http://www.yourdog.co.uk 29Mantrailing is an activity
that will give your dog
the coni dence to take the
lead. It is fun, challenging,
and rewarding for both
of you.DID YOU KNOW?Lisa Gorenl o, from Mantrailing
UK, with her dog, Hazel.Most dogs i nd mantrailing quite
tiring as they are using their noses
and their brains so much.
▼“As soon as
I started to
work with
Freyja I could
tell that she
loved it.”
I ended up working both my dogs. They
loved it!”Q How did you i nd a mantrailing club?
A “The introductory course I did was run
by Mantrailing UK, which was founded by
Lisa Gorenl o, and I now train with her every
week. There is a list of accredited instructors
on the website, so it’s quite easy to i nd
places to train.”Q What do you and your dogs get out
of mantrailing?
A “On that i rst introductory session we
went of into the middle of nowhere, and as
soon as I started to work with Freyja I could
tell that she absolutely loved it. Her whole
face lit up, and she found it really exciting.
I knew she liked using her nose because
we’d played a lot of ‘hide the tennis ball’
games, but mantrailing took things to
a whole new level and she loved it.
“Iti has always had coni dence issues and
struggles to cope with strange situations,
but as the course went on and we
progressed through the dif erent trails, she
started to become really focused. I saw her
growing in coni dence before my eyes and
I was over the moon!”Q What does the training involve?
A “We started by doing what is called anintensity trail, which is only about 100 yards
long. The dog is always on a harness and
long line, and worked individually. You
take a pot of your dog’s favourite food and
a toy with you. The trail layer, who has the
pot of food, goes through a little routine
of winding the dog up with the food to
get him keen to have it, and then they run
away and hide. At i rst, the dog faces the
trail layer and can see where they’ve gone
and when you send your dog and followbehind, it is easy for him to i nd
the person. He is given lots of
food and a game as a reward.
“From this, the trails gradually
progress to becoming a little bit
more challenging; for example
the dog is given an article with
the trail layer’s scent on and
then turned away from the
trail layer so he can’t see the
direction in which they’ve gone.
However, the trail is fresh and
everything is set up for the dog
to succeed so you see good
progress really quickly.
“Finally, the dog starts to learn
to follow older scents and you go over
a variety of terrains, including urban areas
and remote rural areas. It’s always dif erent
and good fun. You also learn how to
become a trail layer for another partnership,
so you are never standing around. You learn
how mantrailing works, from both sides.”Q What has been your biggest challenge?
A “My only concern was Iti’s lack of
coni dence and whether Freyja would like
this new activity. Iti grew in coni dence
really quickly, and Freyja absolutely loved
it from the very i rst time we went, which
was fantastic!
“It is very exciting when the dogs i nd
someone. They get lots of food as a reward,
and because Freyja loves to play tuggy, the
trail layer plays tuggy with her all the way
back to the car, which she loves!”Q What is the most enjoyable thing
about mantrailing?
A “You can explore all kinds of dif erent
areas, and it’s brilliant for dogs and handlers
of all ages, abilities, and i tness. Because
dogs are worked individually, it’s perfect for
reactive dogs, but also good for puppies,
and even disabled dogs. I’ve made lots
of new friends, but probably the best
thing has been the dif erence in my dogs’
attitude, as they now look at me as if to ask:
‘What are we going to do today?’ whereas
before I felt like they were looking at me to
ask: ‘What am I going to do?’ and it didn’t
feel like a partnership. It has dei nitelyImage: Maddie Lainchbury.24-26 Mantrailing CS(SW)ok.indd 29 26/03/2019 09:28