Whether brand new or experienced, we can help.
Already a trainer? Or just starting?
Turn Your Passion Into a Premium, Future-Proof Business.
You didn’t get into dog training to blend in. You got into it because you love dogs, you love watching a team click, and you want to build something that means something. So why settle for the same skills, the same certificates and the same rates as everyone else in your area?
Most people who come to us have been doing this for years.
They run classes. They have a waiting list, or they nearly do. They can lay a track or trail, set a search and communicate so well that their clients (and dogs) start asking testing questions. And somewhere along the way, most of them arrive at the same quiet question. Usually after a session that did not go to plan, with a dog that learns differently and an owner watching.
Is this as far as I go? I want to know more…
It is not. But the step after this one is a different kind of step, and it is worth being honest about what it involves.
At The College of Scent Dogs, we train the trainer. We give you the specialist skills, the genuine credentials and the professional standing to stand out, charge what you’re worth, and become the instructor every dog owner in your community is trying to book.
Let’s Be Honest About What’s Happening in Our Industry
There’s a problem stalking the dog-training world, and it’s hurting good trainers, good guardians, and good dogs alike. The market is flooded with worthless, printed-at-home “certificates” that promise the world and prove nothing. Outdated methods built on force, fear and coercion still betray the very animals we claim to love. And the result? Dog owners genuinely can’t tell the real professional from the pretender.
If you’re a talented, ethical trainer, that’s a frustrating place to be. You’re left holding paper that means little when it matters most, competing on price instead of quality, and watching less capable competitors win clients simply because they shouted louder. You deserve better. Your future clients deserve better. And every dog you’ll ever coach deserves better.
Great trainers create great dogs, and we create great trainers. Whether you want to add a premium specialism, earn a City & Guilds Assured credential that adds real credibility with clients, or fall back in love with the work, your next step starts here.
Become the recognised expert your community celebrates
Imagine a dog owner comparing you to the trainer down the road. They can’t judge your dog training skills and problem-solving knowledge from a website, but they can recognise a trusted name. When your marketing, your classes and your certificates carry the City & Guilds Assured mark and are backed by an organisation recognised by the Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC), the decision becomes easy. You’re no longer just another trainer with a logo they’ve never seen. You’re the safe, credible, professional choice.
That’s the difference the right credentials make. They don’t just decorate your website; they quietly win you the client before you’ve even spoken.
We are a team you won’t find anywhere else.
Our training team combines academic qualifications, including a Doctorate and Master’s degrees, with extensive, proven operational experience. You will learn directly from award-winning author Dr Robert Hewings, holder of a Doctorate in Scent Detection, alongside Karen Hewings with her master’s studies and decades of hands-on operational expertise, and Ben Poole with his master’s studies. This isn’t a second-hand rehearsed method; it’s training you in the application of evidence-based knowledge. It’s based on our actual work, taught by those who have done it.
See our programmes,
What being City & Guilds Assured means for your business
Where next?
Two programmes, eighteen places on each, one cohort a year. Three weeks of in-person learning spread across the twelve months, with online mentorship beginning weeks before you arrive.
The investment is £2,999 plus VAT, for a total of £3,598.80. You can spread it over 12 months at around £10 a day, or save over £300 by paying in full.
There are no hidden fees. No monthly subscription, no annual renewal, and nothing to pay to keep using what you have earned. When the programme ends, you are free to display your credentials for life, and our graduates are publicly listed so clients can verify them.
If you are not certain which of the two fits you, write and tell us what you do now. We will give you an honest answer, including if the answer is neither.
City & Guilds has been a trusted name in skills and professional development for over 140 years. Our programmes are City & Guilds Assured, which means our training has been independently reviewed and validated against City & Guilds’ global benchmark for the planning, design, delivery, maintenance, and evaluation of programmes.
In plain English: an internationally respected, independent body has reviewed how we train and confirmed that it meets a rigorous, recognised quality standard. That’s a world away from a certificate someone printed in their spare room.
The City & Guilds Assured Difference
Premium positioning. A standard clients can see, which supports the rates you charge.
Proof, not paper. Dual-branded digital credentials carrying both the College and City & Guilds names, which your learners keep for life.
What changes at this level
Early training teaches you what to do. It hands you a method, and if the method is a good one it will carry you a long way. The difficulty is that dogs have not read it.
What comes next is the why. Why does odour behave differently? Why a dog that was perfect on Tuesday cannot find anything on Thursday, and how to diagnose that rather than guess at it. How to teach a method to a room of eight people who all learn differently, one of whom is not sure you know what you are talking about.
That last one is the part most training leaves out entirely.
Three weeks of in-person learning, spread across the year, supported by online mentorship that begins weeks before you arrive. It is assessed. Some people find it harder than they expected, which is, rather, the point.
The prestigious City & Guilds logo sets you apart from the crowd the moment a client sees it, demonstrating your commitment to excellence and professional development. It's the single fastest way to look and be more professional than your competition.