Mantrailing
Mantrailing is one of the fastest growing dog sports in the UK and is based on a search and rescue activity where a dog follows a specific person's scent trail to find them. It is a dog-led activity that utilizes a dog's highly developed sense of smell, enabling them to distinguish one person's scent from others and follow it through different environments. It is used in both recreational sport and professional search and rescue, and is considered beneficial for building a bond between dog and handler.
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If you want to:
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Build a better relationship with your dog
Increase your dog's confidence
Spend more time outdoors
Attend a fun social activity with your dog
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Then this could be an ideal option for you and your dog. It is accessible to all people and all dogs, regardless of age, breed or ability. Below you can read a short article about Zoe's participation in mantrailing as well as a couple of websites where you can find more information:
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I initially saw a 'taster' session advertised locally and thought it looked interesting. I booked myself and Gracie to go along and try it. We both had a great time and consequently did a couple of follow-up days. Unfortunately COVID then happened, stopping everything in its tracks. Life and work then got in the way but I decided to have another go last year (2024) after one of my other dogs had been seriously ill and I wanted to do something fun with her. I searched online and found a beginners course advertised. I booked our place and rest is history as they say and not least, Peggy absolutely loves it!
I love watching her work, trailing behind her, sometimes at speed! She literally squeals with excitement when the trailing kit comes out (harness and long line) and her tail is wagging non-stop when we are doing the trails. She totally comes alive and has a different presence about her.
Early on, we did a session and the trail layer had forgotten to leave their scent article for her to sniff so I had to get her to sniff their car door handle instead. She set off on the trail and actually managed to find the person. I was both shocked and so chuffed at how clever she was to do that. And it is because they clearly love it so much that you want to keep going just so they can experience that buzz. We have also had trail layers touch a stick and leave that as a scent article and we have still managed to find them. Each time we go I find it fascinating that no matter what the weather or wind conditions are like, the dog always manages to find the person without help. We have been trailing through graveyards, high streets, pubs, garden centres, schools, woodland and even an air museum with old planes in situ.
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I wholeheartedly recommend you give it a try.
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Zoe & Peggy (Oct 2025)
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Also check out the following sites for more detailed info and advice:
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See below the amazing account shared from Siret Nourus, in Estonia, who with her mantrailing-trained dog, saved a woman's life. Hugo is a home-bred, show type English Springer who is also both a full champion and group winning dog. Never has the expression 'not just a pretty face' been so perfectly demonstrated.
His name is Ch Crownmaple New Outlander "Hugo"
Three years of dedication and effort has now brought a worthy reward - my dog has saved a human life!
I get asked quite often why I do this - I spend most of my free time somewhere in the forest or training for hours and hours on the city streets, regardless of the weather or the season. It's a hobby and a lifestyle that's the main thing. The purpose is to be there when we are needed the most.
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As volunteers, we train and work through a sense of mission. Behind the training, time and dedication have culminated in knowledge, experience and a desire to develop. Having such dog teams is important to society because they support rescue and search work in situations where every minute could be of decisive importance. Plus, it unites the volunteers' desire to contribute to community safety and to use their canine skills for a truly meaningful purpose.
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On the evening of 8th May 2026. at around 9 o'clock I received a call from the OPEROG dog group, to join the search for a missing woman. I packed Hugo into the car and we arrived at the scene in Kehra at around 1am in the morning. We were welcomed by SA upon arrival. Reet Kanger from OPEROG staff shared all the collected information. Objects had been found in the countryside that may have belonged to the missing person. So I decided to put Hugo to work in front of the door of the home of the missing woman. She had left there the previous morning at 07:00. Of course, the situation was made more difficult by the fact that 18 hours had already passed since her disappearance. Her residence was located on the side of a fairly busy street and in such circumstances, the smell can spread to a very wide area, not least, the smell that remains in the environment decreases noticeably with every passing hour.
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My dog Hugo is trained to be a mantrailing dog - this is a search method where the dog follows a specific person's individual scent to find his route of movement or location. The dog collects and passes information to the dog handler. Unlike tracking, the mantrailing dog doesn't only focus on the ground, but works both on the ground and airborne with the scent corridor, using all the information obtained from the environment.
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When giving Hugo a scent and starting the work, he first checked the staircase corridor and then took a clear direction to the street.
This was about a 2 kilometre-long journey from the town to the forest. At the first intersection, Hugo turned right without thinking further and we soon reached the pedestrian bridge across the river to the next intersection where Hugo had to decide which direction to go. Hugo checked all directions twice and decided to take a curvy forest road that leads into the depth of the woods. At one point, he turned a little down the shore and headed towards the water, catching a long smell of the water from the surface with his nose and then continued working. Later I was informed that the last item belonging to the missing woman was found at this point. Our journey went on from there, we walked on for about 70 metres until we reached the trees, when Hugo became very active (a sign that he got a fresh smell), and clearly showed interest to the left of the road to the forest, where he immediately took direction. About ten metres from the road, when he reached the thicket, the woman was lying on the ground. Alive! Hugo licked her hand and looked so happy that he had done his job successfully.
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Just like every volunteer, I have been training for such moments for years - to be ready. But when this moment finally came, the feelings of pride were far more than I ever expected. I felt a huge stream of emotions.
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Our journey with Hugo lasted approximately 35 minutes, which seems like just a short walk in the park. In reality, thinking about what we experienced together, I must say that this journey was difficult, for both Hugo and me. I am extremely grateful that we have been training using the Kocher method giving me the necessary tools for these difficult moments, and teaching me how to support my dog at the right times. We are a united team and I couldn't be more proud of my Hugo.
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Thank you to our mantrailing team, with whom we have been training all these years and supporting each other. Thank you SA Lost OPEROG for choosing us again and again.
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Sending all my good wishes to the family whose mom made it home!
Thank you!
Hugo with Siret at work
'Show Dog Hugo'
Hugo at play
