Mantrailing: Understanding Scent Composition.
- Janice Foster
- Sep 7
- 5 min read
Mantrailing is not only an exciting activity, but it also taps into your dog's natural instincts. It involves tracking a specific scent left by a person, allowing dogs to use their incredible sense of smell to locate individuals. But what exactly makes up the scent your dog is following? Understanding the scent composition is crucial for enhancing your dog's Mantrailing skills and ensuring a successful experience.
In this blog post, we will explore the fascinating world of scent composition. We will look at how different elements contribute to the scent trail and how you can use this knowledge to improve your dog's performance in Mantrailing.
The Science of Scent
Dogs have an extraordinary sense of smell that is estimated to be 10,000 to 100,000 times more sensitive than that of humans. This remarkable ability results from the unique structure of their noses, which contain over 300 million scent receptors. When a dog is Mantrailing, they are not just following a single scent; they are detecting a complex mixture of scent constituents that form the trail.
Mantrailing: What Are Scent Components?
Scent is made up of the different chemical compounds that create a specific odour. In terms of Mantrailing, these components are continuously falling off an individual, in this instance the person who goes off to hide, leaving a trail of scent molecules behind them or pooling around them when stationary. We cannot see the odour particles or the trail and as humans we can smell only a small portion of the rainbow of delicious smells available to dogs. Human scent is a complex mixture of volatile organic compounds (VOC) which include
Skin cells
Sweat
Oils
Fatty acids
skin gland secretions
Genetics, diet, hygiene and emotional state also affect the human scent.
Yes, a dog can tell how you are feeling by subtle changes to your odour. Each person has a unique scent profile shaped by lifestyle factors like diet, health, and the products they use. For example, someone who regularly eats garlic may leave behind different scent molecules than someone who eats a lot of citrus. It's all amazing science happening in and falling off your body!
The Role of Environmental Factors
When a person moves through an environment, they leave behind more than just their scent. Environmental factors play a significant role in how scent trails are formed, where they drift to and how they are perceived by dogs. Scent is hydrophilic, meaning that it clings to things that are loaded with water, so vegetation attracts scent and the molecules are held here due to their attraction to water. So remember that when you walk your dog around a scent inventory circle, include as much vegetation as possible!
Weather Conditions
Weather can greatly affect how scents spread. Research shows that humidity can increase scent retention by up to 50%, while windy conditions can disperse it significantly. Training your dog in different weather types can teach them how to adapt and track scents more effectively, no matter the conditions.
Terrain and Surface
Different surfaces can hold scents differently. For example, grass can retain scents better than concrete. When training, vary the terrain to expose your dog to different scent challenges. An exercise on a sandy beach may feel quite different from training in the woods. The more diverse the training environments, the better prepared your dog will be to handle varying conditions.
Training Techniques to Enhance Scent Recognition
Now that we understand more about scent composition, let us discuss practical ways to train your dog to recognize and follow these trails.
Target Sniffing Exercises
Teach your dog to 'take scent' from items to build their confidence and scent recognition and discernment ability.
With your dog on lead, take a scent article, place a piece of kibble on it, allow your dog to move forward and take the treat. Repeat twice more.
With dog on lead, place a scent item on the floor, lay a treat on it, release your dog to take the treat but as they move forwards move with them and point to the item with one hand with index and middle finger pointing towards it (Yes, like a gun). Repeat twice more.
With dog on lead, proceed as above, add in the cue word 'Scent' as you also point with your fingers almost touching the item. Repeat twice more.
This is all you need to start your Mantrailing journey but taking scent from different items helps to build your dogs confidence, mix up the article, try car keys, mobile phone, cup, etc
Now trying placing the items at different heights, remember to consider safety of yourself and your dog...but have FUN!
Rewarding Success
Positive reinforcement is essential in training. Whenever your dog follows a scent trail successfully and finds the hidden person, reward them with their MOST favourite treat delivered in their favourite way, for some dogs this may be a toy reward or BOTH!
In order to motivate your dog to trail the reward party is vital, finding the hidden person has to be the best time for your dog, so once you find your dogs favourite treat keep it only for Mantrailing to make it extra special. Fish4dogs salmon mousse is my dogs motivation for Mantrailing, he has paired the smell with the activity and the moment that he sees me filling his pots with mousse he knows that he is going Mantrailing...he loves it!
The Importance of Consistency
Regular practice is important when training any discipline including Mantrailing. Consistent training sessions help to reinforce your dogs motivation to trail and provides you with practice in reading your dogs body language and knowing when to support your dog.
Tracking Progress
Working with a Mantrailing Global instructor means that you maintain a record of your own and your dog's training progress, noting successes and areas for improvement. This helps tailor your training sessions to address specific challenges, ensuring that you and your dog continue to develop skills over time. If you are interested in progressing through Mantrailing Global assessment levels you can purchase the necessary documentation from Mantrailing Global website. There are skill levels for the Mantrailing team, that's you and your dog and there are also skill levels for you in your role as the trail layer, acknowledging how important this role is, including presenting the reward to the dog (food or toy) when found and encouraging the 'sit' indication.
So, gear up, grab your long line, and embark on this thrilling journey of scent exploration with your furry companion! Happy Mantrailing!
Start your Mantrailing journey with Pups and Pooches Dog Training Introduction session, up to 3 hours of fun with your dog for just £30.
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