Lead & Follow Dog Training

15/08/2024

Over the weekend we also had Teams Rodney, Roscoe, Toby, Cece & Ted for Progression, and what a session it was - sun, wind & rain. (Like the mantrailing version of a 70s band 😆)
A very busy park provided distractions for Rodney & Ted to deal with, the wind provided a challenge for Cece and Roscoe who had their first experience of trailing out the park, and everything was exciting for returning puppy Toby who even found a trail layer swinging on a rubber tyre! All teams did so well with the challenge of the environment & weather. Love these dogs and how well they work 👏🏼⭐️😍

14/08/2024

At the weekend we introduced the lovely Tessa to Mantrailing. A sniffy beagle/cocker spaniel cross, she has fabulous natural ability and it wasn’t long before she was completing unsighted trails and loving her new hobby. It was fascinating to watch her brain and nose take over - one to watch over the coming months 😊⭐️🐾

Are you interested in getting started with mantrailing? Message us direct or comment below and we’ll reach out with more information on how you can have fun with your dog in a lovely enriching way 🐾😊

09/08/2024

Wednesday night we had Osian and Ted at a brand new venue that allows for town centre trailing, as well as residential streets and rural. We, and the dogs loved it!

Osian had his first trail back to the cars and after an initial “are you sure?” glance back at us, he led us straight to the trail layer. His second trail involved passing the car park into the town centre and the wind behaved differently in each area. Add to that all the distractions of the shoppers, and it's amazing how quickly he worked. Fab trailing ⭐️👏🏼🐾

Meanwhile, Ted was unbothered by a temporary change in handler. He trailed through the park past dogs and squirrels, and nothing kept him from keeping his nose down and doing his job. Such a difference to only a few months ago. Cool as a cucumber now ❤️👏🏼🐾

08/08/2024

Tuesday night we had Reggie, Olive & Cece at a new venue in Trafford Park 👌🏼
The dogs had quite a bit of wind on at least one of their trails and it was super interesting see how that seemed to be affecting the scent as there were various building heights and open areas…

They all did amazing as usual. Reggie struggled with the wind on his first trail but showed fantastic resilience to keep searching without looking to dad for help 👏🏼
Olive is a speedy girl and multiple turns with this kind of environment rrrrreally slowed her down 😊 Very nice to see the cogs turning and her brain thinking. Some lovely trailing and confidence, even when the wind took her up a wrong turning. And an opportunity for this team to start casting junctions 👏🏼
Finally Cece was on only her second scent article start and as we’ve been focussing on building her confidence in her own ability and decisions it was beautiful to see her working through the difficulty of the wind unaided, and striving forward without looking back for reassurance 👏🏼
Fab session, great venue and some lovely trailing & progress. Really well done to all teams. 👏🏼💪🏻⭐️🐾

07/08/2024

07/08/2024

At the weekend we had the beautiful Cece and Lizzie for Progression.

Lizzie did her intro back with us in April and was back today for her first Progression, and she was ace! Straight into it, lots of confidence, unsighted, using her nose and loving the game and the reward. So glad she’s back, and can’t wait to see her progress 💪🏻😊🐾

Cece had a go at her first scent article start and what a triumph! No hesitation, on it from the start, it’s beautiful to see her confidence growing. She picks up speed when she knows she’s close and there was some fabulous handling especially at the end! ⭐️😊🐾

A lovely sunny Saturday morning ❤️

04/08/2024

Did you know that nose work/sniffing tires your dog out approximately 4x more than a normal walk?

➡️Swipe through for a great way to exercise your dog’s body and mind during the summer months, so you don’t have to stress about when to walk them safely.

Interested? Message direct for more information on how mantrailing can help you and your dog.

Book your Introduction session here: www.bookwhen.com/leadandfollow

04/08/2024

02/08/2024

Sunday we had Part Deux of our Olympic
Themed Mantrailing Half Dayer, with even more dogs this time with Teams Rodney, Roscoe, Olive, Osian & Snoopy.

Despite having had a sneak peek at what was to come on socials from last Sunday, the handler events proved tricky for most this time, and Rodney’s entourage swiped all the prizes. Thankfully all 5 are fantastic owners and handlers, so it makes up for their lack of flair with kids’ games 🤣

We had quite a few people utter “that’s my dog’s best trail yet” and it was true. Another focus on decoys gave us some interesting results but all dogs worked really well, and junctions were a particular focus and they all worked amazingly well, even when the going got tough.
Celine Dion ended up wowing the world last Friday with her performance, but these 5 teams eclipsed her!! Be proud! ⭐️💪🏻🐾

Themed events are open to existing clients who have completed their Introduction to Mantrailing. If you’d like to join us on the next one, book your Introduction at www.bookwhen.com/leadandfollow or message us direct for more information.

27/07/2024

August dates are now live: www.bookwhen.com/leadandfollow

If you’re new to Mantrailing, book an Introduction ticket for any weekend session or message us direct and we’ll be in touch with more information.

24/07/2024

Forget Celine Dion opening the Olympics on Friday, we opened them in style with the first of our Olympic themed Mantrailing half day events on Sunday morning! With “Olympic” events for both dogs and handlers between the trails, we had lots of fun and drew out the competitive side in everyone!

Team Cece focussed on decision making on the trail and she made some lovely progress in this - clever girl!

Team Buddy had a go at split trail and an aged trail, and he was ace with his first aged trail!

After a break from trailing Team Ozzie showed some of his most methodical and thoughtful trailing to date - really impressive!

Team Ted dealt fabulously well with all the distractions during his aged trail and had a real focus on reading his body language - lots of progress here too. Lovely work!

We had a focus on decoys which was interesting as they all reacted differently but realised they were being fooled pretty quickly. Such clever pooches!

Meanwhile we had some very competitive events and a well deserved prize ceremony at the end. What a fun morning!

We run our themed events often, alongside our progressions sessions. If you’d like to get started on your mantrailing journey and start having fun with your dog, book onto an Introduction workshop today:
www.bookwhen.com/leadandfollow or message us and we’ll reach out with more info 😊

21/07/2024

This week we’ve had Teams Bobbie, Osian & Ted for some summer evening trailing.

Bobbie had some of her best trailing yet - clear body language, worked well through the breeze in the open areas and was really methodical. Osian worked up to his first scent article start and did so so well. Much slower than usual, which allowed us to see a clearer change when he picked up proximity, and a lovely mixture of ground and air scenting given how dry and hot the ground had been this week. Gold star both teams ⭐️
Meanwhile Ted had his second attempt at finding a lying down trail layer and this went sooo much better, and he was much more confident. He also worked really well past multiple distractions, included lots of off lead dogs, and was rewarded with watching some tennis at the end 🤣

Fab work everyone - very proud!! 💪🏻⭐️😊

15/07/2024

This week joining newbies Toby & Opal we also had Team Rodney & Team Roscoe along for progression. Roscoe is working on foundations, still getting used to using his nose instead of his eyes, and we had some lovely moments where he demonstrated how much he’s using his nose, especially as we introduce junctions, and he’s working fantastically well past distractions.

Meanwhile Rodney’s 3 main triggers - offlead dogs, children, wheels (scooters) - were present in abundance. He trails wonderfully past the first two now and this time he had a street sweeper as well as scooters to contend with - all the wheels! When he found himself on an older trail he did amazingly well to turn himself round and pick the right route, even waiting until it was clear of the sweeper before carrying on, and he recovered so well when scooters appeared out of nowhere just as he found his trail layer.

Well done boys - amazing progress and lots to be proud of ⭐️💪🏻🐾

Do you have a reactive dog? Message us for more info on how mantrailing can help you reduce the reactions around triggers and start enjoying calmer walks 😊

15/07/2024

This weekend we introduced Team Toby & Team Opal to mantrailing. Two totally different breeds and personalities, and that’s the beauty of mantrailing - it’s suitable for all. We set up their first few trails differently, allowing them to pick it up at their own pace and they had a blast while they learned the ropes.

These two are going to love their mantrailing and I can’t wait to watch them progress ⭐️💪🏻🐾

Would you like to have more fun with your dog while watching them thrive?! Message us for more info on how to get started on your own mantrailing journey 😊

14/07/2024

This weekend we introduced Team Toby & Team Opal to mantrailing. Two totally different breeds and personalities, and that’s the beauty of mantrailing - it’s suitable for all. We set up their first few trails differently, allowing them to pick it up at their own pace and they had a blast while they learned the ropes and made progress.

These two are going to love their mantrailing and I can’t wait to watch them progress ⭐️💪🏻🐾

Would you like to have more fun with your dog while watching them thrive?! Message us for more info on how to get started on your own mantrailing journey 😊

12/07/2024

This week we also had teams Reggie, Buddy & Bobby mantrailing alongside Albert on his Introduction.

We started off with some drizzle but that quickly led to a tropical rainstorm during some of the trails. The really heavy rain made the trails really tough but the dogs persevered, worked really well, and reaped the rewards.

Reggie got the worst of the rain but was determined to find his trail layer and did a fab job. Buddy & Bobbie were very methodical, and showed some lovely junction work.

Lots to be proud of, and it was quite literally the worst rain we’ve trailed in - special shout out to the trail layers for standing there in that ridiculous downpour so the dogs could follow the trail. Gold stars all round!! ⭐️💪🏻🐾

11/07/2024

This week Albert joined us for his Introduction to Mantrailing. Anxious and timid, he struggled to start his first trail, and just as he seemed to get going, a tropical rainstorm arrived. Not a great start to his Mantrailing journey!

By his third trail the rain had gone, and he was visibly more confident, trying to follow the trail layer, and coming in close to eat out of her hands.

What a superstar! Lots of progress in one session. It’s amazing to watch the dogs progress, especially those who start with little or zero confidence and start to come out of their shell. This little chap will go from strength to strength and I can’t wait to see it ⭐️💪🏻🐾

Do you have a nervous or anxious dog? Would you like to build your dog’s confidence. Message us for more info on how mantrailing can help 😊

04/07/2024

Tuesday night Teams Bobbie, Ted, Olive & Cece tried out a new trailing venue. Lots of dogs, runners, and an athletics club were perfect distractions for the dogs who coped amazingly well and trailed past 🥰

You can never be 100% sure how dogs will react to a different context and tonight we had dogs finding it odd that family had come to watch, one taking offence to a lying down trail layer, one who trailed the slowest yet even though there were more distractions than ever, and one who created her own junctions whenever there was a gap in the trees to rule out. Clearly we’re not being inventive enough with our junctions for some dogs 🤣

Amazing progress for all 4 teams, and interesting information from all the trails that will create their next session’s plan.

Well done teams - be proud! 👏🏼💪🏻⭐️

30/06/2024

This week we had Team Roscoe, Team Bobbie & Team Buddy for a later than usual session to allow the extreme heat to ease.

We had lovely motivation from Roscoe who even had a running finish he was so eager 😆 A first scent article start for Bobbie who had a perfect start, found the middle bit tough but worked through to solve the puzzle with a strong finish 💪🏻 Then Buddy showed us how good that nose is when his unflappable trail layer had to go off piste while laying the trail so it’s was longer than anticipated, not a problem for Buddy though ⭐️

Because of the late start it went dark while we trailed for the first time in months, but we will always put the dogs first, and it was nice to get a session in after such a hot day 😎

Well done teams - be proud! 👏🏼💪🏻⭐️

27/06/2024

Roscoe the collie recently started on his mantrailing journey and he’s loving it. Nose down, brain engaged, he’s showing beautiful motivation to trail the more he comes, and he is becoming a fabulous little trailer. Go Team Roscoe! 👏🏼⭐️🐾

Would you like to give mantrailing a go? Whatever your dog’s breed/size/age/temperament, send us a message or comment below and we’ll get in touch to chat about how mantrailing can benefit your dog too 😊

26/06/2024

Sunday morning we had a lovely morning trailing at Longford Park.

Rodney brought his A game and completed his first scent article starts, and succeeded even though the environment provided so many distractions for him - scooters, prams, children, off lead dogs, and a cyclist who whizzed closely past us without warning. He’s learning to trail past these things, and to recover really quickly and go back to task in hand 👏🏼

Ted continued to work on his aged trails. He was challenged by a squirrel populated wooded area with wind, making it extra hard to work out where the trail later was, once he knew he was close. As always, he worked hard and figured it out 🌟

We were even able to sneak a third quick fun trail in at the end for both of them in the lovely gardens where Rodney did a bit of parkour mid trail 🤣

Well done teams - fab morning 💪🏻

23/06/2024

July sessions are up for booking on the site 🐾😊

www.bookwhen.com/leadandfollow

If you’re new to mantrailing and want to have a chat about how it could benefit you and your dog, message me direct and I’ll reach out for a chat. If you’re ready to book, select “Introduction” option on your chosen date and we’ll get you started on your mantrailing journey!

17/06/2024

On our recently declared Collie Day (15th June) in honour of our most popular breed at Lead & Follow, we had Teams Rodney, Danty, Nanty & Bobbie for their progression session alongside the Introduction pair Maeby & Teddy.
They'd all had a good few weeks' break but were back to it with a bang. Rodney was using that gorgeous collie nose and completed his longest trail yet. Then after his reward, his nemesis, a bicycle, road right past him and he just watched it pass, to the delighted surprise of his handler 💪🏻⭐️
Dandy had her first contaminated scent article start and aced it, going on to find her trail layer on what was also her longest trail, again to the surprised delight of her handler! 💪🏻⭐️
Not to be outdone, Nanty asked for a similar challenge and delivered, trailing beautifully out of the park and across a field. Handler proud and surprised at how far she's come so quickly. 💪🏻⭐️
Finally 6 year old newbie Bobbie was back for her very first progression. Totally unsighted from the start, the nose went straight down and she completed a much longer trail than in her introduction session and safe to say handler was again delightedly surprised! 💪🏻⭐️
Lots of progress for all teams in this session, amazing to watch. There's no stopping these teams - be super proud! 🥳👏🏼💪🏻⭐️

16/06/2024

Collies are by far the most popular breed at Lead & Follow with 5 collie clients so far, and when 2 more wanted to join an Introduction workshop - Maeby & Teddy - we declared 15th June the Lead & Follow Collie Day and had 6 collies trailing in the fabulous Highfield Country Park.
Maeby is reactive with dogs on lead, and generally lacks confidence. She did great, ignoring dogs while trailing, picking the game up quickly and engaging her nose, and confidently leading her handler in the searches. Little star in the making.
Teddy is reactive to people and noises, and lacks confidence. He doesn’t generally eat outdoors. On his first trail he did surprise his handler by eating some of the reward but he quickly lost interest in that, and just wanted affection from his known trail layer when he found her. So we mixed things up because he’s ball mad, and when he realised the trail led to a game of catch with a new toy, well, then we had his full attention! He even walked calmly past 2 joggers! Mission accomplished - another 2 dogs have joined the mantrailing family, have developed a joy for trailing, and can now use that to help them overcome their anxiety in public areas. Looking forward to seeing these 2 new teams develop both in trailing and in confidence. Be proud! 🐾⭐️

Do you have a nervous or reactive dog? Message us or comment below and we’ll give you more information on how and why mantrailing could help you on your journey to more harmonious walks and a more confident four legged friend ☺️🐾

16/06/2024

Wednesday night’s progression session we had Teams Buddy, Bobbie, Roscoe & Ted.

Buddy returned after a few months off and proved they don’t forget. Straight back to it, and even found his trail layer in an accidental double blind - we just followed him & let him do his thing.
Bobbie showed some lovely problem solving, and confidence, boldly leading through junctions. Roscoe showed some lovely desire for the game, on only his second session. Fantastic sniffing, and worked through a difficult second trail to get to his reward. Finally Ted did his first contaminated scent article start and a lovely long second trail. Fab work teams - great progress ⭐️🐾

14/06/2024

Xena won “goofiest pose” in a photo competition at a dog event earlier this month. I was there hosting a mantrailing session and couldn’t help but enter this photo of her doing her best vampire impression.

What’s the goofiest photo you have of your dog? Comment below with your dog’s goofiest photo!

Let’s see them!

08/06/2024

This morning we had sunshine, wind and rain for Teams Ted, Olive and Ozzie, and lots of offlead dogs to distract the dogs.

Ted did both his longest and oldest trail, while both Olive & Ozzie aced their first scent article start.

It’s lovely to see dogs working through distractions and humans learning to read their dogs. Building strong foundations for more advanced trails down the line 💪🏻 Well done teams! 🐾⭐️

07/06/2024

Tuesday night we had Teams Ted, Bobbie, Reggie & Cece. Although the sun was shining, we had a very blowy first trail for all dogs, and multiple distractions. All dogs aced it though ⭐️
We had Ted’s very first scent article start (looked like it was his 100th), Reggie had a strong scent article start despite a very persistent bird (nemesis) dancing in front of him determined to throw him off course, and 2 really strong, joyous performances from both Bobbie and Cece who were only on their second ever session. There’s just no stopping these dogs 🥰

05/06/2024

I love how many sunny evenings we’ve had for trailing lately. Last night was yet another lovely evening in Manchester. Who knows, we could be trailing in t shirts soon! ☀️😊

A walk in the evening sun is nice, but a trail in the evening sun - now you’re talking!