Home

WELCOME TO SCENTVENTURE

The easiest and most enjoyable route for owners of pulling, barking, lunging dogs to enjoy stress free walks (without spending a fortune on training!)

Meet the Dog Trainer changing the lives of challenging dogs

Are you one of the thousands of people whose life with your dog isn’t working out like you expected?

Reactive, over-excited or easily distracted dogs can be easy to love, but hard to like… and even harder to live alongside. 

And it’s easy to see why…

Do you dread the chaos and stress of dog walks? Hypervigilant and scanning the environment to spot anything that will send your dog into meltdown before they do?

Is your dog is pulling on the lead, completely ignoring you, or not coming back when called?

Are you worried you look like a bad dog owner, out of control, on edge in case your dog shows you up again? Frustration and embarrassment are just a regular part of life with your dog.

Frankly, it’s much easier not to take your challenging dog with you when you go out – which isn’t what you wanted when you got them, and brings its own guilt. 

You’ve tried training, and it’s not working. 

You’ve Googled solutions, but you’re confused at the conflicting advice out there.

You’re worried your dog is unhappy, not getting the exercise they need, and missing out on the fun that other dogs are having. 

In a nutshell, life with your dog hasn’t worked out quite like you’d hoped… and you might be in for another 15 years of this!

Deep down you worry... is it ever going to get any better?

Introducing... Scentventure!

The #1 members club to calm, focus and train your challenging dog so you can take back your freedom and enjoy stress-free walks with a well behaved, happy companion.

With personalised support from an expert team of dog trainers and behaviourists you’ll experience immediate relief (quick wins that take the pressure off you today) and build long lasting results for a lifetime.

Take control, regain your confidence and LOVE walking your dog again.

If the dream is long, relaxing walks, lazy pub afternoons with friends, a dog that will chill calmly in a coffee shop, or be reliable and trustworthy at a family BBQ or on a day out, then welcome home.

A dog that you're proud of and is a pleasure to spend time with is only one decision away.

“She’s started a goddamn movement!”

Dominic Hodgson, Pet Business Inner Circle

Winner of the

Most Innovative Pet Business

This is how we get your results

Personalised Training Plans  – Specialists On Hand  – One-Of-A-Kind Community  – Regular Events – Lots Of Love & ZERO Judgement! 

Home Study Modules: A Library Of Discovery, Growth & Results!

You’ll get immediate access to our carefully curated programs designed to supercharge the speed at which you and your dog will be operating inside the Scentventure Framework. Our teaching is bite sized video lessons, making learning easy and training interesting & effective. 

Be guided by a team of experts, or pick and choose what you study at your pace, following your own interests and curiosity. From reactivity to recall, focus to loose lead walking, separation anxiety or happy vet visits to car travel and so much more, you’ll have solutions right at your fingertips! 

‘’The modules give you so many techniques to deal with whatever life throws at you, and I can rest easy knowing that they are firmly rooted in latest research, as they quote results from up-to-date studies.’’

-Emma & Harry

Masterclasses Experts: Modern Teachings From The Best In The Field.

Join us for twice-monthly engaging, life changing Masterclasses, sharing ideas and wisdom to unlock your dog’s potential and inspire you. With  topics such as resource guarding, the 5 types of enrichment, using herbs to heal trauma and canine massage, retraining a dog has never been more exciting! 

‘’The live Zooms with experts help you understand the ‘why’ as well as the ‘how’, and also bring different perspectives to the Club.’’

Emma & Buster

Scentventure Family Hub: Welcome Home!

The most crucial factor in your success will be the people you share it with, and this community is one-of-a-kind. You will be part of THE most fun, friendly and supportive family you could wish to find! Scentventurers hang out in the community sharing tips, asking questions and getting feedback. Our trainers and behaviourists share everything we do with our own dogs in behind the scenes detail so you get to see the whole picture. You’re not doing this on your own ever again. 

‘’I used to feel very isolated and on my own with the issues with my dogs. But now I really feel part of something. It’s a nice feeling to speak to people who are passionate about their dogs as you are but wanting to work to make their relationship and lives better for them and their dogs.’’

-Anna & the gang

Specialist Trainers & Behaviourist Access

This is not one of those virtual programmes where you’re left to get on with it on your own (and your motivation slips away faster than a Spaniel on a rabbit scent!). 

Your one small monthly fee gives you access to a team of experts – with a universal goal of helping you navigate the Scentventure Treatment Plan, for a fraction of the cost. 

Not all dog trainers and behaviourists are created equal, and specialists in reactive, overly excited or easily distracted dogs need a well-stocked toolbox with additional skill sets in advanced behaviour, wellness and wellbeing.

Scentventure is led by these specialists, practicing the best, kindest, most up-to-date and effective methods. Prioritising your success, ethical training and above all, the welfare of the dogs we love.  

The best in the business are now on YOUR team. Whether you are planning, practising, progressing or celebrating, we’ve got you. When you need a quick answer, we are waiting to help. 

It’s the next level of support rarely seen in the dog industry.

‘’Access to Scentventure Guides every day of the week means any questions or concerns can be answered very quickly and plans put in place to reach your goals.’’

Danielle & Tillie

Scentventure Starter Set: A 'Welcome to the Pack' pack for you and your dog

Look forward to receiving some awesome goodies 

  • 100% natural single protein training treats
  • Scentventure pin #1
  • Your trainer may include additional training notes chosen specifically for you and your dog. 

‘’When we received our first welcome pack, Paddy and I were so excited to see what was inside! (Paddy was particularly excited for the treats).
Receiving the pack also felt comforting. It was comforting realise that I was part of a supportive community to help me with Paddy’s reactivity! I no longer felt alone. I love the pack because it is so informative and gives you all of the information that you need to start your dog’s training journey!’’

Heidi & Paddy

Tail Mail! Your Monthly Training Pack Delivered To Your Door

After your welcome pack, each month we’ll drop you out a special limited edition pack, to keep you challenged, motivated and inspired! Some say it’s the best mail their dog has ever received! Call us old fashioned… but we LOVE receiving post!

‘’Scentventure envelopes are the best post I receive never mind Sol & Otto!’’

Rachael, Sol & Otto

Imagine...

 

How would it feel to step out in spring with a dog you can trust and love walking? All the things you’ll have to look forward to together; long relaxing walks, lazy pub afternoons, coffee shops and lunch dates, reliable and trustworthy at BBQs and parties or on days out, planning trips and holidays for the nicer weather ahead. The time to start planning for that kind of freedom is now.

A dog that you’re proud of and is a pleasure to spend time with is only one decision away.  

You deserve a programme that understands you, a coach that guides you and a community that supports you. We are ready when you are.

Scentventure is an ethos, a movement. A new way of living alongside your dog which feels both amazing and new.

You simply can’t get the kind of transformation we create with training techniques alone. Significant results require a significantly different approach, plus a little bit of magic. 

Here’s what we believe in…

On a practical level

Scentventure takes a unique ‘Calm First’ approach to your dog’s behaviour problems with specialist – but simple – techniques to calm the nervous system. Where other trainers will jump ahead and give you loose lead walking exercises, recall drills or ‘socialisation’ advice that patches up the problem in the short term without getting to the root cause, Scentventure focuses on creating a calm dog who can listen and pay attention to you in any situation. 

The best part about the Calm First approach is that you don’t need to be an expert at all the techniques straightaway! You only need to learn our simple method of creating calm  – and anybody can do that.

Oh – and there’s another ‘best part’! When you take our Calm First approach, all the problems get easier to tackle – not just the main one! This means you can improve say, loose lead walking and reactivity at the same time.

Your Timeline

After 1 week
you will have
Relief
  • Your Personalised Training Plan in place!
  • An amazing team of like-minded dog owners and Pros by your side!
  • Clarity on what you need to work on, and certainty on what to do first!
  • Feelings of relief and empowerment at having done the right thing!
After 1 month
you will have
Focus
  • Simple daily routines in place to regulate your dog’s nervous system so they’re calm and relaxed 
  • The ability to create focus and enjoyment on walks (for both of you!)
  • Firm friendships with owners of other Scentventure dogs (and a support network who genuinely care about you and your dog!) 
  • Peace of mind that you’re finally on the right path, and LOVING it!
After 3 months
you will have
Radical change
  • Radical improvements in the problems you were having on walks.
  • Embodied the Scentventure Lifestyle, and totalled way more good days than bad! 
  • A toolkit of skills and techniques to handle any situation that comes up (even the surprises!) 

Satisfaction that you are really getting somewhere now!

After 6 months
you will have
Confidence
  • The ability and confidence to adventure walk anywhere you want! 
  • Ticked off plenty of milestones on route to your ultimate goal!
  • The experience & wisdom be an incredible support to your Scentventure Family.  
  • Massive gratitude for trusting yourself to take this journey, and reaping the rewards you see every day!

'Day 1' or 'one day'? You decide when your clock starts.

Scentventure members include

Dog owners

Trainers

Behaviourists

Walkers

Pet sitters

Boarders

Groomers

Vets and vet nurses 

Hi, I’m Katie…

I help the families of reactive and easily distracted dogs LOVE walking their dogs again...but that wasn't always my life.

My own rescue dog Lao used to pull, bark, bite and lunge. Not only did I dread taking him for a walk because it was so stressful and I was at the mercy of other people’s judgement, but I constantly felt guilty. I was sad that he missed out on all the fun, adventure and freedom I saw other people enjoying with their dogs.

I was envious. He deserved that too. It was like I was letting him down.

One day, before work, I went to the farmers’ fields and unclipped his lead. He got the scent of something and ran away. I eventually found him by a fence between the farmers’ fields and a dog rehoming centre. The rehoming centre was Dog Trust… where I worked. 

My mind raced with everything that could have gone wrong. He could have attacked a dog, bitten one of my colleagues – I’d lose my job, he could have wandered further out onto the road and got knocked over… and I thought, ‘Maybe I should just take him in there and he can find  a better owner than me because I was clearly failing him.’ 

I listened to the dogs in their kennels howling and crying and realised that wasn’t an option for me… it was my rock bottom moment.

Scentventure was born out of necessity. If I couldn’t give him up, and I couldn’t keep going as things were, I needed to take matters into my own hands. 

I discovered a way to help Lao feel so relaxed on walks that he could walk past other dogs calmly and go off lead on the beach, at the park and in the forest. 

It’s my 14 years of learning and experimentation to refine this process and see what works (and what doesn’t) that I share inside the Scentventure Framework. 

It gave us back our freedom. 

The twice daily dread, the excuses and apologies became a thing of the past and best of all, I no longer felt I was failing him because I knew he was happy and fulfilled. 

 

Living with the frustration and embarrassment of being solely responsible for a reactive dog was excruciating at the time.

But I’m so glad it happened.

If it didn’t, I wouldn’t have gathered this unstoppable team of amazing dog owners, trainers and behaviourists.

Now we have an international community of Scentventure Superstars enjoying stress free walks and adventures all around the world, and that’s why I say that a challenging dog can bring you so much more than you ever dreamed. 

I know what it’s like to feel desperate, having tried everything else. 

I know what it’s like to almost give up hope.

I know how other people in my position can break through too… and it’s not with endless hours of training.

The good news is… I’ve done the hard work for you. You just need to trust that nagging feeling inside you that there is more for you, because there IS. 

Say yes to the future you and your dog deserve, and I’ll walk with you until you get there. 

Thank you Lao, we owe it all to you buddy.

The original Scentventure dog, Lao

2010-12
A dark start

At 2 years old Lao's owners took him to a vet to be euthanised because he didn't hunt well enough. The vet whisked him off to a rescue centre near Milan, which is where we adopted him from. When we first took him home he lived in our fireplace for 2 weeks, too frightened to come out. 

2013
Stress & guilt

When Lao's physical health improved and we began going for walks, it was clear that his behavioural issues would take longer to fix. He used to pull, bark, bite and lunge! Those mountains were the scene of countless disappearing acts. I was constantly stressed, constantly dreading the next walk. At rock bottom I considered rehoming him.

2013-18
Mild results... but not enough

Regular training just wasn't cutting it for Lao. Recall training, loose lead walking training, socialisation - it was getting some results but nowhere near enough. It was just patching up problems rather than getting to the root cause or helping Lao feel calmer and more confident overall.

2017
A new way to walk

I made the courageous decision to completely flip walks with Lao on their head. I had to re-write a lot of old myths to find a new way to walk and live alongside him. We sniffed, we explored, we adventured and we relaxed. I gave it a name: Scentventure. And it gave us back our freedom.

2019
Community

I knew Scentventure could help other people experiencing the same problems as Lao and I, so I developed the Scentventure Framework. Since Lao, Scentventure has shaped the lives of thousands of dogs and their families.

2021-present
Sub Label

When we said goodbye to Lao my heart shattered, but he has left behind a huge legacy. We now have an international community of Scentventurers enjoying fun, freedom and adventure all around the world.

Katie Guastapaglia

  • CEO at Scentventure: A Behaviour & Welfare Led Training Company 
  • Creator of the Scentventure Framework: A Training Methodology uniquely for reactive and easily distracted dogs 
  • Founder at Dogwood Adventure Play: private hire Scentventure Parks
  • Award winning Dog Trainer & Business Owner 
  • Consultant For Hire – helping others open Scentventure Parks 
  • Dogs Trust Officer – 10 years experience delivering training, behaviour, enrichment, health & legal advice for hundreds of dog owners every week
  • Developed the successful campaign to parliament for compulsory microchipping

The Two Big Problems We Face with Dogs as Pets

Scentventure is a lifestyle approach to dog training and behaviour. An approach that makes both dog AND human happy, relaxed and fulfilled.

Our 3 big promises

Is Scentventure just about sniffing?

You probably already know that your dog has an incredible sense of smell.

And you may have heard people say that scentwork is like a miracle for calming down reactive and easily distracted dogs. 

But did you know that ⅓ of your dog’s brain is dedicated to their sniffing superpower? That’s why sniffing is so relaxing – it uses A LOT of brainpower! 

In Scentventure we hack into this naturally rewarding and relaxing sense a lot. It’s not all about scentwork though – scent is just ONE of the tools from our kit of techniques that bring calm confidence and focus to reactive, anxious and overexcitable, easily distracted dogs to make them walk nicely on the lead, come back when called, walk past other dogs without kicking off and ignore distractions. 

In other words, Scentventure is a full and complete solution to your dream of stress free dog walks.

These members prefer the real life environment, stress free approach, convenience, flexibility and motivation they get in Club Dogwood…

It's urgent.

Every time your dog pulls, barks, lunges or ignores your recall cue, the harder it will be to change.

We all know the saying practice makes perfect – we say it to encourage new skills and hobbies. In a nutshell, we get better at things when we repeat them.

Learning is memory and memories are synapses. If we continue sending electricity down the same pathways (by repeating an action over and over again), the pathways are strengthened so the action gets easier to perform each time.

This is good news and bad news.

Just as the more you practice skills, actions and behaviours that you LIKE and want MORE of, such as your dog passing another dog calmly, unfortunately the more your dog practices pulling on the lead or lunging and barking at other dogs, people, traffic, whatever it is, the more ingrained that behaviour becomes.

It’s only going to get worse and more time consuming and costly to fix. And in this crazy new world of energy bills and inflation, can you really afford to leave it any longer?

Money isn’t everything of course. There are more important things at stake.

Your dog’s behaviour can drive a wedge between you and your loved ones.

Things continue to get more tense at home. Nobody gets it. They don’t want to come on walks with you and ‘the dog’ anymore, and if they do, you’re distracted because every last bit of your mental and physical energy goes into preventing your dog’s meltdowns… you’re sending a clear message of how much more important ‘the dog’ is than they are.

The spectre of rehoming looms and the guilt terrifies and paralyses you. The last thing you want is for your dog to be one of the 130,000 to enter a rehoming centre this year, just another statistic. You blame yourself and you worry about your dog constantly. You love your dog but it’s so hard!

You need hope. You know that of course it will take time to retrain your dog, and you made a commitment to them that you wouldn’t give up. But there’s no light at the end of the tunnel — no tunnel at all in fact. You feel lost, scared and stuck.

Stress, overwhelm, worry. The cost to your mental health is the ultimate price you pay.

Your health, your peace of mind, your family… they need you to make a decision now.

No Strings Attached Guarantee

We are building the world’s most incredible community of dog owners, dog trainers and dog behaviourists, so it only makes sense for the people who love it as much as we do to stay.

That’s why there’s no minimum membership period. Stay as long as you like – cancel any time, no hard feelings!

”Club Dogwood is absolutely worth the monthly investment! Not only do I have access to the expertise and support of Katie and the Scentventure Guides, which is invaluable in and of itself, but I also have access to a group of people who absolutely understand the challenges Jax and I face and celebrate the wins with us!”

Christie & Jax

‘’You are all amazing! I’ve been meaning to say that the price you charge versus the content and on tap advice is ridiculous when you compare it to the cost of a 1-2-1 session!’’

Sarah & Willow

‘’It’s really inexpensive, I love that I don’t have to buy the newest fanciest items, it’s all so practical and can be done anywhere.’’

Ronja & the Tzus

Meet Terri.

Try as she might… and she’d tried a lot… Terri couldn’t get a handle on Bella’s reactivity. Bella is very strong. She’d pulled Terri’s mum Judy over onto the floor lunging at another dog. Terri tried everything.

She started Scentventure and within 2 months, Bella was ignoring other dogs on walks.

Huge progress from Bella today. I am absolutely over the moon so wanted to share. I don’t think we’ve ever had a walk with so much exploration and calmness before!!

Today she took me on the grass and was sniffing around – she didn’t even notice the 3 different dogs walk down the path!! We then proceeded on our walk passing several more dogs (closer than is usually comfortable) and all we got was a pause as she looked, and then back on with exploring her surroundings! She’s been with me for almost 2.5 years and I’ve seen more progress in her behaviour/reactivity in the past 2 months than I have ever before so thank you Katie for everything you have don’t to make this happen and for helping to make our walks so enjoyable. We cannot wait for next month’s activities!

Bella is now ignoring off-lead dogs at the beach!

It’s not just Terri who noticed the results quickly. Scentventure is empowering an international community of dog owners to enjoy relaxing stress free walks and more fun, freedom and adventure.

Dog trainers, behaviourists, walkers, pet sitters, boarders, groomers, vets and vet nurses all use Scentventure with their own dogs and their clients' dogs

So that’s what you’ll be able to do, but what’s it actually like to be a member of Scentventure?

It’s probably better if our members tell you…

Your dog has talents you haven't discovered yet. Talents that will make you proud of them.

‘’It’s not just dog training, although the resources and advice for that are amazing. It’s a framework for your life with your dog, an approach that helps dogs and humans to live happily together and it has enriched my life as well as Bo’s.’’

-Lucy & Bo

”Club Dogwood is absolutely worth the monthly investment! Not only do I have access to the expertise and support of Katie and the Scentventure Guides, which is invaluable in and of itself, but I also have access to a group of people who absolutely understand the challenges Jax and I face and celebrate the wins with us!”

-Christie & Jax

There’s nothing to lose (except maybe your stressful walks) and EVERYTHING to gain!

For the small monthly investment of £39, you’ll have the skills, strategy and support to enjoy stress free walks.

Your new team of trainers & behaviourists are ready to serve!

Questions? We've got your covered.

Members believe Scentventure is incredible value for money because they get a passionate team of trainers & behaviourists on hand whenever they need them, without the usual behaviourist price tag. 

Do the maths with me: it will cost you at least £50/week for a good in person 1-1 trainer – not a behaviourist, obviously. Instead of spending £50/week you can spend less than £40… per month. For a team of trainers & behaviourists with a bounty of skill sets. And if you don’t love it, just cancel. Any time.

We don’t expect you to take our word for it. Read what our members say about Scentventure.

We’re an international community of Scentventure Superstars enjoying fun, freedom and adventure all over the world! Members from the UK, Europe, America, Australia and Africa apply the training at home and out on their local everyday walks. 

The beauty is that it’s not limited to location and we love this because it means that our members are all genuinely here because they want to be – not because they have to settle for limited local options. 

Prepare for a transformative experience! 

Sniffing is such a fundamental part of being a dog that every single dog should be enjoying scent games every day regardless of breed, age or temperament – but this is especially true for reactive and high energy dogs. 

Scent is just ONE of the tools we use alongside a whole kit of techniques to bring calm confidence and focus to high energy, easily distracted dogs so that they walk nicely on the lead, come back when called, feel relaxed around other dogs and ignore distractions.

I totally get it, everyone wonders this before they join! I started online Scentventure when my face-to-face classes reached a 7 month waiting list in order to cut down the wait time for clients. I knew I could teach it just as well online… what I didn’t expect was that it would get even BETTER results than face-to-face.

Several reasons – the first, a team of trainers and behaviourists has a powerful infrastructure that you don’t get with face-to-face practitioners. One person just doesn’t have enough knowledge and experience to not just fix the most urgent problems but to provide a whole lifestyle solution. The Scentventure Guides pick each others’ brains and bounce ideas around to find the best solution for each of our unique members.

What I find my clients want most is results and they want the fastest, easiest way to achieve them, which happens best when you can access support 7 days a week. 

Face to face training tends to work for a while, while the trainer’s there and you employ new things but eventually  people fall back into old patterns. Real life problems happen in your dog’s real life environment any day or the week at any time of the day, rarely in class at 6pm every Tuesday or when the trainer comes to your house. In Scentventure we work on your dog’s true behaviour.

If your dog has several problems you need to address, in person training gets very costly. In Scentventure we can work on several issues at the same time using the Calm First approach.

You’re not. There’s no minimum term so you can cancel any time, no hard feelings. Our community is like a family, so it only makes sense for people to stay who love Scentventure as much as we do. There’s literally nothing to lose.

Scentventure is so much more than an online course (though there are plenty of tutorials inside). It’s a fully interactive dog training experience with expert trainers and behaviourists to guide you every step of the way. It’s fun, it’s friendship, it’s community, it’s belonging. You’re not doing this on your own anymore.

In person trainers are amazing – of course I have to say that, because I am one! As you know though, it’s impossible to get results with just 1 face-to-face session per week; your dog trainer is not going to do it all for you, and you still have to do it at home anyway.

What our members find is that Scentventure is very different to what most trainers teach and so it compliments their in-person sessions nicely. Do this at home and out on your everyday walks to supercharge your results with your trainer. Consistency on your own at home is better than sporadically once a week with a trainer. Lots of people say their face-to-face trainers are impressed with the difference they see in their dogs after starting Scentventure!

Honestly, I get it. I used to think Lao was a monster! 

When people first join Scentventure they all think the same: ‘’My dog is really badly behaved – the absolute worst! I’ve never seen a dog behave more badly! They show me up all the time. It must be my fault for making them so bad and I’m actually quite ashamed that I haven’t addressed it before now.’’ 

Or they say – ‘‘Maybe these methods work for Cockapoos – but not Rottweilers!’ and then they come in and see all these lovely Rottis and German Shepherds and dogs of all different breeds thriving. We know it can be hard taking the first step on a new path, but there is so much support waiting for you. 

Short, effective training sessions beat lengthy intensive ones and research suggests that training 2-3 times per week is as effective as training every day. We account for that in our Scentventure Scheduler – our unique planning tool that helps you schedule the training into your busy life to ensure you get it done!

We teach long-term calm, focused behaviour that is foolproof; meaning it becomes automatic and you’ll be doing it automatically without having to think about it. It just becomes second nature.

And because we take the Calm-First approach, you will create a dog who is calmer in ALL areas of life so you will be addressing more than one problem area at once, saving you more precious time.

It doesn’t take up much brain space either. Members say that the simple training becomes a part of everyday life, weaved into the fabric of their everyday routine. It’s always a relief when they realise that long arduous training sessions are not only not required – but not advised!

Hit the blue button below, enter your details and don’t forget to answer the questions about your dog so we can send their goodies in the post!

You’ll have instant access to the video modules, 8 week signature Treatment Plan and community so you can get settled in and make a start before your 1-1 Strategy Session.

“Joining should be a requirement of dog ownership… and I’m only half joking!”

– Emma & Harry

‘I can’t believe how much we get for the cost.’

-Alison & Jo