. Working together. Playing together. Learning as a team.
It gave us all a chance to reflect on our training style and refine the way we support our dogs in building strong, consistent detection skills. Above all it was about having fun with our dogs!
Participant feedback..
🐶 “Thank you for an incredible 2 days of Scentwork—we loved it!”
🐶“Santi, thank you for sharing your expertise—it was brilliant.”
🐶“Absolutely outstanding—so impressed!”
If you missed this one, don’t worry—Santi also offers a great online scentwork coaching programme, which includes personal feedback and support, no matter where you are in the world.
And yes, The Sniffer Shop has already invited him back. We’ll be releasing new workshop dates soon - so watch this space for a new date, or drop us an email HERE to be added to our waitlist.
While you're waiting, why not explore The Sniffer Shop ? We stock everything scentwork—from motivational toys and scentwork kits to training aids and accessories, all chosen to bring maximum nosejoy to your scentwork training sessions. Whether you’re just starting out or levelling up your detection dog skills, we’ve got the tools to help you thrive.
Want to work with Santi Font?
Click HERE to learn more about his individual online training and coaching options, or connect to his instagram account.
Kate Hart
This blog is written by Kate, Gold Level Instructor with UK Sniffer Dogs, certified dog trainer with IMDT and Distinctiver Dogs. Kate is the founder of The Sniffer Shop and My Hart Dog Training.
