A dog’s nose is a special organ. In mantrailing, the sense of smell is used to track down hidden people through their individual scents. Mantrailing has not only found its place in the field of search dogs, but also in dog sports and the training of problem dogs. You can find out everything about mantrailing in dogs in this article.
What is mantrailing?
Mantrailing means “following the trail of people”. In America, Bloodhounds were used to track runaway slaves. Dogs were later used to track down criminals or missing persons. Today, dogs are used as part of mantrailing in rescue operations or in dog sports. Every person leaves an individual trace in their environment. While when tracking, the dog primarily follows the trail on the ground or on objects, in maintrailing the dog picks up the scent trail from the air. It can distinguish a person’s scent trail from other trails and follow it.
When mantrailing, the dog follows a scent trail in the air to find a hidden person.
How does the main trailer work?
The man trailer receives an odor sample from its owner, in which it can perceive the scent of the person to be searched. Once he has picked up the individual scent of the person, he follows the scent trail in the air until the hiding place is found.
During the search, the dog is connected to its owner with a long leash so that the owner has a connection to the dog. Once the man trailer has found the hidden person, it reports success by barking loudly. Jumping up on the found person is possible, but not always desirable.
How does the individual smell of a person develop?
A person’s smell is unique. It cannot be covered or removed with water. This special smell is made up of various factors:
- Excretions in breath, urine, or feces;
- Water is released through the mucous membranes, the skin, or the air we breathe;
- Skin cells that are shed (up to 40,000 cells per day);
- Ammonia or other metabolites are produced when cells break down and are released into the environment by the body;
- The exhalation from food or lifestyle
What is a mantrailer?
A mantrailer is a dog that can find a human through the scent trail they leave behind. Mantrailers are used to search for missing persons.
What does Maitrailing do to dogs?
The nose work loads the dog physically and mentally at the same time. The four-legged friend must stay focused during the search and must not be distracted by other interesting things in the area.
Physical exertion
When mantrailing, the dog does not always follow a direct route. Wind, rain and also the sun can cause the odor molecules to swirl around. The dog then runs in a large arc or zigzag line. The hidden person isn’t always just around the corner. Larger distances often have to be covered, especially in rescue operations. The dog trains its muscles and joints. The dog’s sense of balance is trained by changing ground, inclines or overcoming small obstacles.
Mental workload
But mantrailing also means maximum concentration. As a macrosmatic, the dog is able to perceive many different smells with its up to 220 million olfactory cells. Humans, who only have 20 million olfactory cells, cannot perceive these smells. While the mantrailer is also unable to see the missing person, the dog only has to follow its nose to get to the destination. The motto here is: “I smell what you can’t see”.
This dog sport trains the dog’s sense of smell and concentration. In this dog sport, the dog is challenged to find a solution for the existing problem (hidden person). This has a positive influence on their problem-solving behavior. Through the joint venture and the shared sense of achievement, the bond between man and his dog is strengthened. Of course, once the task has been successfully completed, the dog must be rewarded in the form of a treat, a click or pats.
Which dogs are suitable for mantrailing?
Dogs with a good sense of smell and good physical fitness are suitable for mantrailing.
Which dogs are suitable for maintrailing?
Mantrailing is a dog sport focused on nose work. A prerequisite for the suitability of the dog for this dog sport is a well-developed sense of smell.
Are brachycephalic dog breeds suitable for mantrailing?
In the case of brachycephalic dog breeds, the nose is significantly reduced or no longer exists due to the rounding of the head. In some dogs, the cartilage of the nasal conchae begins to overgrow so much that normal breathing is no longer possible. Tracking a trail cannot be performed.
Since these dogs only have a small area of nasal mucosa, temperature regulation is also disturbed. No water can be evaporated through the mucous membranes to cool down at high temperatures. Panting is not enough. The dogs are quickly exhausted and overheated internally due to the disturbed breathing and the lack of heat regulation. You collapse with a circulatory collapse.
Which dogs are suitable?
In principle, any dog that has a good sense of smell and sufficient concentration can successfully complete training for mantrailing. The first exercises can be carried out as early as puppy age. The dog must be physically fit for dog sport. Even dogs with special needs that only have three legs or are deaf can easily undergo mantrailing training.
Most often, the search for a hidden person ends in success. Every sense of achievement strengthens the dog’s self-confidence in its own abilities. In addition, the trust in the owner is deepened. The dog realizes that he can rely on the human friend at his side.
How long can a dog follow a trail?
The scent trail can be seen in the air for the dog for many days. Some dogs are also able to follow cars in which the wanted person was transported.
Dogs with spatial smell are more successful in this canine sport
If the dog has a normally shaped nose, it is able to smell spatially. With this ability, also known as stereo smelling, the smells are taken in with the nose and forwarded separately for each nostril to the olfactory center in the brain and processed. Without moving its head, the dog knows exactly from which direction the scent molecules are coming.
The four-legged friend is able to distinguish an older track from a fresh one through spatial smelling. If the person who was hiding has changed direction several times in search of a place to hide, the dog will know exactly which trail to follow.
Which dog breeds are particularly suitable?
Some dog breeds have been bred for many years with the aim of having a good sense of smell. In these dogs, the olfactory epithelium in the nose is larger. These breeds include hounds, which use their noses to locate and position hidden game.
The following dog breeds are particularly suitable:
- Bloodhound
- Mountain sweathound
- Labrador Retrievers
- Golden retriever
A successful search depends not only on the breed of dog but also on the individual abilities of the dog.
When can you start mantrailing?
The dog does not have to have reached a certain age to practice this dog sport. However, he should already be able to concentrate for a few minutes.
Mantrailing with puppies
Puppies that have just moved into the new owner’s household may need to rediscover their surroundings. You should not be burdened with dog sports in the first few weeks so that you can settle in and trust the new owner. A puppy’s first training should be playful and only last a few minutes so as not to overwhelm the little dog. The hidden object is best located in the adjacent room or behind the nearest tree.
Mantrailing with adult dogs
With young dogs, the training is already more intensive. When dogs are fully grown, their problem-solving behavior is fully developed. The four-legged friends are able to concentrate and are also in good physical shape. The training only has to be adapted to the individual requirements of the dog.
How do you start mantrailing?
First, the dog learns to associate the scent with the trail. Scents laid out at short intervals help.
Tips to get you started: This is how the dog learns maintrailing
The training takes place in several steps:
1. Following an olfactory trail
The dog receives help in following the trail. On his way to the hidden person, he keeps finding scent clues that help him stay on the right path. Once the dog has learned to associate the smell with finding the scent trail, the aids can be removed and the search distance extended.
2. Start and display
To start the search for clues, the dog owner must set their own signal. This must be clearly different from the other signals used on a daily basis. For example, it could be the word “search” or a hand signal.
If the dog has found the hidden person, it must give a signal. This is best done by barking loudly, as the main trailer may no longer be able to see the dog in dense terrain.
3. The reward
After successful completion, the dog is rewarded with treats, praise and pats. The more practiced a dog is, the more difficulties can be built into the trail. The person you are looking for drives a little by car or climbs up a ladder.
Dog sports club or learning on your own
Whether you learn mantrailing in a dog sports club or on your own is a matter of taste. Self-training should only be carried out by people with existing dog experience.
Equipment for a perfect start in mantrailing
Five things are needed for mantrailing:
- well-fitting harness
- long leash
- treat
- smell test
- water
In the case of short-haired dogs in particular, it is important to ensure that the tracking harness fits properly so that it does not rub under the armpits. A long dorsal bridge relieves the dog’s spine.
Conclusion
Mantrailing is a very popular dog sport that promotes the dog’s sense of smell, concentration, and fitness. Dog sport strengthens the bond between dogs and humans. Mantrailing is practiced professionally when rescue dogs are deployed.
