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One of the biggest things handlers learn during Mantrailing is just how much influence they can accidentally have on their dog during a trail. Because while dogs are reading scent, they’re also constantly reading us. Dogs naturally pay attention to things such as line pressure, body language, movement, emotions, tension and positioning, and sometimes without even realising it, handlers start influencing the trail instead of allowing the dog to independently work the scent. How Handlers Accidentally Influence The Trail A lot of handler influence happens subconsciously. Things like: walking ahead of the dog stepping forward before the dog makes a decision rushing to step in and help the dog too early getting the line tangled blocking turns and junctions with your body language stopping movement not giving enough line for your dog to work looking / facing towards where you think the trail goes These things can all unintentionally push or have an impact on the dogs decisions, rather than properly problem-solving the scent picture themselves. Why Independent Problem Solving Matters Successful Mantrailing relies on allowing the dog to gather information, process scent, make decisions and work through challenges independently. Because ultimately, the dog can read the scent, and we can’t. That’s why trust becomes such a huge part of the sport. When handlers over-influence, dogs can start second guessing themselves, becoming reliant on handler input and losing confidence in their own ability. Over time, that can affect the overall difficulty and ability to have a successful trail. What Good Handling Looks Like Good handling is often less obvious than people expect. Usually, it means: staying behind the dog (belly button to butt hole!) maintaining smooth, effective line handling not blocking with our body language allowing space and line for movement observing rather than directing Sometimes the best thing a handler can do is simply stay out of the dog’s way and let them work. Sometimes The Biggest Influence Is The Human One of the biggest mindset shifts in Mantrailing is realising that we’re not there to lead, we’re there to support the dog and read what they are telling us while they solve it. Sometimes the biggest challenge on the trail isn’t the scent conditions, it’s the human attached to the end of the line! Learning to trust your dog and become more aware of your own positioning as a handler can be a complete game changer for your dog, and for your trails. Love learning about Mantrailing? Join our Online Mantrailing Club for in-depth training, video lessons and on-going support. https://www.mantrailingglobal.com/mantrailing-membership

This exercise can help you become a better line handler in Mantrailing because: Our line is a communication tool Keeping everyone safe during trailing No negative impact Step One: Attach the line to and object at the height of your dog. Step Two: Reel your line all the way out. Step Three: Put the lead down on the ground, and then naturally pick it up with both hands in the middle - this will help you decide you natural handling style without overthinking. Step Four: Move back to the end of your line ready to start practicing. Step Five: Start moving forward while looping the lead into consistent size loops, making sure your back hand is always reaching behind the front hand to maintain contact. - This will ensure good communication with your dog, help keep them safe on the trail and avoid any negative impact through your line handling while they work. Love learning about Mantrailing? Join our Online Mantrailing Club for in-depth training, video lessons and on-going support. 👇 https://www.mantrailingglobal.com/mantrailing-membership

Three beginner mentoring mistakes almost everyone makes: 1. Rushing the start - Give your dog time to process the scent before moving. Quick fix: Slow down at the scent article to ensure they target sniff accurately & allow time for the dog to make a decision on a direct of travel before following them. 2. Talking too much - Constant cues can distract your dog from using their nose. Quick Fix: Stay quiet to allow the dog to focus better without distraction. 3. Not trusting the dog. - Handlers often assume the dog is wrong when they’re actually working through difficult scent conditions. Quick Fix: Observe your more in different contexts and situations. It's the dogs job to read the scent, and your job to read the dog. Love learning about Mantrailing? Join our Online Mantrailing Club for in-depth training, video lessons and on-going support. 👇 https://www.mantrailingglobal.com/mantrailing-membership

In this video, you can see the Starting Ritual from a scent article start in Mantrailing. What is the starting ritual? It really is a routine that we use to tell the dog that they are about to start Mantrailing. It sets the starting point and the area that the dog will begin working in during a Mantrailing session. It’s also an opportunity for the dog to gather a scent inventory with all the scents that are in the starting area. So once the dog is set on the scent article, they can really get a quick direction of travel. The Scent Inventory is performed for every trail. So no matter the start, whether it’s an intensity start, delayed start, or scent article start, we perform the same ritual in Mantrailing training. Love learning about Mantrailing? Join our Online Mantrailing Club for in-depth training, video lessons and on-going support. 👇https://www.mantrailingglobal.com/mantrailing-membership

A lot of people assume that when a dog is Mantrailing, they’re simply following footprints left on the ground. But that’s not actually what’s happening. Your dog is following human scent. This is made up of a combination of skin rafts, bacteria, and individual odour that we as humans constantly leave behind. This scent doesn’t sit neatly on the ground either. It gets carried by the wind, sticks to surfaces, and changes depending on the environment. That’s why a trail in a forest feels very different from one in the city. It’s also why your dog might not always walk in a straight line. They’re following scent, not footsteps. So next time your dog zigzags or checks an area during a trail, try not to rush them. That’s not confusion. That’s problem solving. Mantrailing isn’t about control. It’s about trust. Love learning about Mantrailing? Join our Online Mantrailing Club for in-depth training, video lessons and on-going support 👇 https://www.mantrailingglobal.com/mantrailing-membership

Here’s a video on what your dog’s body language actually means during Mantrailing. When dogs are comfortably Mantrailing, you’ll usually see steady movement, like here in the video, as well as focused sniffing. We also have quick decision making, like you see in the video on the stairs where the dog quickly decides, 'No, that’s not it.' We also see a purposeful pull forward when the dog is confidently on the scent trail. When they lose the scent on a trail, the head comes up, we have slower movement, and it could also be that the dog is circling or hesitating. We may also see wider search behaviour. So if the dog has lost the scent, they’re showing and displaying searching behaviour during the trail. If they’re actually on the scent and confident on it, it’s more of a forward and focused movement. What’s important is that you read the dog, and not your expectations. Love learning about Mantrailing? Join our Online Mantrailing Club for in-depth training, video lessons and on-going support. 👇 https://www.mantrailingglobal.com/mantrailing-membership

Just like a pair of bad fitting shoes could ruin an adventure for us, the wrong fitting harness can have exactly the same effect on our dogs! Blue sporting a Zero DC Short Harness while trailing. Why does a dog need to wear a harness during Mantrailing? A harness is recommended to wear for Mantrailing to ensure a dog does not place unnecessary strain onto it's neck/posture and that any pull motion is distributed evenly across the dogs body to minimise risk of injury and discomfort for the dog. Trailing a dog in harness as opposed to on a collar also reduces the risk of influencing or restricting their trailing behaviour, this is really important in activities such as this where watching a dogs body language is important for dog to handler communication. Having a harness specifically for Mantrailing can also act as a prompt to your dog so they know which activity they are about to do, helping to get them in the right frame of mind for 'working'. Why is it important to have a well fitting harness for Mantrailing? 1. It ensures the dog is comfortable whilst working. 2. It allows for freedom of movement and full motion of the joints. 3. It doesn't restrict breathing ability. 4. It avoids any rubbing or chaffing. 5. It allows the dog to work more efficiently. 6. It minimises risk of injury long/short term. 7. It distributes any pull motion evenly and safely across the body. 8. A bad fitting harness can even be aversive to a dog and create a negative association to Mantrailing! Cooper trailing in the TrueLove harness. Choosing a harness for your dog for Mantrailing There is a huge variety of harnesses available on the market for dog sport activities which can make it super hard to choose the right one for your dog. Here is some advice we have put together to help you make an informed choice when choosing and fitting your Mantrailing harness. - Long Vs Short harness Dog Sport Harnesses can be split into 2 types; long and short style (see diagram below). A short style harness finishes before the last rib, where as a long harness sits more like a full body suit, running along the ribs and finishes at the base of the tail. Short harness styles are the preferred style for Mantrailing activity as they sit closer to the body and follow the dogs body movement more closely, where as long style harnesses are designed specifically for consistent pulling and therefore due to the changing behaviour pattern of trailing, results in them not sitting correctly unless under tension and therefore can often move out of place and become irritating or aversive to the dog whilst they are working. Shorter style harnesses also tend to be less invasive for handling and feel for dogs who are more sensitive to touch/handling. - A 'Y' front shaped harness ensures that the shape of the harness does not restrict any movement within the dogs joints for range of movement. You can see in the diagram below how the fit does not interfere with the skeletal system. Checking if your Mantrailing harness fits correctly. FIT - The harness should be snug but not tight. To ensure this, you should be able to place 2 fingers sitting side by side between the harness and the dogs body in all areas. LAST RIB - The sides of short harness should not go back past the last rib to avoid putting pressure on the internal organs. Please note that some Mantrailing harnesses are designed to sit slightly further back than a typical short harness, however, it should still not sit beyond the last rib, it should slope up the ribcage and finish before the final rib. STERNUM - The 'V' of the harness neck should sit on the sternum bone and not above to avoid it sitting on the throat area which would obstruct breathing. ARMPITS - The harness should not come in too close to the armpit area to avoid rubbing, chaffing and/or discomfort. What to look for in an INCORRECT fitting harness. Rasping, coughing or choking noises when in movement, particularly when pulling into the harness. Redness, inflammation, hair loss or chaffing on the skin where the harness makes contact, particularly in the armpit area. Excess material over the shoulder region which will prevent full range of movement of the scapula. Any straps which restrict full range of motion of the scapula and leg joints, these typically have one strap which goes across the front of the chest from one side to the other, however, there are some other styles which can restrict movement too. Where can I get further advice on purchasing a Mantrailing Harness? If you're looking to purchase a new Mantrailing harness or would like additional advice on selecting the correct harness for your dog, your Mantrailing Global Instructor will be more than happy to help! They might even have a discount code for you to use on your new harness too!

Every story has a beginning - Here's ours.   Mantrailing Global started with a passion and a big dream. Founder, Lisa Gorenflo, first discovered Mantrailing while in Germany and became instantly hooked.  At the time, Lisa was running a dog training business that wasn’t exactly thriving. She was stuck in a hamster wheel, like so many others—constantly scrambling to find new clients, struggling to make enough money, and with little time left for anything resembling a personal life. Despite the long hours and relentless effort, the business still wasn’t as steady as she’d hoped.   But, her passion for Mantrailing couldn’t be ignored, so she started a Mantrailing club, offering it as a new service to her existing clients. The demand for Mantrailing grew quickly and it was soon clear that everyone who tried it became as much of an addict as she was! Pet owners were traveling from all over the country to take part, and fellow dog trainers started reaching out, eager to bring the sport into their own businesses and spread the Mantrailing bug to their own clients.   As Mantrailing continued to grow, Lisa made a bold decision: to shift her focus entirely to the sport she loved and train up new instructors. This vision led to the creation of the Mantrailing UK Instructor course, now known as Mantrailing Global, an internationally recognized Mantrailing training program. Today, it equips passionate dog trainers around the world with the skills and knowledge to offer Mantrailing and build their own careers around something they truly love.   Take a listen to Lisa's full story below 👇 If you're ready to join the Mantrailing Global family and become part of our story as an instructor, we'd love to hear from you! Book a discovery call with Lisa or fill out our application form to get the ball rolling.

We’ve got some seriously exciting news—we’ve been featured in UNREAL Rockstars  as part of their Founder Edition ! They’re spotlighting five UK-based entrepreneurs making a difference in their industries, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be recognized for what we’re passionate about: building an amazing community. Mantrailing is about more than just dogs following a scent trail—it’s about people coming together, learning, and growing in a supportive environment. We’ve worked hard to create a welcoming space for clients, where handlers can have fun, feel encouraged, and celebrate every little win with their dogs. But we didn’t want to stop there. In a world where the dog training industry can sometimes feel like a ‘shark tank,’ where competition overshadows collaboration, we’ve made it our mission to foster a different kind of environment—one where trainers work with  each other, not against each other. We’re incredibly proud of the supportive network we’re building, where trainers can connect, share ideas, and grow without feeling like they have to guard their knowledge. After all, when trainers work together, the whole community benefits, and ultimately, so do the dogs! 🐶💪 Getting featured in UNREAL Rockstars for something we care so much about is a huge honour, but this recognition isn’t just about us—it’s about every single person who’s joined us since Mantrailing Global launched back in 2017. Whether you're a client just starting your Mantrailing journey or an instructor who shares our vision, you’re an essential part of this ever-growing, supportive community. Together, we’re not just spreading our passion for Mantrailing—we’re creating something bigger: a space where people and dogs can thrive, a growing network of like-minded trainers, and a community that lifts each other up every step of the way. If you want to check out the full article and learn more about what we’re up to, you can read it here !

Having a Purpose as a Senior Dog Dogs have superpowered noses – they’ve got up to 300 million scent receptors, while we humans only have about six million! Plus, the part of their brain that processes smells is 40 times bigger than ours, meaning they can pick up and analyze scents in a way we can’t even imagine. Dogs have an incredible sense of smell—so strong, in fact, that while we might notice a teaspoon of sugar in our coffee, a dog could pick out that same amount in two Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to dog-cognition researcher Alexandra Horowitz in her book Inside of a Dog . Imagine catching a whiff of one rotten apple among two million barrels—that’s the super-sensing power of a dog’s nose! But as dogs (and us humans) get older, their senses naturally start to slow down. That said, there’s no reason to stop trailing with your senior dog! Keeping them active can actually help them stay healthier and live longer. We've had dogs as old as 15 years old still happily trailing with us, and they’re loving every minute! Just because they’re older doesn’t mean they don’t want to stay engaged and have fun. With senior dogs, the trails might be shorter, and they might not find the target as quickly, but having a purpose—something that taps into their natural sniffing skills—keeps them feeling good. Mantrailing is easy on aging joints, like those with arthritis, because it doesn’t require them to jump or climb. They just get to follow their noses, doing what they’re naturally built to do. Mantrailing is a great way to keep your dog’s mind and body active, which makes for a happier, more fulfilled senior pup! Contact your local Mantrailing Global Instructor to get your golden oldie off the couch and out trailing!

When people ask why we use reward-based methods in dog training, we often respond, 'We wouldn’t go to work if we didn’t get paid.' Just as we are motivated to get up every morning by the prospect of earning money – which allows us to buy food, cars, homes, vacations, and all the essentials and joys of life – our dogs, too, are motivated by rewards. For us, it's a pay check; for our dogs, it's treats or other forms of positive reinforcement such as play or praise.  Some people tell us, ‘My dog finds trailing rewarding in itself,’ but that's really an assumption – we can’t truly know that without seeing how they respond to specific rewards. By associating their 'work' with good experiences and meaningful rewards, our dogs come to enjoy what they do, which naturally leads to better focus and effort. Finding the right reward for each dog is key to helping them perform at their best. Just as every person has individual preferences, so does each dog. The ideal reward might be a favourite treat, like wet food, cat food, yogurt, banana, or a cherished toy. Even the most driven dogs tend to favour food rewards during tracking exercises, even if they typically ignore treats in favour of toys. This preference might be tied to Mantrailing, which taps into their natural hunting instincts – they hunt, they catch, they eat. The act of licking, in particular, has been shown to release endorphins in dogs, adding a layer of calm and satisfaction to the experience. Credit: Domestic Dog Cognition and Behavior: The Scientific Study of Canis familiaris edited by Alexandra Horowitz

The reward at the end of the trail can be just about anything your dog loves! Does your dog go wild for a game with their favourite toy over a treat? If so, try using the toy as their trail reward. Make sure your trail layer (the person waiting at the end of the trail) knows how to play with your dog. You know your dog best, so let the trail layer know exactly how they like to play. It could be a fun game of tug, or just tossing the toy a few feet away. And, if your dog tends to get a little too excited and accidentally catches fingers instead of the toy, let the trail layer know that too! Don't be afraid to do some trial and error. Switch it up and try a food reward first, then bring out the toy once your dog is done eating. Watch how your dog reacts: do they stay focused on the food, or are they all about the toy as soon as it comes out? If your dog is clearly more into the toy, that might be their ideal reward on the trail. Keep in mind, not every dog who loves a toy as a reward in other activities (like agility or IPO) will respond the same way during Mantrailing. This activity taps into their natural hunting instincts, so a food reward might feel more satisfying. If you have to work hard to get your dog excited to play after they’ve found the trail layer, then switching to a food reward might be worth a try. So , what’s your dog’s version of a “McDonald’s treat”? This is the food that gets them super excited! It could be canned food which you wouldn’t normally give them – something a bit more indulgent with flavours and smells they go crazy for. Just like you might treat your kids once in a while, Mantrailing is a special activity deserving of a special treat. For example, our dogs are usually on dry kibble, so wet dog food is an exciting treat for them, and they only get it during Mantrailing. This makes the game even more exciting! Some other food ideas include cat food, yogurt mixed with tuna or chicken, frozen treats, liver cake, raw food, banana, or liverwurst from a tube. Before trying anything new, make sure your dog doesn’t have any allergies to the food you plan to use. If you’re unsure, check with your vet first. You’ll know you’ve found the right reward when your dog gets visibly excited as soon as they see the food container, and they truly savour the treat. If they’re distracted or uninterested, it may be time to try something different. Don’t be afraid to change it up if they get bored with the same reward over time. Communication with the trail layer is essential. Be specific on how you’d like the reward – toy or food – presented. The last thing you want is for your dog to lose interest or feel nervous around the trail layer. If your dog is a bit shy, have the trail layer hold the food container a little further away, avoiding eye contact or direct interaction. This way, you can provide praise while the trail layer stays in the background, helping build your dog’s confidence. If your dog loves a big celebration, let the trail layer know to throw a fun ‘party’ with excited talking, pats, and clapping – whatever your dog enjoys most! Your local Mantrailing Global Instructor will be able to help you find the right reward for your dog!