Catterick K9 Mantrailing

30/09/2024

Last Thursday we had our wettest session at Kiplin Hall. Definitely weather for ducks 😆, and we got the better half of the day .2 collies , a Tibetan terrier and a GSP braved the day. It didn’t put the dogs off at all , with some good skills shown.

30/09/2024

This looks a fantastic event, and for a great cause , taking place at Adrenalin North Yorkshire Ltd.

24/09/2024

Millbry Hill are having a Pet day on Saturday.

Unfortunately I can't be there, but look out for my leaflets, and get in touch if you'd like to find out more about Mantrailing !

24/09/2024

The Mantrailing app is often a useful tool as to showing why a dog was doing certain behaviours. Last weekend I was trailing with Gerry of Jay K9 Mantrailers.
The app does not show the discombobulation ( my word for the weekend ) going on in my head during this trail as Jack was leaping up at the large water fountain ( encircled in blue ) . The app shows me why !

29/08/2024

The end of summer is coming , and I have just invested in a new head torch - I use it daily in the in winter with my horses, and my last one was getting very tired with the rechargeable batteries not lasting long.

This year I feel I have really expanded my tool box in terms of mantrailing. Understanding why different organisations/groups etc do things a certain way is important to me.

As a sports mantrailing instructor, we have such a variety of dogs and people . From puppies to senior citizens, with all breeds in between. The more tools I have helps me set that dog up for success. Motivation is key, but how to create and keep that so they can have optimum thinking is most important.

A picture of the last trail at our local paintball site. Evenings are definitely drawing in!

27/08/2024

A good post describing the differences between tracking , trailing and air scenting dogs.
I find it useful to know how my dogs trail , and which modality they are using. My whippet will generally use any air scent over ground scent , whilst my collie will utilise ground scent much more. Knowing this , one can utilise the environment and direction of wind to “ work “ on practising all the component parts that make a good trailing dog.

Talking with various people and reading post on different groups I found a fair amount of confusion out there. There are some that use tracking and trailing interchangeably. They are not the same. A good tracking dog can trail and still be successful. A trailing dog will track with the correct conditions. An air scenting dog may track and trail when the conditions are conducive to do so. For clarification purposes, here are some brief definitions of the three as I see it. Remember that dogs use all three of these to complete a task. It is up to the handler to determine what modalities are appropriate to use in a given situation. At a tracking trial you do not want your dog to Air Scent, but a with Tracking Search Dog, the handler may find it more expedient or necessary to allow Trailing or Airscenting.
Air Scenting is a method that the dogs use to detect the presence of an odor/scent, usually with their head up, collecting or searching for odor/scent that is present. Understanding air currents and patterns is beneficial to working this type of dog. Air Scenting dogs search by quartering fields and woodlands, clear areas to limit a search, perform water searches or human remains. Other Air Scenting endeavors include explosives, arson detection, narcotics, and wildlife detection. Gun dogs after directed send, nose work, barn hunt, and medical detection dogs also fall under Air Scenting.
A Tracking Dog follows ground scent left by a person or animal. The dog follows the footsteps in a channel about the width of the tracklayer’s shoulders. How exacting the dog is relies on the training method used. A tracking dog will work anywhere from nose directly in footsteps, as in some stylized competitions, to nose down working within a narrow path, moving along briskly with purpose. Tracking dogs are used in competition, law enforcement, search and rescue, and wildlife tracking.
A Trailing Dog follows ground and wind blown scent. Depending on air currents this dog may be exactly where someone walked to many feet away, usually down wind of the actual subject’s travel. This dog utilizes tracking, trailing, and air scenting. A reasonable understanding of air currents is necessary to read these dogs and reinforce them being close to the path travelled without an excessive amount of casting. This type of dog is used in law enforcement, search and rescue (sometimes referred to as Man Trailing, or Man Tracking), and wildlife or lost pet detecting.
There are a lot of nuances and occupations that have been left out in these definitions. In the posts on this page I keep pushing knowing where your track is. Whether you track or trail it is essential to be able to read your dog. You should be able to easily tell how close you are to the actual track by body position, head carriage, speed and quality of movement.

22/08/2024

Last night was a Back to School session at Point Blank Paintball. A lovely evening , including split trails from upper pencil bag ( or often within) and break time - options of a fruit shoot bottle , apple , Jammie dodger , or doughnut ( or rather, a small portion of doughnut as the rest was keenly eaten by the trail layer ). everyone made such appropriate choices for their dogs. We ended trailing in the dark - can’t believe it’s heading that way already !

13/08/2024

A very quiet couple of months on this page, I will be better in the future!

The last 2 months have been fun and busy, enhancing my own skills, seeing and learning from different people , trailing my own dogs, as well as running sessions. This included a trip to Hungary to spectate at an international mantrailing seminar. It was fabulous to meet a great group of people from all over Europe, all with a passion for trailing, and training for police, search and rescue , and sport.

Different organisations approach trailing in slightly different ways- for example, how they approach and offer the scent article, and do the scent inventory, their approach to intensity trails etc. I love to understand the "why" behind these approaches, and then see if they will fit in my tool kit/may be useful in the future for certain dogs.

Teaching pet dogs to trail means we have such a wide variety of dogs, much more so( I believe) than those who are training specifically for search and rescue. And some tweaks to one's approach as a Mantrailing Global certified instructor, may suit certain dogs in certain situations.

I feel very grateful to be learning all about trailing with 2 very different dogs, my collie and my whippet. Torrin has taught me all about building motivation and resilience - and that this cannot be taken for granted. He has taught me to be my dog's advocate , taking small steps instead of a giant leap, and not comparing myself on my journey to anyone else. He has done some awesome trails recently, being so transparent in his behaviour when odour is not present, yet resilient in his problem solving.

Jack has been my dog with whom I can explore different avenues and approaches, doing some fabulous trails along the way. He has challenged me in different ways - as a dog who likes to please and loves to trail, he finds it easier to choose another odour ( particularly if I don't respond to subtle negatives!) - we are still learning !

Thanks to K9 RoxStars and Jane Dalton , to Gerry Moss and , to Anna Pleban of Follow Dogs, to Fiona Leel of Canines to Discovery Dogs Wales - Scent Work & Mantrailing for a great seminar with Mònica Díaz Trias and Chris Boyd ( who I also learnt so much from in Hungary), to Mantrailing Training Center- Képzési Központ for organising a great seminar ( and Hungary is a lovely country to explore), and to Andy Tippins for a days trailing with BMA head instructor Richard Lee. ( apologies if Ive missed someone!)

So I encourage you to learn from different sources - but always be an advocate for your dog ( you are allowed to be at times confused by different approaches so long as your dog is not!). Sometimes the learning will be "interesting, but not for me" - that is just as important - the human learning equivalent of flowing negatives!

One learns so much too, by going to spectate ( and occasionally a dog drops out so one gets a trailing place too !) - if you are not sure, I strongly recommend going without your dog, and seeing if the way of teaching would suit both you and your dog.

The pictures below shows an example of previous learning history. Swimming across to an island ( the trail layer had gone in a canoe). Jack is a strong swimmer, often swimming in the river behind my house. But the river can go in spate, and I am actually very relieved to realise he does not go in and actually swim unless I throw something in! Which is the behaviour he showed on the trail. I would not want to train through that, as it is more important in his daily life he only swims when something is thrown. So, a throw of a squeaky pink pig meant he got to his trail layer! Always remember previous learning history.

And a trail where his line pull across the road was so strong and confident, working all the time.

Enjoy, and have fun everyone.

06/06/2024

I love trailing my own dog - and being a guinea pig 😆.

A super interesting afternoon was had ( be it slightly unseasonal weather ) .another big thanks to Tara for doing some awesome running /walking.

RUNNING 🏃‍♀️ vs WALKING🚶‍♀️??? Settle in for the read.....

A question that has cropped up several times over the last few years, is whether trailing dogs will find it easier to follow the scent of a trail layer who ran 🏃‍♀️ when laying the trail, or one who walked🚶‍♀️.

Answers to this have varied, with most people (including several field experts) saying that it's an interesting question but they've never really tested it, and others (including us!!!) speculating as to how it may impact odour, and therefore impact how the dogs trail.

Our working hypothesis was that a running trail layer will produce 'more' odour in the way of breath, sweat etc., but that the scent molecules of this odour will be more dispersed across a broader area than if they are walking. Experiments have shown that dogs are particularly attracted to breath, so breathing more heavily should mean that there is more odour for them to follow, but the dispersion of this odour may mean that the trail is more tricky to pinpoint.... Other factors such as the number and depth of footprints 👣, and contact odour that is left behind by the trail layer on vegetation/undergrowth, may also mean that the trail of a walking trail layer is likely to be easier to follow more accurately.

Well yesterday, with four trailing teams and a fabulous and very willing trail runner, we set out to test our hypothesis!!!! And the results were fascinating 🚶‍♀️🙂🏃‍♀️.

Our trail layer laid separate trails of approx 500m for each dog, with each trail including at least one section of running and one section of walking. Some trails had more transitions than others, and we also played with the distance of each leg.

The headline findings:
- Two of the dogs who are very strong ground scenters (Flook and Jack) changed to wider flowing negatives during the running legs.
- These two dogs also demonstrated stronger/more intense trailing behaviours during the walking legs.
- Two of the dogs who have more of a mixed trailing style (Roxy and Floss) started to trail faster during the running legs. There was no particular change in their style of trailing, but a clear surge in speed when the switch to running occurred.
- Roxy also showed a few sudden divergences off the trail during the running legs, almost like a small scent pool problem or backtrack had been set by the trail layer.
- Roxy was the only dog to get two goes - on the second trail she showed a similar change of speed at the change to running, but then settled back into more normal trailing behaviours. It was suggested that she might have learned about the changing scent picture from the first trail so had essentially worked out how to problem solve the difference with less of a change in how she worked the trail.

As a secondary finding, we also learned that the trailing app cannot cope with running trail layers!!!!! Spiky/jaggy trailing maps with a lot of added metres did not match what the trail layer actually did - thank goodness for her running watch which was much more accurate!!!!

It is of course difficult to be totally objective, and we definitely intend to go out and do more experimenting to see if we get consistent results in different settings/conditions. We'll also try to control more of the external variables, and have a go at adding in more age to the trail to see what difference that makes.

But for a Stage 1 experiment it was absolutely fascinating!!!! And we were all pretty confident in saying that 🏃‍♀️ vs🚶‍♀️definitely made a difference to 'how' our dogs trailed.

And the headline factor so far??? If you want to focus on the style of trailing behaviours, the speed of the trail layer is probably worth factoring in....

A huge thank you to our fabulous trail layer - Tara you are a legend!!!! And thank you to the guinea pig group of dogs 🐕 and handlers 😁. We can't wait to do more!!!!

05/06/2024

A lovely evening at Point Blank Paintball last night. Thanks so much for allowing us to use this wonderful venue.
The dogs did awesomely , with cross tracks , car pick up , taking scent from car seats , and walking trail layers some of the components we played with. We also discussed and tried different ways of slowing the dogs to take scent at the beginning of the trail.

Feel free to get in touch if you’d like to try this fantastic sport

04/06/2024

Just finished an amazing weekend , training with 2 amazing trainers, Monica Diaz Trias from Spain , and Chris Boyd from Wisconsin , USA. Lots of learning , loads of laughs , and a great group of people.

Looking forward to bringing you a little of what I have learnt.

And that’s a wrap…

We have had the most incredible weekend!
We have worked hard, laughed a lot and learnt a lot.

A huge thank you to Chris and Monica for your wonderful expertise, guidance, honesty and integrity. You are truly wonderful people ❤️

A massive thank you to Sian, you are awesome. This weekend really couldn’t have happened without you!!

And last but certainly not least, to our handlers and your wonderful dogs… What a joy you are! The most supportive, open and fun group!
Thank you so much for making this weekend the most enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Happy trailing and we’ll see you soon!

19/04/2024

A great few weeks , both helping progress the people who trail with me, and progressing my own trailing , with lots of laughs along the way, and a fair amount of chocolate brownie !

It is lovely to see each dog and handler progress in their own unique way. Some gain more confidence in life, from having a job , some sleep very well at the end of the day.

All dogs are trailed individually so it is a sport that dog -reactive dogs can participate in , so long as the more private benues are chosen.

Most recently Jane of K9 RoxStars has been over to teach those handlers who trail with me. Little changes , and changes in emphasis can make a great difference to a trail .

This was followed for me by 2 days trailing with Lisa Gorenflo , Mantrailing Global head instructor. New challenges , and finding the spots where boundaries need to be pushed.

If you’d like to find out more , and are considering whether mantrailing may be right for you , then drop me a message

22/02/2024

All quiet on the trailing front ,as am having a little “ holiday “. I’m currently learning and practising the skills of handling for conservation dogs with Kryus Canine Limited. The art of when to step into their free search and direct them to areas seems simple - but timing and body movement is crucial. Each small search is surrounded by play - it’s been lovely working out how to become a new “ playmate” for the different dogs we’re using.
The course day is surrounded by a good walk on the beach first thing , and then able to do some training with my own dog, all of which is icing surrounding the cake.

04/02/2024

What a great week , meeting fellow man trailers, teaching a couple of sessions, but best of all , getting to trail my own dogs.
On Wednesday I had a trip to Darlington, trailing with Natalie of Tees Valley Dog Training . Thursday I ran a session in Romanby , Northallerton which was a new venue for me. Seriously short line handling needed at times, and new challenges - including onto a railway platform for one very savvy urban poodle ( who had been visiting the train station since. app!). A quick trip in the evening to the moor beyond Hudswell to act as one of the dogs bodies for local area search dogs,
Friday I trailed with Charlotte of York Mantrailing, a combined session with Lynn of Hiddy Tykes Mantrailingover at Flamingoland. Both my dogs got to trail,
Saturday back at Adrenalin North Yorkshire Ltd utilising their paintball area. What a fabulous and fun place to trail - it was a relaxed day with lots of learning, and I took a spare space with my dogs ( rather, it became spare, so I definitely made the decision to take advantage!). Just finishing the session and Jane of K9 RoxStars mantrailing marvels came over from the Lakes- and asked in passing if I was still there ( posts on FB give your location away), So a lovely trail laid for both her Roxy and my Jack.
Today , back to Flamingoland to trail with Lyn. Trails split between dogs, geekery had ( Jane was also railing with Lyn) , and I got to hide and see a couple of dogs who have trailed with me - it was lovely to be able to be the trail layer for those dogs for once !

This evening was to have been a webinar from Jane of K9 RoxStars, but postponed due to technical reasons.

Watching other people instruct and observing the dogs, teaching my own sessions, and trailing my own dogs all helps to increase my knowledge , which hopefully I can pass on to you - and , best of all, just makes me smile !

Happy trailing and I hope you had a good weekend wherever you may be !

06/01/2024

A lovely session today at Kiplin Hall , introducing 2 new teams to mantrailing , and progressing with others. Both dogs loved the game, with their owners also learning to be awesome trail layers. Having a mixed group as we did today really means you learn to be flexible in how you trail lay from the get go , as each dog is so different.
All the dogs worked so well today - we trailed in woods , in the house gardens , and by the lake. Awesome work.