When Life Gets Busy, Keep It Simple

by Anita Ambani of The Scholarly ScentZ, LLC

One of the questions I get asked most often is, "How do you find time to train all of your dogs, you're so busy?"

The honest answer?

Sometimes I don't feel like it.

Like many of my students, I have a full-time job outside of dog training that doesn't involve training dogs and involves being in the office 5 days a week working a 9-5 (usually longer). I teach four Nose Work classes each week, try to work out 2-3x a week, compete in multiple dog sports, volunteering or officiating trials many weekends involving travel, and still try to carve out time to train my own dogs. Life gets busy, and there are definitely evenings where sitting on the couch sounds much more appealing than setting hides.

The reality is that most of us aren't professional dog trainers with unlimited time. We have careers, families, other hobbies, vacations, appointments, and responsibilities. If we wait until we have the "perfect" amount of time to train, we probably won't train nearly as often as we'd like.

Instead, I try to build training into my life rather than around it.

The first thing I do is build in a rest day. Mondays have naturally become that day since they're usually the day after weekend trials, and let's be honest—trial weekends are exhausting for both dogs and handlers. Everyone deserves a day to recharge.

On the evenings I teach, my dogs come with me. They'll often run the problems I've set before classes begin, work a few searches during class transitions, and then help me pick up hides after everyone has gone home. Sometimes I'll intentionally set a problem before class and let it age for several hours before running my own dogs. It gives me a great training opportunity without adding extra time to my day.

Agility nights with my young dog work much the same way. I'll leave home about 30 minutes early and stop at a local park or school on the way to class. I don't overthink it. I set two or three single-hide searches, run my dog, and head to agility.

If that isn't possible, I'll set a hide somewhere in my house before leaving for work in a room my dogs can't access. When I get home that evening after other training, we run one quick search before settling in for the night.

Weekends aren't much different. If I'm not competing, I'll usually spend a little more time training, but even then I keep it simple. Most sessions consist of three to five single-hide searches. A single hide doesn't mean an easy hide—it can be elevated, inaccessible, buried in converging odor, tucked into an unusual environment, or hidden on my vehicle while I'm already out running errands. I can create plenty of challenge without spending an hour setting up an elaborate training session.

Most of my training sessions last somewhere between five and ten minutes.

That's it.

Rather than focusing on quantity, I focus on quality. Right now, one of my biggest priorities is sourcing, so I build training sessions that reinforce that skill. Occasionally I'll work more complex multi-hide searches, but most of the time I want thoughtful, successful repetitions that fit into a busy day.

Training changes with the seasons, too. During the summer, longer daylight hours make it easy to stop at a park or find new environments to explore. During the winter, I stay closer to home. Sometimes that means tossing a tin into the snow and letting my dogs work through the changing scent picture. They seem to love the unpredictability of it, and it reminds me that effective training doesn't have to be elaborate.

I also encourage my students to be realistic about their goals.

If you're only able to train twice a week, that's okay. If you have three dogs and only enough time to work one each day, that's okay too. The important thing is setting goals that fit your life instead of comparing yourself to someone whose circumstances are completely different.

There may even be seasons where you need to scale back. Maybe work gets hectic, your family needs more of your time, or you've committed to more sports than you can reasonably balance. Recognizing when you've taken on too much isn't failure—it's being honest with yourself so both you and your dogs can continue to enjoy the journey.

At the end of the day, consistency will almost always beat perfection.

You don't need an hour-long training session, ten hides, or an elaborate setup every time you work your dog. Sometimes one thoughtfully placed hide is enough.

Because the goal isn't to train perfectly.

The goal is simply to keep training.

One hide a day may not seem like much, but over the course of a year, that's hundreds of opportunities to build confidence, improve your handling, and strengthen your partnership with your dog.

It doesn't have to be complicated.

Sometimes all it takes is one hide.

Looking for more tips on how to fit Nose Work into your busy life? Become a Scent Work U Member and check out Anita's Busy Lives, Motivated Minds: Creative Ways to Fit Practice Into Your Day event.

Anita Ambani is a Certified Nose Work Instructor (CNWI) and Certifying Official with the National Association of Canine Scent Work (NACSW), as well as a licensed scent work judge for AKC, NACSW, and C-WAGS.

Her journey into dog sports began with her first dog, Zuri, exploring Trick Dog, Agility, and Rally Obedience before discovering Nose Work in 2017. Originally introduced as a way to build Zuri's confidence and help her overcome fear reactivity, Nose Work quickly became far more than a training exercise—it became a passion for both dog and handler. Together, they entered the competitive scent work world in 2019, competing across multiple organizations. Along the way, Zuri became the first—and currently highest-titled—Bolognese in the sport. Today, as Zuri enjoys the transition into retirement, the pair continue working toward her remaining AKC Elite titles while also enjoying the opportunity to revisit the lower levels simply for fun.

With her second dog, Figment, Anita found herself on a very different journey. Figment's sensitivity and "big feelings" required a thoughtful training approach, leading Anita to combine Nose Work with confidence-building exercises through Project Poodle. That foundation allowed the team to begin competing in scent work in 2023, and they continue to work their way through the upper levels of NACSW and AKC while pursuing AKC Elite titles.

Inspired by the transformative impact Nose Work had on both of her dogs, Anita is passionate about helping other teams discover the same confidence, partnership, and joy. Through The Scholarly ScentZ, LLC in Ohio, she teaches K9 Nose Work classes for dogs and handlers of all experience levels, hosts seminars, volunteers extensively within the sport, and is dedicated to giving back to the community that has given so much to her.

Scent Work University has been incredibly fortunate to host Anita for a number of online webinars and virtual events. Check out her entire library here.