Meet the Owner and Instructor - Anita Ambani, CNWI

Anita discovered the sport of Nose Work with her Novice A dog Zuri (the “Z” in The Scholarly ScentZ) in 2017. While Anita and Zuri have competed and trained in a variety of sports, Nose Work became THE sport that Zuri loves!

In 2021, after a several years of studying and learning about the science behind Nose Work and informally training friends in the sport, Anita signed up for the National Association of Canine Scent Work’s (NACSW) Certified Nose Work Instructor (CNWI) Program. Anita finished the program earning her certification in under a year and becoming central Ohio’s first CNWI.

Through her instructor journey (and with a few nudges from friends in the sport), Anita decided to take her enjoyment of observing teams work in training over to trialing and pursued becoming a licensed official in the sport. Anita is currently a Trial (Levels 1, 2, and 3) and Odor Recognition Test (ORT) Certifying Official (CO), ORT Judge, and Score Room Lead (SRL) with NACSW; Scent Work judge for all levels with the American Kennel Club (AKC); and Scent judge for Canine-Work and Games (C-WAGS).

When Anita isn’t instructing, officiating, competing, hosting events/trials, or just hanging out with her dogs, Anita does currently hold a full time role in corporate America, however her passion is all things Nose Work above all else!

Meet My Teammates!

  • Zuri (Bolognese - DOB 10/25/15)

    The girl who started it all! Zuri’s my first dog (and my first dog sports dog) who I brought home as an 8 week old puppy and has paved the pathway for our journey together!

    Zuri has taught me how to be successful with a dog who was extremely fear reactive towards people and dogs, who is now back to becoming people social and mostly dog neutral, but learning how to support a reactive dog in trial environments.

    Zuri has made me appreciate the nuances working with a small toy dog in dog sports, as she stands only 10” at the shoulder and weighs about 9 pounds! After years of being told we can’t, we have proven we CAN indeed be successful at the upper level in sports and showcasing what little dogs are capable of!

    I continue to support Zuri in her journey as we transition into her senior years and the physical challenges she faces battling years with Arthritis, IVDD, and the beginning stages of CCD.

    Zuri has now entered retirement from most competition organizations. We will continue to complete in AKC Scent Work to close out and earn the “super elite” designation (earning elite titles at all levels of all elements including HD) and depending on local options we may dabble in Scent Detection Sport trialing in C-WAGS and CPE. She is retired from NACSW/UKC Scent Detection Sport trialing as well as AKC/WCRL Rally, Barn Hunt, FCATs, and CABTs. We have trained in Obedience but did not pursue trialing.

    Nose Work/Scent Work Highest Titles Earned To Date

    NACSW: NW3 Elite, NW3×3, NW3-C, NW3-E, NW3-V, NW3-I, NSAMx4, L2C, L1E, L2I, L1V

    AKC: SWM, SCME, SBME, SWAE, SWNE, SHDM, SHDEE

    CPE: CPECSS-L2

    C-WAGS: CW-SD, CW-ScR3

    UKC: NC, NI

    Overall Highest Titles Earned To Date:

    TDGCH TDCH-M RI FDC CAA FCAT5 ACT2 ACT2J SWAE SWM SCME SBME SHDEE SHDM RATN CGCA CGCU TKE ATT VHMA FITG RAT NW3-Elite NW3x3 NW3-C NW3-V NW3-E NW3-I L2C L1E L2I L1V NSAMx4 NC NI CW-SD CW-SCr3 RLI - AOE RL1 - AOE CPECSS-L2 VD25 BTC24 2K9-21 T3-22

  • Figment (Miniature Poodle - DOB 03/22/23)

    Figment’s my second dog who I brought home as an 11 week old puppy.

    Figment is now actively trialing in many sports we train in while continuing to teach me how to be successful with a young dog who is people/environment sensitive, impulsive with a short attention span, and emotional. As a handler, I am learning through my partnership with him to savor the moment, enjoy the journey, be supportive, and not rush the road to trialing so that we can be successful for many years of dog sport trials that await.

    Figment and I train and compete in Scent Detection Sports (NACSW and AKC primarily but he’s tried C-WAGS), Agility (AKC and CPE), CABTs, and FCATs. He has competed in Barn Hunt, but due to time limitations I am putting training and trialing on hold to focus on his Scent Sport and Agility journey. We continue to train in Obedience and Rally, but I do not have any trial goals with him at this time in those sports. We are also working on trick dog titles as my time permits!

    Nose Work/Scent Work Highest Titles Earned To Date

    NACSW: NW2, NSAM

    AKC: SWA, SWNE, SHDNE, VSWE

    Overall Highest Titles Earned To Date:

    NA NAJ NF CAX DCAT ACT2 ACT2J SWNE SHDNE SWA STR TKA VHMA VHMP VSWE FITG NW2 NSAM RATI CL-2 ETD VD25