Who We Are

Trish is the founder and lead trainer at Noble Nose Dogs. Her approach is thoughtful, practical, and rooted in reward-based training, with a focus on helping dogs and their people understand each other more clearly.

Trish believes good training starts with listening. Dogs are always giving us information — about what they understand, what they find difficult, what motivates them, and what they need to feel successful. By paying attention to those details, Trish tailors training to the individual dog and handler, helping teams build skills, confidence, and a stronger working relationship.

Trish’s training background extends beyond scent detection. She has trained and titled her own dogs in obedience, rally obedience, tracking, tricks, and scent detection, giving her a broad understanding of how dogs learn across different activities and environments. She has also pursued continuing education in puppy development, puppy-specific training, scent detection, and reward-based training.

Through group classes, private coaching, workshops, and online learning, Trish supports dogs and handlers working on scent detection, puppy foundations, manners, life skills, teamwork, and problem-solving. Her goal is not just to teach behaviours, but to help people better understand the dog in front of them.

Scent detection remains one of Trish’s special areas of expertise. She is an SDDA judge and has continued her education through numerous courses, webinars, and seminars, including programs through the Scandinavian Working Dog Institute and the School of Canine Science in the UK.

Trish has achieved success with several of her own dogs. Trish and her Standard Schnauzer, Ollie, were the first team in Atlantic Canada to earn a Master Champion Scent Detection title with the SDDA. Her Airedale, Cella, followed as only the second Airedale in Canada to achieve the same title. Her Parson Russell Terrier, Georgie, has also made breed history, becoming the first Parson Russell Terrier in Canada to earn CKC Excellent Scent Detection and Scent Detection Interior titles, and only the second in Canada to earn both the SDDA Elite title and MACH.

Trish’s students have gone on to achieve success in both SDDA and CKC scent detection, but her proudest moments are often quieter ones: a dog gaining confidence, a handler seeing their dog more clearly, or a team discovering that training can be both effective and enjoyable.

Tanya began her journey in sport dog training in the spring of 2015 with her first dog, a German Shepherd mix, who earned a CKC Tracking Dog title at 13 years old, making her the first Mixed Breed dog in the Maritimes to do so.

Her passion for dog training continued to grow, leading her to scent detection with her Parson Russell Terrier in the fall of 2015. This partnership resulted in a historic achievement as they became the first in Canada to earn an SDDA Excellent Scent Detection title for their breed.

Over the years, Tanya has trained six dogs in scent detection (including four German Shepherds, a Border Collie, and a Parson Russell Terrier) and four dogs in tracking. Her dogs have collectively earned a total of 4 TD titles, 2 TDX titles, and are currently training for another TDX.

In SDDA, Tanya’s dogs have amassed an impressive collection of titles: 6 Started, 23 Advanced, 13 Excellent, 5 Elite, and 3 Games titles, along with several prestigious championships, including 3 Championships, 2 Master Championships, and 1 Elite Championship. Notably, one of her dogs is only the second in the Maritimes to achieve both the Elite and Grand Master Championships.