Your+Dog++May+2019

30 Your Dog May 2019

For more information

on Mantrailing, and

to i nd a qualii ed

trainer or events in

your area, visit http://www.

mantrailinguk.com or

http://www.mantrailing

scentdogs.co.uk

Dogs use their highly

sophisticated sense of smell.

ABOUT MANTRAILING

Mantrailing in this country is a fun,

recreational activity and there are

a couple of organisations, such as

Mantrailing UK and Mantrailing Scent

Dogs, which run training programmes

and events around the country.

Lisa Gorenl o started Mantrailing

UK two years ago, having come to

the UK from Germany, where she

was a qualii ed instructor with

Mantrailing International.

“Initially, I just gathered a few people

together and had a trail layer to follow

and everyone enjoyed it, so more and

more people got involved,” said Lisa.

“I incorporated mantrailing into my

dog training business, but now I just

focus on Mantrailing UK.

“It is proving to be very popular

because any dog can do it. We have

blind dogs doing it, and even

a three-legged dog, as well as retired

sports dogs, and reactive dogs.

“All dogs are worked individually on

a long line and harness, and it’s great for

the owners of reactive dogs who don’t

normally relax at all when they are out

and about. This activity allows them and

their dogs to have fun together.

“It is great to see how quickly a dog

succeeds, and how much they enjoy

working, which is a great motivation.

“At Mantrailing UK, we currently have

17 accredited instructors around the

country, and six of them are based in

South Wales, where we started.

“People of all i tness levels and ages

can do mantrailing, because you literally

go as fast or as slowly as you want to go.

It is purely a recreational activity in this

country, so the dogs are not operational

in the sense of looking for real lost

people, or criminals on the run, but we

do set up real-life scenarios, in dif erent

environments, so it’s great fun.

“Costs vary slightly depending on

instructors, but generally it costs about

£65 for an introductory course, which is

for two-and-a-half to three hours.

“We also run weekly training sessions,

which are between £15 and £20 for

two-and-a-half hours, and our

two-and-a-half day workshops cost

£165 and are based all over the UK.”

increased the bond between us. The dogs

i nd it quite tiring, because they are using

their noses and their brains so much, so

when we get home they crash out!”

Q Do you practise at home?

A “No. It is dii cult to do on your own

because you need a trail layer and if you use

the same person all the time the dogs only

Mantrailing is

a low-impact sport,

meaning there is less

pressure and stress on

your dog’s joints than in

some other sports.

DID YOU KNOW?

“I saw her growing

in coni dence before

my eyes...”

learn to trail that person. However, there

are mantrailing events popping up all over

the country and after you have done the

introductory course, you can train with any

qualii ed mantrailing instructor, so there are

lots of opportunities to have fun.”

Q Are you working towards a goal?

A “After I did the introductory course,

I completed a more in-depth

two-and-a-half-day course, and recently

I did a week long intensive instructor’s

course, which was brilliant. This involved

theory and practical work, and I had to

do a written and practical test and then

wait nervously for the results.

To my delight, I passed,

and so now I am a qualii ed

Mantrailing UK instructor and

from April of this year I began

running my own mantrailing

group called The Dogz Noze,

which I’m very excited about.”

In mantrailing, dogs follow

a scent to discover the trail layer.

Steph working with Iti, whose coni dence has

been boosted by taking part in the sport.

24-26 Mantrailing CS(SW)ok.indd 30 26/03/2019 09:30