The Creative Canine
Where Noses Lead & Paws Achieve
Offering expert support in:
🐾 Dog sports foundation skills & behaviour training
🐾 Scentwork & Scent Sports
🐾 Group classes & 1-to-1 consultations
🐾 Kids Around Dogs (KAD) certified sessions
Based in Annan, Dumfries & Galloway, covering South West Scotland, North Cumbria, parts of the Scottish Borders, and Northumberland.
Who I am
Hello, I’m Krysia.
I live in Annan, Dumfries & Galloway with my two dogs, Eddie and Blaze. Eddie is passionate about scent-based activities, especially mantrailing, while Blaze thrived in agility. Their enthusiasm sparked my own love for dog sports, which has grown into a real area of focus in my training.
My background includes running my own dog walking and pet sitting business, as well as working at a local animal rescue. These roles gave me valuable, hands on experience with a wide variety of dogs, including those with more complex behavioural needs.
I’m a certified Scent Work Instructor with the World Scent Dog Association (WSDA), a UK Scent Sport qualified & accredited Instructor (UKSS) and an approved professional with Kids Around Dogs (KAD), supporting children in overcoming their fear of dogs.
I also hold qualifications in dog behaviour and I’m currently studying a 3-year behaviour course with the School of Canine Science to further develop my knowledge and skills.
I believe strongly in collaboration and continue to work alongside other skilled, force-free trainers in the area.
Why do I do what I do?
I spent most of my adult life searching for “the thing”, the job that felt right. I’ve done a lot of different roles over the years (including working with kids, which I did enjoy!) but nothing quite clicked.
Then in 2014, along came Eddie, our Lab x Springer x Cocker whirlwind. Now, I’d had dogs before, but I’d never met one quite like Eddie
He loved to run, chase and scent. Recall? What recall?!
His arousal levels were sky-high and settling just wasn’t in his vocabulary.
I tried all sorts; trainers, internet advice, books, but honestly, it left me feeling lost and a bit rubbish. The internet was a confusing place and I didn’t feel comfortable with the methods many trainers were using. So, I started digging into dog training myself… and that’s when it all changed.
Eddie led me down a whole new path I never expected.
In 2018, I launched my own dog walking business which took off wonderfully. I loved it! Around the same time, I discovered dog sports, Eddie thrived at scent-based activities and Blaze, my working cocker, showed a real talent for agility.
In 2021, we relocated from East Sussex to beautiful Cumbria, and after two years working in rescue, I realised I missed working for myself.
So, The Creative Canine was born
It’s been just over two years now, and I specialise in dog sports; Scentwork, agility foundations, tricks and more, with a strong focus on kind, force-free training for all dogs.
And to think, it all started with a very enthusiastic spaniel mix and a complete lack of recall.