Why You Should Start Mantrailing With Your Little Dog

This month's blog is about why you really should start Mantrailing with your smaller breed of dog. There is no reason they can't get started!

Mantrailing is a sport that’s perfect for all dogs, no matter their size!

If you take a closer look at the history of many small dog breeds, you’ll see that they were originally compact hunting dogs, specifically bred to use their noses to track down prey. Being closer to the ground actually gives them an advantage when it comes to trailing—they’re right in the sweet spot for picking up scents.

Don’t let their size fool you—little dogs are fantastic at mantrailing! To give you a better idea, we asked some of our instructors and students to share their experiences with their dogs’ trailing skills. Here's what they had to say:

Dawn and Zebadiah:

Dawn Chapman told us about her amazing Dachshund Zebadiah who is deaf and partially sighted and is a natural Mantrailer. He took the sport straight away and really follows the trail accurately, he’s working towards his Level 1 assessment with Davina Roberts at Trailblazers Activity Dogs.

He is so excited for Mantrailing as soon as he smells or see’s Davina he starts to squeal with delight and can’t wait to get out to trail. He had previously done scent work, and it was a natural transition over to Mantrailing for him. His trailing start was adapted with a visual cue, instead of verbal to make sure he got into the game with loads of wins, and now even in more challenging trails he never looses the trail and works as hard as he can find his Trail Layer on every trail.

Rebecca and Myrtle:

Myrtle is a 12-month-old Chihuahua x Yorkshire Terrier who is owned by Rebecca Grant, and has been trailing for 7 months with Smart K9s. They put on a puppy specific introduction which she attended at 5 months old. She is also trained in Scentwork and will be starting to compete in that soon and she does obedience under the Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme and successfully passed her bronze test at Crufts this year.

Rebecca had this to say about trailing Myrtle “It’s much more comfortable to trail a smaller dog than a bigger dog and she’s a welcome rest after I’ve trailed dogs over 30kg. Myrtle is probably the most enthusiastic of all my dogs who trail, and she will squeal when her misper goes, which is something she only does when trailing! She loves to clamber on her misper when she finds them and she likes carrying their scent article for a few paces at the start of every trail. Being only 3kg it’s been a little difficult finding a good harness which is different to her daily walking harness so Myrtle also has a collar which is her trigger to let her know she’s trailing. She’s more than happy to do the same trails as larger dogs although she sometimes wants to take shortcuts through tiny spaces in the undergrowth!”

Pat, Puff and Munch:

Pat Eady told us about Puff and Munch the Toy Poodles. “I used to do grade 7 agility with my toy poodle Puff, and we were quite competitive. When she hurt her back and took some time to get right, I had to reconsider our agility. The amount of pressure that I was putting on her little body as she is so small, we needed to work harder, faster, tighter and it wasn't fair. I had got another little toy poodle, Munch, to start to train up for agility, but when she turned out to be even smaller than Puff, it just confirmed for me that we needed to find something else for them to do”

Pat joined Natalie Broughton at K9 Seek for an introduction, she’s been hooked on Mantrailing since June 2021! “I was astonished at how quickly the girls picked up this new game and seemed to absolutely love it! Their confidence levels have increased enormously thanks to mantrailing. In agility, the dog has to win up the grades in order to increase the challenge, whereas with trailing, the instructor knows what you and your dog are capable of achieving, and set appropriate trails to ensure that the dog is successful, while also increasing the challenge for both dog and handler. It’s got to be fun for the dog, and my two absolutely love it!! The moment the long line and the treat pots are loaded, the excitement levels increase!! The boot is on the other foot now as they know exactly what they're doing, and I need to do the learning!!

Pat went on to say, “People seem to expect that only the bigger dogs can trail and are amazed that little dogs are just as good, their little noses are just as acute as the bigger dogs, they just have to put in loads more steps!”. A statement we can agree with.

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Dawn and Storm:

One of our Mantrailing Global Instructors Dawn Seago of K9 Lifestyle Dog Training has achieved great success with her Dachshunds not only in Mantrailing, but also in the show ring. Proving that a dog can have several roles in life. Show dog, family pet, trailing dog.

Dawn trails with her Dachshund Storm who has passed his level on and is now working towards her level 2, and is an advocate for getting the breed into Mantrailing.

“Little dogs don’t care about where you are, they just follow the scent. They are bold and brave, following scents into bushes and under hedges without a care for their owners on the end. Mantrailing helps them build their confidence, be bolder and have fun. They aren’t just little ornaments they are little dogs with big personalities, and they don’t need to be picked up they need to be able to work. They need a job to do and Mantrailing is a brilliant way to give them an outlet for their behaviour which can help reduce behavioural issues within the smaller breeds, such as excessive barking, fearful behaviour, and some aggressive tendencies.”

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Any dog, no matter its size, breed, or stature, can absolutely get into mantrailing. Don’t let the way a dog looks fool you—every dog has an incredible sense of smell. All dogs are born with the ability to sniff, and mantrailing is just a fun way to tap into that natural talent. A dog’s nose has about 300 million olfactory receptors, while humans only have around 5-10 million. So, saying a small dog can’t trail is just crazy!

Of course, with smaller dogs, we might need to make a few adjustments. For example, they might start with shorter trails, and we need to think about the terrain. Some dogs might struggle with longer grass, brambles, or rougher ground. Plus, smaller dogs often have to get creative when following a scent—they might go under a bush or squeeze through a hedge to stay on the trail. That can mean you’ll have to work a bit harder to follow them or guide them around obstacles, but the good news is, once they get comfortable, they usually recover quickly and can keep on track.

Finding the right harness for smaller dogs can be a bit tricky, too. Many brands don’t make tiny harnesses that are suited for pulling, which is an important part of trailing. You want to make sure the harness doesn’t restrict their airways when they’re following the scent, so it’s worth trying a few different options before committing to one. Many of our instructors even have a selection of harnesses to test out before settling on the right fit. It’s all about finding what works best for your dog!

Want to find the perfect harness for your dog? Then check out our blog on it at - https://www.mantrailinguk.com/post/the-mantrailing-harness