Taff Trailers: Mantrailing for pet dogs

Taff Trailers: Mantrailing for pet dogs Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Taff Trailers: Mantrailing for pet dogs, Pet service, Pontypridd.

Today's teams worked on aged trails. Aging trail can create a variety of different challenges for the dog to work throug...
12/01/2025

Today's teams worked on aged trails. Aging trail can create a variety of different challenges for the dog to work through and allow for more contamination from people, dogs and wildlife that the dog has to sift through.

Well done team Tilly, team Enfys, team Mazey, team Scooby, team Woody and team Mylo.

Practice working around distractions at a very busy country park today! We kept things high  on initial motivation for a...
10/01/2025

Practice working around distractions at a very busy country park today!
We kept things high on initial motivation for all dogs, and then worked trails appropriate to their level.

Well done, Team Flori, Team Monty, Team Mabel, Team Rolo, Team Bea, Team Woody!

Keeping our trail layers warm practicing walking finds this evening! Dogs get used to trail layers always being "hidden"...
08/01/2025

Keeping our trail layers warm practicing walking finds this evening!

Dogs get used to trail layers always being "hidden", so showing them different presentations of how their trail layer can look and behave at the end of a trail means that the dog really learns to trust it's nose, and not just work off the behaviour of people.

We spotted some displacement behaviours when dogs got visual on the trail layer, as they decided what to do next - but all dogs figured it out!

Well done, Team Harley, Team Otto, Team Tilly, Team Caoimhe, Team Ivy, Team Hallie.

Another chilly winter evening trailing! We worked on trailing  semi urban/mixed spaces this evening, and it was interest...
07/01/2025

Another chilly winter evening trailing!

We worked on trailing semi urban/mixed spaces this evening, and it was interesting to see the dogs use the obviously flattened by footfall frozen grass closely to follow the scent trail caught in the frost, and then use other productive sources to solve the puzzle.

Well done, Team Zeke, Team Ollie, Team Fido, Team Daisy, Team Gracie, Team Rocksea

A very pastoral morning in a dusting of snow, with Collies, Kelpies, Corgis and Shepherds! The weather conditions were p...
07/01/2025

A very pastoral morning in a dusting of snow, with Collies, Kelpies, Corgis and Shepherds!
The weather conditions were pretty chilly, and historically at this location dogs find it really tough (we aren't sure for certain why - the very active rabbit warren is one possible reason, but the topography or something else unknowable to basic human senses make this one of our harder locations to trail.)
Because of this we decided to utilize hunting trails of varying lengths (from quite short to quite long) to neaten up some starts, indications and junctions, depending on what each dog needed... It also meant our trail layers didn't get too chilly too 😜.

Hunting trails should never be overlooked as a key component in training. These dogs vary from level 3 experienced to level 1, and we still use our foundational tools to continue to maintain the skill level of each dog.

Well done, Team Enfys, Team Deedee, Team Ruby, Team Kestrel, Team Raven, Team Bonnie!

WAHOO!February dates available to boon NOW!https://bookwhen.com/mantrailingukrctAlso still availability for:  🐾May 15th ...
05/01/2025

WAHOO!

February dates available to boon NOW!

https://bookwhen.com/mantrailingukrct

Also still availability for:

🐾May 15th & 16th - Marwell Resort Mantrailing retreat (1 space left)

🐾Jan 12th - Aged Trails (1 space left - ideal for those working towards level 1, 2, 3 etc)

🐾14th Feb -Valentine's Workshop @ taskforce paintball - 1 space left)

Also a variety of "normal" training sessions available through Jan.
https://bookwhen.com/mantrailingukrct

THIS WAY!Don't forget! Our February dates go live tonight Sunday 5th at 7pm. Look forward to seeing you on the trails 🐾
05/01/2025

THIS WAY!

Don't forget! Our February dates go live tonight Sunday 5th at 7pm.

Look forward to seeing you on the trails 🐾

Some fun trailing some really complex junctions at a busy walking spot today! Working multiple junctions one after anoth...
04/01/2025

Some fun trailing some really complex junctions at a busy walking spot today! Working multiple junctions one after another with lots of overlapping scent trails and many other distractions was a real task for these dogs, and junctions sometimes needed to be cast to find the correct path.

Well done, Team Mylo, Team Sula, Team Monty, Team Rumi, Team Tilly!

Mantrailing: THROUGH AN ECOLOGICAL LENS.Most of you who know us at Taff Trailers know that both Chris and I (Rhi) have a...
03/01/2025

Mantrailing: THROUGH AN ECOLOGICAL LENS.

Most of you who know us at Taff Trailers know that both Chris and I (Rhi) have an educational and working background in Ecology. I personally have a background in Ecology and Animal behaviour, and this is part of the reason I love mantrailing so much - observing animals interacting with their environment to follow scent trails in a way that feels natural to them, and placing us, the human end of the lead, as the role of an Ethologist - an observer and interpreter of natural canine behaviour.

We have all encountered those moments trailing, when out dogs have done something unexpected. Taken an unexpected route, found a 'simple' trail difficult, or a 'difficult' trail simple for example. As handlers and instructors, we try to theorise reasons as to why a dog may have done X or Y, and a good handler and instructor will consider weather, distraction, wind, humidity and a variety of other factors that we as humans can sense, perceive and understand as reasons as to why a dog may perform a particular behaviour - and an excellent instructor will offer good theories, but few certainties beyond what we know as fact.
But, I believe, that there are often Ecological/biological reasons as to why a dog behaves in different ways on the trail that almost definitely wouldn't be considered unless we begin to view trailing through an Ecological and Ethological lens, and that oftentimes, we can't even begin to perceive what caused the change in behaviour, and why.

There is an entire world that exists beyond our sensory perception as humans, that dogs are engaging with via their massively superior olfactory system - and as a result, we know absolutely nothing about how any of these unknowable factors may affect our dogs' trailing.

I was struck by this thought particularly strongly today when I came across this "Hair Ice" in one of our regular trailing spots, which is a natural phenomenon that occurs in nature when a very specific set of conditions are met; the right type of broadleaf tree with decaying wood gets infected by a particular fungus, and then in particular humidity the combination of fungus and ice causes this hair like structure to appear. The only reason we know that an interaction occurs between these variables is the fact that it produces a visual effect - something that humans can perceive, which prompted scientists to study it.

This got me thinking: We know, ecologically, that there are so many organisms that we can't perceive and have shockingly little understanding of, interacting with each other every day - so much of which we aren't clear on with regards to science, or that hasn't been interpreted scientifically at all. We know even less about what sort of effect these interactions, that often potentially produce odours or chemicals undetectable to us, have on our dogs, scent and odour molecules, and their ability to trail.

What I'm trying to say, is that it is extremely likely that there are factors that make trails easier, harder or even impossible for a dog to trail, or trail in a particular way - that are controlled by factors entirely beyond our understanding, because we have no way of perceiving them.

This is one of the things I love about Ecology, Ethology and Mantrailing, is that there is SO much we don't know, and can only begin to learn through careful observation, and so much we just have to trust the dog to know best.

Another cold, bright trailing morning! We worked on junctions and trails suitable to the level that the dog is currently...
03/01/2025

Another cold, bright trailing morning!

We worked on junctions and trails suitable to the level that the dog is currently able to achieve, to boost motivation and success.
Well done, Team Erin, Team Bea, Team Charlie, Team Rosie, Team Mabel, Team Caoimhe, Team Ivy, Team Harley!

First trails of 2025! Definitely a chilly one tonight, and as usual at this town centre venue there was so much dropped ...
02/01/2025

First trails of 2025!

Definitely a chilly one tonight, and as usual at this town centre venue there was so much dropped food to contend with!
It's a testament to these dogs' motivation that they will stay on task even with such tempting morsels on offer! Watching and learning your dogs' body language to tell when they are trailing, or taking a sneaky detour to check out some bins... OR using the bins as productive sources is an important skill for urban trailing.

Well done, Team Hallie, Team Fido, Team Gracie, Team Rocksea!

A years' worth of trailers! All breeds, ages, shapes and sizes of dogs have joined us in 2024.. Here is a collage of eve...
31/12/2024

A years' worth of trailers!

All breeds, ages, shapes and sizes of dogs have joined us in 2024..

Here is a collage of every dog that has joined us for more than 3 sessions in 2024 💜.

How many can you count?

A challenging day for wind conditions! It's so interesting that we make an assumption, based on what we think scent does...
31/12/2024

A challenging day for wind conditions!

It's so interesting that we make an assumption, based on what we think scent does and how dogs perceive it, that dogs would struggle in the gusting conditions today.

Interestingly the opposite was true, and they found it a breeze (pun intended!)
The conditions were probably harder for the human part of the team, with visibility affected through hair in eyes etc, and the line being blown around.

Well done, Team Vinnie, Team Rosie, Team Jill, Team Scooby, Team Banner, Team Ruby!

✨ Meet the Mantrailers! ✨Every Monday, we are going to be introducing you to one of our Mantrailing teams! Check out wha...
30/12/2024

✨ Meet the Mantrailers! ✨

Every Monday, we are going to be introducing you to one of our Mantrailing teams!

Check out what they have to say about Mantrailing:

Enfys the Corgi is hot on the trail of FEBRUARY'S mantrailing dates! 🐾🗓️They'll be available to book on  Sunday Jan 5th ...
29/12/2024

Enfys the Corgi is hot on the trail of FEBRUARY'S mantrailing dates! 🐾

🗓️They'll be available to book on Sunday Jan 5th at 7pm! Set a reminder!

↪️Why not get back into trailing in 2025 - everyone is welcome no matter how long a break you've had!

🐕Haven't started your mantrailing journey yet? We still have 1 space left on our introduction workshop on Jan 26th - https://bookwhen.com/mantrailingukrct =ev-skpo-20250126090000

See you on the trails!

A gorgeous morning with perfect conditions for trailing, with so much moisture hanging in the still air it was easily vi...
27/12/2024

A gorgeous morning with perfect conditions for trailing, with so much moisture hanging in the still air it was easily visible to the naked eye.
This meant the dogs had an easy time working, even more complicated junctions on off piste terrain.

Well done, Team Banner, Team Flori, Team Maggie, Team Tilly!

🎄Christmas day trails! 🎄A massive thank you to everyone who joined us in the woods this morning for some festive trailin...
25/12/2024

🎄Christmas day trails! 🎄

A massive thank you to everyone who joined us in the woods this morning for some festive trailing (and plenty of food and drink! 🍪🥂.)

What better way could there be to spend Christmas than with friends - furry and human alike!

We got some fab trailing done too, with all the teams absolutely smashing their trails .

Well done, Team Harley, Team Ivy, Team Zeke, Team Tilly, Team Bodhi, Team Rosie, Team Dora, Team Indie, Team Erin, Team Hugo, Team Caoimhe...

And a merry Christmas to dogs Banner, Maggie, Charlie, Milo, Marv, Abba and Zabrina who joined in with the festivities but didn't trail too!

Merry christmas everyone! 🎄

A fabulous way to start off Christmas eve - with some mountain trailing! We had a fab morning trailing the rugged terrai...
24/12/2024

A fabulous way to start off Christmas eve - with some mountain trailing!

We had a fab morning trailing the rugged terrain, a challenge for dogs and handlers!
The forestry plantation that we used for some trails is very uniform, featureless and easy to get turned around in - so very difficult for the handlers to subconsciously guide their dogs in anticipation of where they *think* the trail should be - so a really rest of trust and skill!

Well done, Team Yusuke, Team Mazey, Team Tilly, Team Titch, Team Scooby, Team Vinnie, Team Rowan .

Address

Pontypridd

Telephone

07974742585

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Taff Trailers: Mantrailing for pet dogs posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Videos

Share

Category