Collection: Mantrailing

Hounds and Helis turns the incredible world of Search and Rescue dog skills into a sport for you and your dog. Éadaoin and our other Hounds and Helis instructors are excited to introduce you to the captivating sport of Mantrailing, a key component of our diverse offerings of SAR dog sports.

What is Mantrailing?

Mantrailing is rooted in Search and Rescue, where dogs are trained to find a specific missing person. We teach you and your pet dog to do this for fun. Mantrailing involves your dog using their extraordinary sense of smell to locate a hidden person by following a scent trail. They’ll wear a harness and are attached to you on a long line. Your dog will be given a scent item (glove/hat etc) belonging to the person they are looking for.  

Mantrailing is a low impact activity that engages your dog physically and mentally.

Your dog will work in rural and urban areas. Mantrailing is a suitable activity for dogs of all ages, breeds and reactive dogs are welcome. 

If you have a reactive dog, certain locations will be suitable for starting training. Please check out the description under each date to see if this location will work for you and your reactive dog.

How To Get Started

1. Introduction to Mantrailing Workshop €90:

Dip your toes into the world of Mantrailing with our 3 hour-long outdoor workshop. Discover if Mantrailing is the perfect fit for you and your dog as they experience the excitement of working on a long line to find a hidden person and receive a well-deserved reward. 

Our Introduction Workshops take place across Cork, Kerry and Waterford. Once completed, you can join any of our "Drop In" training sessions in any location.

2. Trailblaze Course €220:

For those eager to dive deep into the art and science of Mantrailing, our Trailblaze Course is the ideal starting point. This comprehensive 4 week course combines online learning with practical handling. This course is perfect for you if you are brand new to Mantrailing or have started but want to know more. 

What then?

Drop in Session via BookWhen

Once you have completed an Introduction Workshop, or Trailblaze course you can book into any of our weekly drop in sessions. These are booked via our BookWhen App. Our Drop In sessions are ‘pay as you go’, will have dog teams of mixed experience levels and you can attend as little or as often as you’d like. 

Development Days

These days are for those who wish to advance their practical skills and knowledge. We revisit foundations and practice a range of new exercises, blind trails and aged trails. You do not need to have trained before with Hounds and Heli's to take part in Development Days.

Assessments

We are excited to introduce our Mantrailing Assessment Levels. While designed for pet dogs, our assessments draw inspiration from operational scenarios, providing a unique and exciting dimension to your training. From Entry Level through to Level 5, the levels are designed to gradually prepare the Mantrailing teams to follow in conditions as similar to a real search as possible.