Mantrailing Terminology: Your Guide

northolthounds
Sep 30
5 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

Mantrailing is great fun, but it can come with a lot of new terms! Don’t worry, I know it can be confusing at first, so I’ve put together this glossary to help you understand the language I use during mantrailing sessions.

🔹 Getting Started...

The Starting Ritual

Every trail begins with a starting ritual. This includes a scent inventory, where the dog and handler walk around the area and cover all exit points. It’s a great opportunity for your dog to:

Take in the scents of the environment
Get any “private business” out of the way
Prepare mentally for the task ahead

Once ready, your dog gets dressed for work, usually with a harness, long line, and The Mantrailing Club bandana — and then the trailing begins!

🔹 Types of Starts...

We use three different types of starts:

1. Intensity Start

After the starting ritual is performed
The trail layer (the person the dog is finding) fires up the dog (this is individual to each dog, but we usually show them what they are working for and get them excited about the game)
The trail layer runs off, and once they are hidden, the dog is asked to take scent from their scent article and the trailing begins

This is the most intense start for the dog — perfect for building solid foundations. We will be doing intensity starts only for quite a while, to set your dog up for long-term success - ultimate drive and motivation for the game!

2. Delayed Start

The trail layer fires up the dog before the starting ritual
After the trail layer runs off and hides, the starting ritual and scent inventory are performed
Motivation dips slightly before trailing begins

This start helps the dog learn to work even when excitement levels drop, and allows us to check if they remain driven when there’s a delay after the fire-up.

3. Scent Article Start

The trail layer is already hidden before the dog comes out of the car
There’s no fire-up
The dog is presented with a scent article (something that smells like the trail layer) and begins trailing

🔹 Occasionally I Like to Introduce...

Hunting Trails: Multiple short trails done one after another, using an intensity start and the same trail layer each time. Great for boosting motivation, building drive, creating momentum, and introducing new stuff.

🔹 All Part of the Trail...

Intensity Trail: A short trail done after every main trail to give the dog a quick, confidence-boosting win.
Target Sniffing: A foundational behaviour taught at the start, where dogs learn to take scent from a specific item indicated by the handler.
The 'Party': Happens at the end of the trail, where we reward the dog in the best way possible. It’s not about what’s most convenient for the handler, but what’s truly the most rewarding for the dog.
Flanker: A helper who follows behind for safety and observation.
Snail Away: A low-key intensity start where the trail layer calmly walks away.

🔹 Who Knows What?

Blue Line Training: Everyone (handler and instructor) knows where the trail is.
Single Blind: Instructor knows the trail; handler doesn’t.
Double Blind: Only the trail layer knows the route.

🔹 Indications...

Indication: A specific behaviour your dog performs when they’ve found the trail layer (e.g. sit, stand, down).
Door Indication: The dog's behaviour shows that the trail layer has gone through a door or gate.
Negative Scent Indication (NSI): A behaviour that shows us there’s no matching scent in the area.

🔹 Trail Setups...

Split Start: The trail layer and a decoy go in different directions from the scent article.
Split Trail: The trail layer and decoy walk together at first, then split at some point.
Aged Trail: Trail has been left for 30 minutes or more.
Clock Face Start: Varying the dog’s starting position (e.g. 3 o’clock, 9 o’clock) around the scent article.
Cross Trail: Two trails that cross to test commitment to the correct trail.

🔹 All Things Scent...

Scent Article: An item that carries the scent of the trail layer.
Scent Pool: An area with a high density of scent.
Scent Cone: The cone-shaped area of scent around the trail layer, influenced by wind and environment.
Blown Scent: Scent moved by wind into a different location (e.g. vegetation, buildings).
Air Scenting: When the dog works with its nose up, following scent carried in the air.
Ground Scenting: When the dog keeps its nose close to the ground, following scent particles left on the surface.

🔹 Techniques...

Casting: When the dog searches for the trail after losing it. The dog may self-cast (searching independently), or the handler may walk them back to the last known point where they appeared to have the trail and allow them to cast again. This often looks like the dog moving in a circle around the handler.
Passive Help: Walking backwards in the direction of the trail layer to gently guide the dog toward the correct direction of travel.
Back Track: When the trail layer walks back in their own steps.
Into the Wind: Working so the wind comes into the dog’s face.
Line Up: Several people line up; the dog must pick the correct trail layer.

🔹 Finds...

Walking Find: Trail layer is moving/walking; dog must indicate on the move.
Obvious Find: Trail layer is easy to spot and not hidden.
High Find: Trail layer is hidden above ground level.

🔹 Environmental Factors...

Hard Surface: Surfaces like concrete or gravel that hold less scent.
Soft Surface: A more natural vegetation ground, grass etc.
Contaminated Trail: Trail with extra human or animal scents (urban areas are more contaminated).

🔹 Reading the Dog...

Flowing Negative: Zig-zag movement as the dog follows changing scent concentrations.
Head Pop: Quick head ‘pop’ when scent concentration changes or moves from ground to air.
Influencing the Dog: Conscious or unconscious guidance by the handler.
Proximity Behaviour: Change in behaviour when nearing the scent pool of the trail layer.
Displacement Behaviour: Out-of-context behaviours due to stress or conflicting emotions (e.g. sniffing, peeing, eating grass when on the trail).
Thinking Wee: Dog pauses to pee and assess scent direction.
Ghosting: Dog appears to be trailing but isn’t following scent. This can happen with anxious dogs keen to get the task done correctly, or over-excited dogs who don’t want the trailing to end.
Hunting for the Trail: When a dog strays far enough away from the trail scent that there isn’t enough to follow. They then hunt for the trail to recover it. This can look like increased movement of the head and tail, and a stronger pull.
Elimination: Dog checks and rules out incorrect directions.
Negatives: Dog indicates that no trail is in a certain direction — they are giving a negative.
Dismissing: Dog chooses not to follow a wrong junction or person.
Crittering: Dog switches from human scent to following animal scent. The dog may leave the trail fully or multitask.