Sniffly Dogs

04/09/2026

I pop Ember in my van if she’s with me on a client day. I’d love to know what information she was getting about Fenrir, who was in for a session this morning…tall, dark and handsome?? Fen’s photos are in the comments so you can see just what I mean ☺️

01/09/2026

I took Ember out this morning. Cuppa in a flask, notebook in my pocket. The plan, when we stopped, was to sit at a picnic bench, drink my tea whilst I had some quiet and got some thoughts out of my head and onto paper.

I couldn't do it. Yes, I jotted a few things down, but I wasn't able to just sit, because I kept responding to Ember. Throwing food for her to find. Watching her watch the other dogs so I could catch the moment she looked back at me, to reward it. Putting a toy out for her to search for.

So I went down the path of thinking that I needed to spend some time teaching her to settle on a mat so I could just sit.

But is that not the point though? Being with my dog is a time to do things together, because in connecting with Ember, by watching her and giving her moments she loves, I was switching off from my world and I was present. That's what gave me the moment of contentment I'd sat down for in the first place. The ginger dog just showed me that sometimes she knows best 😊

30/08/2026

Got some questions about scentwork and how it can benefit your dog and you? Pop along to Clarence Park, Wakefield next Saturday, we love chatting all things dogs ☺️

🐾 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲-𝗔-𝗚𝗼 𝗗𝗼𝗴 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝘂𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘆 & 𝗗𝗼𝗴 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄!🐾

As well as our fun dog show, there will be plenty more for your four-legged friends to get involved with at our Summer Fun Day & Dog Show on Saturday 5th September at Clarence Park! 🐶💙

🎯 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲-𝗔-𝗚𝗼 𝗚𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗦𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀
We're delighted to welcome Meadowlark Field Dogs, who will be running gundog scurries! Whether your dog is a seasoned retriever or simply loves chasing and carrying toys, it's a fantastic opportunity to try something new and have lots of fun together.
These have-a-go scurries will be run by James Wiles, who has over 30 years experience in working with and understanding dogs. He offers a wide range of dog training and care across West Yorkshire, including ​Group Classes, 1-2-1 Training, Private Group Classes, and Dog Walking.

👃 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲-𝗔-𝗚𝗼 𝗦𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸
Why not put your dog's nose to the test with Sniffly Dogs? Their scentwork activities are a brilliant way to encourage your dog to use their natural instincts while building confidence, focus and engagement in a fun and supportive environment. Dogs of all abilities are welcome to have a go! Sniffly Dogs are a relationship-centred, scent-led learning space based at The Kennels on the Nostell Estate, specialising in scentwork and dog training.
Through one-to-one sessions and workshops, they help dogs and their humans build confidence, calmness, focus and connection together using practical, real-life learning that makes sense for both ends of the lead.

💙 Both Meadowlark Field Dogs and Sniffly Dogs are kindly donating all of their takings from the day to our branch, helping us raise even more money for the animals in our care. We are incredibly grateful for their generosity and support.

So come along, have some fun with your dog, try something new, and help make a difference to the dogs and cats at our centre. We can't wait to see you! 🐾

24/08/2026

We had a rather special visitor to Sniffly Dogs recently. Our very first international visitors to The Kennels.

Adel was on holiday from France with her three-and-a-half-month-old Pomsky puppy, Neige, whose name means snow, and decided to book a Sniffly Starter while they were here.

They enjoyed their time so much, they came back a few days later. This time, we began teaching Neige to find a scented toy, giving them something they could continue exploring together once they returned home.

We also got to show off the amazing space we have here at Nostell Estate, and take a little wander to experience the delights of Nostell NT. Of course, they both loved it.

It was lovely to be a small part of Neige’s scentwork journey at such an early age. She may live rather too far away to become one of our regular Sniffly dogs, but hopefully she’ll carry on putting that little nose to work back in France, and we'll see them both again sometime in the future.

23/08/2026

We make no apologies if your dog pulls you through the gate to get to us

22/08/2026

Ember always gets to win the toy…I want her to have the confidence and joy that comes from winning.

14/08/2026

Our new website is now live.

It has taken us a while to get here, not least because finding the right words for how we work isn’t always easy. Sniffly Dogs isn’t about following a fixed method or trying to make every dog fit the same mould. It’s about understanding the dog in front of you, noticing what they’re telling you and finding an approach that makes sense for both of you.

The new website brings our scentwork and dog training together properly for the first time, with more about our one-to-one sessions at Nostell, how we work and the different ways you can begin with us.

We’re also launching Beneath, our new monthly newsletter. Beneath gives us room to explore some of the things that sit underneath life with our dogs: the assumptions we make, what we might be missing and what can change when we pause long enough to look again.

Sign up and you'll also receive Nowhere to Be, a free audio-guided walk to take with your dog. No goal, no distance to cover - just a bit of time with your dog that isn't one more thing on the list.
If that sounds like the sort of conversation, you’d like to be part of, you can have a look around the new website and sign up for Beneath. The website link is in the comments.

We’d love to know what you think.

Ruth and Louise

18/07/2026

Dog First Aid South Yorkshire, aka Jane, has been talking all things dog safety today at The Kennels.

The course was absolutely packed with useful, practical information - everything from CPR to what foods are actually dangerous to our dogs - and Jane delivered it all so clearly and confidently. She has a real gift for making things easy to understand and put into practice.

And as it wasn't a ridiculous temperature, we were able to make the most of our beautiful surroundings here on the estate and took our practice outdoors 🌲🌳.

Thank you Jane, we can't recommend you highly enough! Thank you to all our attendees too - we hope you're all in a better position to help dogs should the need arise.

We'll be running another one of these fab courses later in the year, so keep your eyes peeled if you'd like to join us.