Mantrailing – a sport made for boxers

I seem to have spent most of my life finding things for boxers to do.  There is always something new to try our hands at and for me it has been mantrailing.  In Derby a small group of dog owners got together during lockdown to look for something to take us out of doors and to give our dogs something to think about.  Enter mantrailing!

Put simplistically this is a game of hide and seek for the dogs.  A member of the group acts as a missing person who the dog has to find.  When successful there is a reward, usually in the form of some food, given by the missing person – otherwise known as the misper.

The basic tenets of using scent discrimination are based on a handbook written by one Kevin Kocher, who produced it for use in American police work.  It is entitled “How to train your Police Bloodhound” and can easily be read online

To start the search the misper will leave behind an article with his or her scent – it can be a piece of clothing, something plastic, a metal item (keys for example)  perhaps which has been in the misper’s pocket.  The dog will be encouraged to walk around this article before being placed on a harness and line.  The command to ‘sniff’ is given by the handler who indicates the article, followed by the command to ‘trail’ to get the dog going.  At first, the misper will entice the dog by calling his name and then running off until out of sight.  Boxers soon get the idea that this is a fun activity which is one with a reward at the end.

As the dog becomes more experienced, the misper will not always be at the start, but the scent article will.  Delays are introduced whereby there is a short wait till the sniff and trail commands are given to start the search.  Trails of increasing length are laid, and time delay is increased .  There are levels of difficulty and achievement for dog and handler, and all are explained on the website at
www.mantrailinguk.com

There are also different venues on which to train – rural, urban, semi urban and industrial.  The scent varies according to the ground condition, the weather, and the environment. But in all cases the dogs are looking for the freshest scent as taken from the article.  Videos of boxers working are available for viewing on yutube.  Here’s one link ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uxEiaYn3Bo

I would stress that this is not an official training for Search and Rescue, but an enjoyable sport which allows the dogs to use their natural scenting abilities.  It is also a great way to bond with your
dog by working together.

Di Wild
Patron BBC

from the 2016 Working Day
 

TO VIEW GALLERY (1) FOR THE 2011 WORKING DAY CLICK HERE
TO VIEW GALLERY (2) FOR THE 2011 WORKING DAY CLICK HERE
TO VIEW THE GALLERY FOR THE 2010 WORKING DAY CLICK HERE
TO VIEW THE GALLERY FOR THE 2009 WORKING DAY CLICK HERE

British Boxer Club Working Day
“A bouncing bunch of busy boxers” was how I described the BBC Working Day entrants in an early edition of Boxer Quarterly, back in the 1980s.  The Working Day originated as a means of both demonstrating the working ability of the boxer and as a rally for boxer owners to have a go at various working disciplines. The early Working Days were held at Towcester Racecourse in the late 1970's and 1980s.  This was an ideal venue for boxers and their handlers to try out agility, obedience and working trials and have fun racing. 

Today the venue has moved to Shardlow playing fields next to the village hall, off the A6 some ten miles from Derby.  There boxer owners and their dogs can try their hand at more events than ever – agility training with a mini-competition at the end of the day, and up to four classes of obedience judged to Kennel Club rules.  Other activities still include racing – a knock-out chase after a lure – some gundog retrieval work, KC Good Citizen Tests, and Temperament Tests which examine how good the dog is at dealing with a number of challenging situations.  Where space permits, other sampler working activities, such as searching, may be included.  The aim of the day is for boxers and owners to have a good time experiencing aspects of working which they may not have previously encountered.  Success at the Working Day has inspired owners to continue training and to compete at open level in agility, obedience and working trials.

There is something here for all, including a Companion Dog Show with both breed and novelty classes. 

The Day is held regularly the first Sunday in September..  Further details can be obtained from the Day's Manager, Jennifer Williamson, on 01332 346862 (email jw.daisy@ntlworld.com)

Why not come along and enjoy a happy day out with your boxer?

Di Wild
Vice President, BBC

Temperament Test
Not only are many dogs expected to live in cities and densely populated housing situations, but the social climate has changed in recent years and there is a significant anti-dog lobby. Life is very stres sful for our dogs!.

More than ever, dogs are required to behave in controlled and discriminating ways which may be at odds with the behaviour characteristics of the individual breed or, indeed, of the species.

For this reason owners need to know how their dog will behave in specific or general situations and when they are stres sed. By evaluating their dog's tendency to respond in certain ways, an owner can be prepared for the future and can obtain additional training or socialisation, if neces sary, to ensure their dog is safe.

The aim of the testing procedure is to make the tests as simple and as much like real-life situations as possible, so that owners have a good overview of their dogs. Tests should be fun and include elements of everyday life which a dog is likely to encounter (such as traffic, unfamiliar people, other dogs, children, etc.).

This is not a test of training or of handling skills, but simply of how each dog is likely to re-act in certain circumstances. The scoring system is based upon a combination of the required characteristics of the Breed and a “reasonable response” by any dog. In order to interpret the observed behaviour of the dog, the examiner will ask for some background information on each dog.

BRITISH BOXER CLUB TEMPERAMENT TEST
The dog will be on lead for all tests and the handler will not use obedience commands or control commands whilst the dog is being tested.

TESTS
1. Friendly approach – Assessor to walk up to dog, run hand down dog's back and speak to owner.

2. Other dogs/animals - Another dog owner with dog on lead will approach, stand next to Assessor and hold conversation then move off. No growling or lunging to be permitted. (If only one assistant then this person to move off and prepare to return for unfamiliar approach.)

3. Unfamiliar footing – Dog to walk across a tarpaulin/plastic sheet on which there are scattered twigs.

4. Noise sensitivity - As dog leaves unfamiliar footing, hooter to be sounded.

5. Unfamiliar approach - Dog and owner to be approached by person carrying rucksack, umbrella and carrier bag full of tins.
If available, pushchair with recording of crying baby.

6. Startle - As unfamiliar person passes owner and dog, drops the bag of tins, removes rucksack, and opens umbrella.

7. Isolation - Assistant to take dog's lead from owner and walk off in opposite direction with dog.
Briefly go out of sight and return.

8. Traffic - Group to walk up to main road, cross to restaurant car park. Must wait at kerb until at least one car has gone by.

9. Crowd - Walk round restaurant car park and canal area to experience crowds.
If crowds not enough then to return to dog show and walk through until surrounded by people who will be asked to close in.

10. Play Drive - To finish off the tests, owner asked to play with dog with a toy in a relaxed manner.

11. Overall assessment and Judge's Comments – Done in conversation with owner. Any problems to be discussed.

The dog will be graded “Excellent” “Good” “Unsatisfactory”