Big City Life dog training and mantrailing

Big City Life dog training and mantrailing Mantrailing, canicross, classes and 1-2-1

Good weather means beach trails!!! šŸ˜šŸ˜šŸ˜We had a fabulous morning at Irvine with Isla, Bruno, Smudge and Finn. The beach w...
05/04/2025

Good weather means beach trails!!! šŸ˜šŸ˜šŸ˜

We had a fabulous morning at Irvine with Isla, Bruno, Smudge and Finn. The beach was quite busy with loads of dogs and people but the dogs didn’t really care, they knew the reward was more important and they all smashed their trails!

If you would like to teach your dog how to work around distractions and build focus there are some very limited spaces available in April! We trail in Ayrshire, Glasgow and Falkirk. To book follow this link: https://bookwhen.com/bcldogtrainingandmantrailing

Couldn’t have written it better šŸ‘‡šŸ»
31/03/2025

Couldn’t have written it better šŸ‘‡šŸ»

There is a question I get asked constantly:

ā€œBart, should I play fetch with my dog every day? He LOVES it!ā€

And my answer is always the same:
No. Especially not with working breeds like the Malinois, German Shepherd, Dutch Shepherd, or any other high-prey-drive dog, like hunting dogs, Agility dogs, etc.

This answer is often met with surprise, sometimes with resistance. I get it—your dog brings you the ball, eyes bright, body full of energy, practically begging you to throw it. It feels like bonding. It feels like exercise. It feels like the right thing to do.

But from a scientific, behavioral, and neurobiological perspective—it’s not. In fact, it may be one of the most harmful daily habits for your dog’s mental health and nervous system regulation that no one is warning you about.

Let me break it down for you in detail. This will be long, but if you have a working dog, you need to understand this.

Working dogs like the Malinois and German Shepherd were selected over generations for their intensity, persistence, and drive to engage in behaviors tied to the prey sequence: orient, stalk, chase, grab, bite, kill. In their role as police, protection, herding, or military dogs, these genetically encoded motor patterns are partially utilized—but directed toward human-defined tasks.

Fetch is an artificial mimicry of this prey sequence.
• Ball = prey
• Throwing = movement stimulus
• Chase = reinforcement
• Grab and return = closure and Reward - Reinforecment again.

Every time you throw that ball, you’re not just giving your dog ā€œexercise.ā€ You are triggering an evolutionary motor pattern that was designed to result in the death of prey. But here’s the twist:

The "kill bite" never comes.
There’s no closure. No end. No satisfaction, Except when he start chewing on the ball by himself, which lead to even more problems. So the dog is neurologically left in a state of arousal.

When your dog sees that ball, his brain lights up with dopamine. Anticipation, motivation, drive. When you throw it, adrenaline kicks in. It becomes a cocktail of high arousal and primal intensity.

Dopamine is not the reward chemical—it’s the pursuit chemical. It creates the urge to chase, to repeat the behavior. Adrenaline and cortisol, stress hormones, spike during the chase. Even though the dog ā€œgets the ball,ā€ the biological closure never really happens—because the pattern is reset, again and again, with each throw.

Now imagine doing this every single day.
The dog’s brain begins to wire itself for a constant state of high alert, constantly expecting arousal, movement, and stimulation. This is how we create chronic stress.

The autonomic nervous system has two main branches:

• Sympathetic Nervous System – ā€œFight, flight, chaseā€

• Parasympathetic Nervous System – ā€œRest, digest, recoverā€

Fetch, as a prey-driven game, stimulates the sympathetic system. The problem? Most owners never help the dog come down from that state.
There’s no decompression, no parasympathetic activation, no transition into rest.

Chronic sympathetic dominance leads to:
• Panting, pacing, inability to settle
• Destructive behaviors
• Hypervigilance
• Reactivity to movement
• Obsession with balls, toys, other dogs
• Poor sleep cycles
• Digestive issues
• A weakened immune system over time
• Behavioral burnout

In essence, we’re creating a dog who is neurologically trapped in the primal mind—always hunting, never resting.

Expectation Is a Form of Pressure!!!!!!

When fetch becomes a daily ritual, your dog begins to expect it.This is no longer ā€œfun.ā€ It’s a conditioned need. And when that need is not met?

Stress. Frustration. Obsession.

A dog who expects to chase every day but doesn’t get it may begin redirecting that drive elsewhere—chasing shadows, lights, children, other dogs, cars.
This is how pathological behavior patterns form.

Many people use fetch as a shortcut for physical exercise.

But movement is not the same as regulation.
Throwing a ball 100 times does not tire out a working dog—it wires him tighter.

What these dogs need is:
• Cognitive engagement
• Problem solving
• Relationship-based training
• Impulse control and on/off switches
• Scentwork or tracking to satisfy the nose-brain connection
• Regulated physical outlets like structured walks, swimming, tug with rules, or balanced sport work
• Recovery time in a calm environment

But What About Drive Fulfillment? Don’t They Need an Outlet?

Yes, and here’s the nuance:

Drive should be fulfilled strategically, not passively or impulsively. This is where real training philosophy comes in.

Instead of free-for-all ball throwing, I recommend:
• Tug with rules of out, impulse control, and handler engagement

• Controlled prey play with a flirt pole, used sparingly

• Engagement-based drive work with clear start and stop signals

• Training sessions that integrate drive, control, and reward

• Activities like search games, mantrailing, or protection sport with balance

• Working on ā€œdown in driveā€ — the ability to switch from arousal to rest

This builds a thinking dog, not a reactive one. The Bottom Line: Just Because He Loves It Doesn’t Mean It’s Good for Him

Your Malinois, German Shepherd, Dutchie, or other working dog may love the ball. He may bring it to you with joy. But the question is not what he likes—it’s what he needs.

A child may love candy every day, but a good parent knows better. As a trainer, handler, and caretaker, it’s your responsibility to think long term.
You’re not raising a dog for this moment. You’re developing a life companion, a regulated athlete, a resilient thinker.

So no—I don’t recommend playing ball every day.
Because every throw is a reinforcement of the primal mind.

And the primal mind, unchecked, cannot be reasoned with. It cannot self-regulate. It becomes a slave to its own instincts.

Train your dog to engage with you, not just the object. Teach arousal with control, play with purpose, and rest with confidence.

Your dog deserves better than obsession.He deserves balance. He deserves you—not just the ball.


Bart De Gols

A wonderful afternoon spent with 5 new doggos and their handlers, introducing them to the world of scent. Such different...
23/03/2025

A wonderful afternoon spent with 5 new doggos and their handlers, introducing them to the world of scent. Such different breeds and temperaments, but they all smashed their individual trails and it was so nice to watch them coming out of their shell and connecting the dots together, by trail 3 they were like ā€˜I got thisā€™šŸ„°

I may have overdone it with pictures šŸ™ˆ but they really were amazing! Thank you everyone for coming 🄰

If you would like to join us in April there is still some spaces available, you can book yours here: https://bookwhen.com/bcldogtrainingandmantrailing

We trail in Falkirk, Glasgow and Ayrshire 🄳

We were actually warmed up by the afternoon. We introduced mantrailing to 3 new teams that absolutely loved it! Sam, Til...
22/03/2025

We were actually warmed up by the afternoon. We introduced mantrailing to 3 new teams that absolutely loved it! Sam, Tilly and Dexter took it all very quickly and found those silly missing people with ease 🄰
We also had Milo and Woody continue to amaze every time they come and smashing it every single time! Love watching them all, thank you for coming! 🄰

Busy Saturday started this morning with Callie, Finn, Indie, Vallis, Rosie and Haggis. We had a bit of rain but it turne...
22/03/2025

Busy Saturday started this morning with Callie, Finn, Indie, Vallis, Rosie and Haggis. We had a bit of rain but it turned out pretty nice. The dogs worked hard on their individual trails, some building confidence, others precision on the trails and everyone absolutely smashed it!

Great morning 🄰

Nice wee session today with Indi, Biscuit and Dexter. The wind was swirling but that didn’t stop these clever pups. And ...
21/03/2025

Nice wee session today with Indi, Biscuit and Dexter. The wind was swirling but that didn’t stop these clever pups. And bonus I got to play with my two doggos, thank you Teresa and Greame 🄰

April dates are live 🄳Book your space now: https://bookwhen.com/bcldogtrainingandmantrailing?Do you have adolescent dog ...
20/03/2025

April dates are live 🄳

Book your space now: https://bookwhen.com/bcldogtrainingandmantrailing?

Do you have adolescent dog with to much energy?

Or a puppy in need of focus?

A working breed that just wants to hunt everything that’s they’re not supposed to?

Then mantrailing is for you!

Teach your dog a new skill and provide some mental and physical stimulation.

We teach the dogs to use their superpower nose and sniff out ā€˜missing people’ following their unique scent.

The benefits of mantrailing:
🐶 mental enrichment - sniffing is a natural instinct every dog can do, so why not teach them how to channel that into finding ā€œmissing people.ā€ 20 minutes of sniffing is equal to an hour’s walk.
🐶 dog work one at a time and are always kept on a lead, so perfect for any pup that doesn’t have 100% recall
🐶 fantastic for nervous dogs - we work on their confidence building in new environments, strangers, other dogs
🐶 perfect for high-energy or working dogs - mantrailing gives them a job to do and builds up their focus.
🐶 Exercise for both you and your dog, working together and building your bond.
🐶 meet like-minded people that are there to support you and your pup.
🐶no previous experience is needed; all you need is your dog some tasty treats, and you are set to go.

Join us in April, we trail in Ayrshire, Glasgow and Falkirk!


Book your space here: https://bookwhen.com/bcldogtrainingandmantrailing?

c

And finishing off with the afternoon session. We introduced mantrailing to 3 new teams. They all got along great and wor...
01/03/2025

And finishing off with the afternoon session. We introduced mantrailing to 3 new teams. They all got along great and worked nicely through their first trails.
We also had our ā€œoldiesā€ on the session, Star, Daisy and Indi all working hard on their trails and they all had some new people to find 🄳

Great two days, thank you everyone for coming along!

Saturday morning fun with Cooper and Morven progressing their trails and getting more confident on each one 🄳, some amaz...
01/03/2025

Saturday morning fun with Cooper and Morven progressing their trails and getting more confident on each one 🄳, some amazing trails with Mamika engaging her fantastic pointer nose, great to see her working and soo happy after a bad start that she had before she came here.
Finn wasn’t done and pulled another shift this morning, he did not disappoint. Him and Ruby were working on walking mispers and decoys 🤩

Well done everyone, great job šŸ‘šŸ»

3 mantrailing sessions in 24 hours, I must be mad šŸ™ˆWe started off yesterday with 3 awesome teams, Finn started his weeke...
01/03/2025

3 mantrailing sessions in 24 hours, I must be mad šŸ™ˆ

We started off yesterday with 3 awesome teams, Finn started his weekend shift of mantrailing and he was buzzing šŸ˜ we also had cheeky Rudy back after a while and he knocked it out of the park! Isla also joined us for the first time and took it all in pretty quickly.

Started in heavy rain but the weather changed and it turned out to be a lovely afternoon out on the trails!All girl grou...
23/02/2025

Started in heavy rain but the weather changed and it turned out to be a lovely afternoon out on the trails!

All girl group today with Rosie, Callie and Vallis 🄰 Rosie and Callie brought their a game and completed some great trails and we’ve started to build up that focus passing other dogs and continue working šŸ‘Œ

Vallis was trying it out for the first time but the girl has a magnificent nose and instantly connected the dots between the scent article and the reward. She gets a bit nervous at the end as she’s not a fan of strangers so we gave her plenty of space for her to feel comfortable.

Great day, well done everyone ā¤ļø

If you would like to join us in March, there is limited spaces still available, you can book here: https://bookwhen.com/bcldogtrainingandmantrailing

19/02/2025

We tried out an insta 360 camera on one of our recent sessions. The doggos coped well with the ā€œcamera crewā€ following them and we got some nice footage 🄰🄰

Thank you Graeme Lloyd for bringing a new toy along šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚ think everyone loved it!

Such different breeds, so many different styles of trailing, but everyone is set up for success and I think those waggy tails at the end say it all🄰

If you would like to join and teach your dog to sniff out ā€˜missing people’ book your space now! Follow the link here: https://bookwhen.com/bcldogtrainingandmantrailing? and join us in March!

We trail in Glasgow, Ayrshire and Falkirk

March dates are live 🄳Book your space now: https://bookwhen.com/bcldogtrainingandmantrailing?Do you have adolescent dog ...
17/02/2025

March dates are live 🄳

Book your space now: https://bookwhen.com/bcldogtrainingandmantrailing?

Do you have adolescent dog with to much energy?

Or a puppy in need of focus?

A working breed that just wants to hunt everything that’s they’re not supposed to?

Then mantrailing is for you!

Teach your dog a new skill and provide some mental and physical stimulation.

We teach the dogs to use their superpower nose and sniff out ā€˜missing people’ following their unique scent.

The benefits of mantrailing:
🐶 mental enrichment - sniffing is a natural instinct every dog can do, so why not teach them how to channel that into finding ā€œmissing people.ā€ 20 minutes of sniffing is equal to an hour’s walk.
🐶 dog work one at a time and are always kept on a lead, so perfect for any pup that doesn’t have 100% recall
🐶 fantastic for nervous dogs - we work on their confidence building in new environments, strangers, other dogs
🐶 perfect for high-energy or working dogs - mantrailing gives them a job to do and builds up their focus.
🐶 Exercise for both you and your dog, working together and building your bond.
🐶 meet like-minded people that are there to support you and your pup.
🐶no previous experience is needed; all you need is your dog some tasty treats, and you are set to go.

Join us in March, we trail in Ayrshire, Glasgow and Falkirk!

Any size, age and breed welcome!

Book your space here: https://bookwhen.com/bcldogtrainingandmantrailing?

c

Day 3 of mantrailing and we tried out a new location in Falkirk. We introduced 3 new teams to trailing, Boab (aka Scotti...
15/02/2025

Day 3 of mantrailing and we tried out a new location in Falkirk.

We introduced 3 new teams to trailing, Boab (aka Scottish Bob šŸ˜‚) D’art and Ruby all smashed their individual trails 🄰

We also had our goofball Milo back, full of joy and showing off his skills šŸ˜ awesome pupster!!

If you would also like to join us and teach your dogs to find ā€œmissing peopleā€ book your space in March here: https://bookwhen.com/bcldogtrainingandmantrailing

Roses were PinkHearts were Blue,Ready or not,Daisy, Indi, Biscuit, Cooper, Dexter and StarAre coming for you!!Great wee ...
14/02/2025

Roses were Pink
Hearts were Blue,
Ready or not,
Daisy, Indi, Biscuit, Cooper, Dexter and Star
Are coming for you!!

Great wee Valentines day session with the pups working hard as our industrial estate was busier than usual! Special shout out to Cooper and his mum Gillian trying it out for the first time. Cooper fits right in and has already done some great trailing today 🄳🄳

Amd we hopefully had one of the last night trails. We had Col and Elaine joitus for the first time and they done amazing...
14/02/2025

Amd we hopefully had one of the last night trails. We had Col and Elaine joitus for the first time and they done amazing, Col is an amazing 10 month old ESS already loving his new job🄰🄰

Luey was back after a wee break and brought his usual joyful self and smashed it.

Roman struggles with noght time trails sometimes but he was focused, motivated and very brave and it’s nice to see him doing what he loves 🄰

Totally forgot to post these pics on SaturdayšŸ™ˆIt was such a good morning, we challenged the dogs to longer and more comp...
14/02/2025

Totally forgot to post these pics on SaturdayšŸ™ˆ

It was such a good morning, we challenged the dogs to longer and more complicated trails that they haven’t done before and they all smashed it🄰🄰 you could just see their brains working ā¤ļø

Well done Callie, Morven, Coast, Summer and Piper

Afternoon was all about the newbie doggos. We had Pippa, Katie and Dexter all building their confidence. It was so nice ...
01/02/2025

Afternoon was all about the newbie doggos. We had Pippa, Katie and Dexter all building their confidence. It was so nice to see them coming out of their shell from trail 1 to 3🄹

Biscuit was our oldie goldie and was also challenged with a novelty scent article - door handle, took the scent no bother and trailed beautifully all the way šŸ‘šŸ»šŸ‘šŸ»šŸ‘šŸ»

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