“The Mantrailer” was released as a pilot film on RTL a few days ago – but is that exactly what reality looks like? Hardly. On a short leash, with a mismatched harness and then sometimes free and without a leash through Berlin. So you won't encounter a Mantrailer in real use.
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What is mantrailing?
The term Mantrailing comes from English and means following a human scent trail. During mantrailing, the dog orientates itself on the individual smell of the person it is searching for. And on any surface: forest, meadow, but also asphalt.
At the beginning, the dog is given a scent of the person to be searched for. This can be a piece of clothing, an everyday object or even just a door handle.
But the dog doesn't do its job alone; the dog handler also has enough to do. He has to be able to “read” his dog. So see, interpret and react accordingly to the signals that the dog shows during the search – subtle changes in posture, tail, head movements.
An experienced dog's nose can still track a trail after days!
Make clear statements
The dog must be taught that he is only allowed to work as long as there is smell. You can't work without smell. This is extremely important, especially for dogs that are used in real-life operations to search for missing people! Mantrailers are placed where the person being sought was last seen or their last known whereabouts were.
In the event of such a sighting two things necessary: A trained dog and a good handler.
It is necessary that the dog clearly shows that he cannot pick up a trail because there is no trail. If the eyewitness report is incorrect and the dog handler does not recognize that the dog is indicating that there is no trail, the dog, dog handler and other emergency services will run in the wrong direction. And often for many kilometers. Apart from the expectations that are raised among helpers and relatives, a lot of valuable time is lost.
The mantrailing story time
The oldest recorded trail is 16 days old. However, when you hear of mantrailing teams working on 4-year-old tracks, this belongs in the realm of fables and fairy tales. Even the most experienced dog will no longer find any trace here.
Also stories from Car trails hold on stubbornly. There are reports of dogs being able to pick up the trail of a person who has driven away in a car. The vast majority of Mantrailer professionals believes it is impossible for a dog to follow a scent trail left by a human in a car. A switched-on air circulation system would allow far too few odors to escape to the outside for a dog to actually be able to track it.
Dogs never run backwards on trails, as RTL would have us believe. One of the things we don't have to teach the dog is to run trails forward. They would never chase a rabbit in the wrong direction. And just as we can't teach the dog to walk backwards.
Nose utilization for every dog
Mantrailing is practically a perfect exercise for every dog. But it is also a good form of therapy for anxious dogs as it increases their self-confidence.
Probably the best-known breed on the trail is the Bloodhound. But you can trail with any breed and any mixed breed!
The size of the dog is not important for trailing. This means you can do mantrailing with any dog who enjoys this activity.
History of trailing
Mantrailing is on the lips of many dog owners today and is becoming increasingly popular. You have the feeling that a completely new activity has been found for your four-legged friend. And yet mantrailing has ancient roots. The Romans already used their dogs to find escaped slaves. Mantrailing was then cultivated by the Americans, where the “statements” of mantrailing dogs are accepted as evidence in court in some states.
In Europe, mantrailers have found their way into police service dog handlers and rescue dog organizations. The German and Austrian police use their mantrailers to reconstruct crimes or search for people.
Training the dog's nose for mantrailing
There is no such thing as too early or too late for mantrailing. A 9 week old puppy enjoys learning to use his nose right from the start. Even a 12-year-old senior dog can still enjoy nose work. However, if you are thinking about going on real missions with your dog after missing people, you should start as early as possible. In order to lead your dog in action, you need a lot of training and a lot more time. It takes about 2 years until the dog is ready to prove itself in an emergency.
Mantrailing is booming, but is not officially recognized. Unfortunately, nowadays anyone can call themselves a “dog trainer”, so the training of the respective course instructors does not necessarily mean that they have the necessary competence.
The best thing is to take a trial lesson with your chosen trainer and ask for references, seminars attended or training courses. Check that out too Trainer's dog and the dogs he trained on the trail.
For the Mantrailing training you need relatively little. A well-fitting harness, a 5 meter leash and moist treats that the dog really likes. Equipped with a lot of fun and motivation, you will then run around with a dog that seems to be pulling wildly on the leash and be happy when the dog does what it does best: using its nose to search for clues. True to the motto “I smell something you can’t see”
Mantrailing images
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About the author Karina Kalks
Her own dogs and the dogs she trains support Karina Kalks' training method. She successfully leads her Weimaraner dog Zhara and the male dog Holmes as mantrailers in real-life operations in the search for missing people for the Mantrailing Academy Austria.
Kalks gives seminars at home and abroad.
She herself attended seminars and training courses with instructors from the USA, Germany and Switzerland.
She has been working as a volunteer at “Graue in Not” since 2002. Their successes, especially with dogs with behavioral problems, speak for themselves.
Contact: Mantrailing Academy Austria; Karina Kalks [email protected] 0043 680 2322727 www.mantrailen.at (/box)Mantrailing books order online:
Video about mantrailing on YouTube: