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 an Odor Recognition Test (ORT) judge and Prospective Certifying Official (PCO) for NACSW, Scent Work judge with the American Kennel Club (AKC), and Scent judge for Canine-Work and Games (C-WAGS). Anita is currently in Certifying Official Training (COT) to become a future Certifying Official (CO) with NACSW.

When Anita isn’t instructing, judging, 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 Novice A 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. She also has made me appreciate working with a truly tiny dog in sport, 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 show casing what little dogs are capable of!

    Zuri and I continue to compete in Scent Detection Sports (NACSW, AKC, C-WAGS, CPE, and UKC) while I support her in her journey into her senior years and the physical challenges she faces battling years with Arthritis, IVDD, and the beginning stages of CCD. She still continues to train and complete in Nose Work and we compete in FCATs and CABTs as a veteran. As time permits we may revisit Barn Hunt training and trialing.

    Nose Work/Scent Work Highest Titles Earned To Date

    NACSW: NW3x2, NW3-C, NW3-E, NW3-V, NW3-I, NSAMx3, L2C, L1E, L2I, L1V

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

    CPE: CPECSS-L2

    C-WAGS: CW-SD, CW-ScR2

    UKC: NC, NI

    Overall Highest Titles Earned To Date:

    RI FDC CA FCAT5 ACT2 ACT2J SWM SCME SBME SCAE, SHDM CGCA CGCU TKE ATT VHMA FITG ETD RAT RATI NW3x2 NW3-C NW3-V NW3-E NW3-I L2C L1E L2I L1V NSAMx3 NC NI CW-SD CW-SCr2 RLI - AOE RL1 - AOE CPECSS-L2 RATI RATN 2K9 T3 BTC24

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

    The next generation is here! Figment’s my second dog (my first Novice B dog) who I brought home as an 11 week old puppy.

    Figment is teaching me how to be successful in competition with a sensitive, impulsive/short attention spanned, and emotional young dog. His journey has been one of patience on my part and creativity to curate positive experiences to achieve success and build confidence. He reminds me that although he's a natural in many dog sports, he is still a baby dog that I need to savor the moment, enjoy the journey, and not rush the foundations with for us to be successful for many years of competition that await.

    Figment and I are now competing in Scent Detection Sports (NACSW, AKC, and C-WAGS), FCATs, and CABTs. We are actively training in Nose Work and Competition Agility, but I hope to get back to training in Competition Obedience. As time permits, we may revisit Barn Hunt training and trialing as well as Dock Diving training.

    Nose Work/Scent Work Highest Titles Earned To Date

    NACSW: ORT

    AKC: SWN, SHDN, VSWE

    Overall Highest Titles Earned To Date:

    BCAT CA SWN SHDN TKA VHMA VHMP VSWE FITG ORT RATI (S.T.A.R. Puppy)