Catterick K9 Mantrailing

  • Home
  • Catterick K9 Mantrailing

Catterick K9 Mantrailing Providing mantrailing classes for people and their dogs around Richmondshire and County Durham
(1)

Last Thursday we had our wettest session  at Kiplin Hall. Definitely weather for ducks 😆, and we got the better half of ...
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.

This looks a fantastic event, and for a great cause , taking place at Adrenalin North Yorkshire Ltd.
30/09/2024

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

Millbry Hill are having a Pet day on Saturday.Unfortunately I can't be there,  but look out for my leaflets, and get in ...
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 !

The Mantrailing app is often a  useful tool as to showing why a dog was doing certain behaviours. Last weekend I was tra...
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 !

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 h...
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!

A good post  describing the differences between tracking , trailing and air scenting dogs.  I find it useful to know how...
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.

Last night was a Back to School session at  Point Blank Paintball.  A lovely evening , including split trails from upper...
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 !

I love trailing my own dog - and being a guinea pig 😆. A super interesting afternoon was had ( be it slightly unseasonal...
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!!!!

A lovely evening at  Point Blank Paintball last night. Thanks so much for allowing us to use this wonderful venue. The d...
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

Just finished an amazing weekend , training with 2 amazing trainers, Monica Diaz Trias from Spain , and Chris Boyd from ...
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!

A great few weeks ,  both helping progress the people who trail with me, and progressing my own trailing , with lots of ...
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

All quiet on the trailing front ,as  am having a little “ holiday “.  I’m currently learning and practising the skills o...
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.

What a great week , meeting fellow man trailers, teaching a couple of sessions, but best of all , getting to trail my ow...
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 !

A lovely session today at Kiplin Hall , introducing 2 new teams  to mantrailing , and progressing with others. Both dogs...
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.

A great , if a little damp , day at  Kiplin Hall , who kindly allow us to trail when closed  to the public. One does , h...
02/11/2023

A great , if a little damp , day at Kiplin Hall , who kindly allow us to trail when closed to the public. One does , however, get to see the amount of work that goes on in that day into maintaining such lovely grounds - also providing us with some great decoys !!

We had a few other decoys , some of whom looked as though they could do with a good meal! The dogs took them all in their stride.

Aged trails in the parkland , different surfaces and environments , seeing how the dogs both ground and air scent , different scent articles , changing starts to get the best motivation for the task, and having fun were all part of the session. One young handler had her first taste of trailing an experienced dog , and did awesomely .
Thanks to Wendy Withington for some of the photos.

A great weekend of mantrailing , with a wee bit of a Halloween theme.  A great day at  Sedgefield Racecourse racecourse ...
29/10/2023

A great weekend of mantrailing , with a wee bit of a Halloween theme. A great day at Sedgefield Racecourse racecourse yesterday , and a farm outside Masham today - thanks to Jenny of The Good Goat Stuff for wonderful use of their farm.

Different scent articles ( from witches brooms to eggs and half eaten apples) , different surfaces , and trails to suit all the dogs. Split start , walking trail layers , doors , up stairs into the stands , and across open fields were all part of the fun .

Last thanks to Rupert King ‘s mother Dianah , who provided the most awesome chocolate brownie - much appreciated by all.

Thanks to Caroline Yonfor sharing this wonderful word.  Definitely going to become part of my mantrailing vocabulary 😆
25/10/2023

Thanks to Caroline Yonfor sharing this wonderful word. Definitely going to become part of my mantrailing vocabulary 😆

I’m just going to coddiwomple my way into the weekend 🤗

Thank you to Rick Allen at Kenspeckle Letterpress for this wonderful graphic!

Address


DL107HF

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Catterick K9 Mantrailing posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Catterick K9 Mantrailing:

Videos

Shortcuts

  • Address
  • Alerts
  • Contact The Business
  • Videos
  • Claim ownership or report listing
  • Want your business to be the top-listed Pet Store/pet Service?

Share