Boogie
Moderator
- Location
- Manchester UK
First of all many thanks to @Rosie and Pongo for introducing us to Mantrailing. I really enjoyed it and Tatze Absolutely Loved it!
She was keen from the moment we got out of the car. There were six dogs altogether and we did three trails each. Every long trail is followed immediately by a short, easy one - so it was six trails really.
We were asked to buy a long line and harness which will be used exclusively for Mantrailing so that the dogs know when they are in āworkā mode. To start the trail the āhiderā gives you something like a scarf which theyāve worn for the scent. Then there is a little āgetting readyā ritual where we walk the dog round the hider, the harness and the line. Then we put the harness and line on the dog and the hider gets the dog excited and shows them a tub of food (provided by the āseekerā) and runs off to hide. The seeker then asks the dog to sniff the object then says ātrailā or āseekā.
Then comes the hard bit - the handler does nothing, just waits for the dog to pick up the trail and go - then follows on. No more cues, no more instructions until the hider is found and a big party is held for the dog, involving eating all the food and lots of praise.
The instructor was excellent and very much R+ - for dogs and humans, really encouraging.
Tatze lost focus a few times and stopped for a poo mid-hunt but otherwise she was simply brill and loved every minute. She didnāt mind waiting in the car for her turn either. The dogs didnāt get to meet each other as all the others were reactive and had chosen this sport as it is very much one-to-one. They were lovely dogs of all breeds - the smallest being a Pomeranian! On the last trail two people went to hide but only one left a sniffy object - then they split up and went different ways half way along the trail. Not one dog followed the decoy trail. Amazing.
Here is a video of her first trail, with the times she stops for thinking and the poo break cut out!
She was keen from the moment we got out of the car. There were six dogs altogether and we did three trails each. Every long trail is followed immediately by a short, easy one - so it was six trails really.
We were asked to buy a long line and harness which will be used exclusively for Mantrailing so that the dogs know when they are in āworkā mode. To start the trail the āhiderā gives you something like a scarf which theyāve worn for the scent. Then there is a little āgetting readyā ritual where we walk the dog round the hider, the harness and the line. Then we put the harness and line on the dog and the hider gets the dog excited and shows them a tub of food (provided by the āseekerā) and runs off to hide. The seeker then asks the dog to sniff the object then says ātrailā or āseekā.
Then comes the hard bit - the handler does nothing, just waits for the dog to pick up the trail and go - then follows on. No more cues, no more instructions until the hider is found and a big party is held for the dog, involving eating all the food and lots of praise.
The instructor was excellent and very much R+ - for dogs and humans, really encouraging.
Tatze lost focus a few times and stopped for a poo mid-hunt but otherwise she was simply brill and loved every minute. She didnāt mind waiting in the car for her turn either. The dogs didnāt get to meet each other as all the others were reactive and had chosen this sport as it is very much one-to-one. They were lovely dogs of all breeds - the smallest being a Pomeranian! On the last trail two people went to hide but only one left a sniffy object - then they split up and went different ways half way along the trail. Not one dog followed the decoy trail. Amazing.
Here is a video of her first trail, with the times she stops for thinking and the poo break cut out!
