Track, Trail & Find Dog Handler & Instructor
Eighteen places. One cohort a year.
You will achieve recognition as an excellent Track, Trail and Find Dog Trainer.
A respected, independently validated quality mark like City & Guilds Assured helps you stand out from unverified competitors rather than competing on price alone.
Learn from three intensive weeks of face-to-face teaching, plus online support that never stops.
This is where instinct becomes artistry. Picture your dog dropping its nose to lock onto a fresh track, lifting its head to follow a person’s trail, then casting into the wind to catch a scent plume and drive forward to the find. That is the moment this programme is built to create, and it positions you as the expert clients seek out and want to learn from.
You will master three disciplines in one confident dog. Most courses teach a single skill in isolation.
We teach tracking, trailing and air scent seeking side by side, giving the dog permission to think, choose and problem-solve, so it becomes a genuine searcher that switches instinctively between a ground track, a person’s trail, and scent carried on the wind.
Gain new knowledge, including HydroTrailing and Air Scent Seeking.
Explore Dr Rob’s innovative HydroTrailing methodology, a new and distinctive approach to supporting the development of effective trailing skills in working dogs. Alongside HydroTrailing, you will gain valuable instruction in air scent seeking, informed by Dr Rob’s extensive practical experience as a former Police Dog Handler with London’s Metropolitan Police.
The Track, Trail & Find programme.
Why does it take three weeks?
It would be straightforward to compress this into a weekend and issue a certificate on the Sunday afternoon. Some do. We take three weeks across the year because the assessment is real, because competence in scent detection is built through repetition and reflection rather than exposure, and because the dogs your clients bring you will be the ones living with the result.
If you need instructor status by the end of the month, we will not be the right college for you. If you want to still be the trainer people recommend in ten years, this is the pace that gets you there.
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Monday 8th - Friday 12th March 2027
Week One. Foundations of Track, Trail & Find
Your first week covers core principles of three disciplines: how dogs use scent, scent behaviour on ground and air, and building emotional connection with motivation.
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Monday 10th - Friday 14th May 2027
Week Two. Building Real-World Search Skills
This week challenges you with more realistic, demanding situations across all three disciplines, increasing distance, scent ageing, contamination management, decoys, and reliable indications.
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Monday 13th - Friday 17th September 2027
Week Three. Become the Instructor Everyone Wants
The final week shifts from doing to teaching the work. You'll learn to design Track, Trail & Find sessions, coach handlers, structure classes, and present exciting, progressive classes.
Who is the programme for?
You do not need to be an established trainer to join us, although many of our students already have experience working with dogs. What you do need is a genuine interest in understanding how dogs work, and a dog who is happy and motivated to work with you. Please don’t ever think you are not good enough; we all started somewhere, and we are here to help.
If you are unsure whether you or your dog would be suited to the programme, please do get in touch at info@thecollegeofscentdogs.com. We are always happy to have a conversation and answer any questions you may have. We would much rather help you decide whether the programme is right for you before you book.
Remember, we are here to help. This could be the beginning of a fantastic journey for both you and your dog, and we would love to help you take that first step.
Your investment
£2,999 + VAT.
That is £3,598.80 in total, or from just £10 a day over 12 months.
One investment in three intensive weeks that gives you a genuine City & Guilds Assured Credential and a career that clients will search for.
You get City & Guilds Digital Credentials — the UK's only City & Guilds Assured Track/Trail & Find certificate that clients recognise and trust.
You get a new source of income — run your own classes and workshops; the fee soon pays for itself, and then every booking is yours to keep.
You get real, hands-on training — three weeks learning directly with Dr Robert Hewings and an excellent team, so you leave knowing exactly what to do.
You get support for life — resources, webinars, expert advice and a friendly community, long after the course ends.
You get something extra — you can offer HydroTrailing Methodology as well as the spectacular Air Scent Seek discipline clients are crying out for.
You get to spread the cost — from less than £10 a day over 12 months.
You get £300 off — save over £300 when you pay in full.
Best offer: save 10% when you pay in full, that is over £300 off. Prefer to spread it? Our easy payment scheme lets you pay from £10 a day over up to 12 months.
Easy Payment Scheme
Free ‘Smelly Socks’ Evidence
If life gets in the way
Occasionally, something makes a week impossible, e.g. illness, work, or a dog that is not fit to train. Talk to us. Wherever we can, we will find a way for you to complete the missed week with the following cohort at no additional cost. Our full terms are set out in our terms and conditions.
Our Training Location
Location: Statfold Barn Railway. Ashby Rd, Tamworth B79 0BU.
The postcode/SatNav may take you away from ‘Statfold Barn Railway’. We also have ‘What Three Words’ that can help: holds.soup.code for the front entrance and hails.games.reason for the entrance to the classroom, where there is plenty of parking outside.
Timings: 09:00 – 16:00: Tea, Coffee and ‘Posh Biscuits’ provided.
Accommodation: Our training venue offers camping, caravan and motorhome hook-ups, with large exercise areas for your dog. This accommodation is available at an additional cost, via our venue managers, info@statfold.com
The booking secures a place for yourself and one dog. However, some people choose to bring two dogs, but these need to be rotated within your allocated ‘training/search slot’.
The first day of all our courses is predominantly classroom-based theory lessons, with plenty of breaks for you to exercise your dogs, and all our parking is within a private, safe and secure area.
Full joining instructions will be sent upon booking.
Ready when you are.
Eighteen places, once a year. If the dates work and the approach makes sense to you, the next step is simply to reserve your place. If you would rather talk it through first, or spread the cost, we are glad to do either.