Mantrailing and Tracking: Which Reward Motivates?
The best mantrailing reward is whatever your dog loves most – and it waits at the end of the trail as a generous jackpot. In classic tracking, on the other hand, food is often placed directly on the track to guide your dog forward step by step with its nose down. In this post, you will learn how to reward in a motivating way in both forms of scent work, why timing matters and how to count the treats towards the daily ration.
Content: Mantrailing and Tracking: Which Reward Motivates?
- Tracking and mantrailing: What is the difference?
- Mantrailing reward: The jackpot at the end of the trail
- Tracking with treats: Food on the track
- Timing: When the reward works in scent work
- Suitable treats and amounts throughout the day
- Frequently asked questions about the mantrailing reward
- Conclusion: Staying on track with the right reward
Small training snacks for nose work:
Tracking and mantrailing: What is the difference?
The key difference: in tracking, your dog follows a laid ground track step by step with its nose down, while in mantrailing it searches for one specific person by their individual scent. Both are demanding scent work that challenges your dog mentally – but the reward is used differently in each.
Tracking: Ground disturbance and precision
In tracking, a tracklayer walks a route across a meadow or field. The footsteps cause ground disturbance, meaning crushed plants and churned-up soil, which together with the person's scent form a track. Your dog should follow it as precisely as possible and indicate articles placed along the way. Usually you work with a chest harness and a long tracking line.
Mantrailing: The scent of one specific person
In mantrailing, your dog first sniffs a scent article, such as a cloth or a hat belonging to the person being searched for. Then it looks for exactly that person – even across tarmac, through residential areas or at junctions. The nose may be carried higher, and the pace is often brisk. Here too, you work with a harness and a long line. Our post Types of dog sports from agility to mantrailing gives you an overview of other sports.
Why dogs are capable of such achievements is explained in The dog's nose: facts about the sense of smell.
Mantrailing reward: The jackpot at the end of the trail
In mantrailing, you reward mainly at the end: once your dog has found the person, there is a jackpot of several especially coveted bites. As a rule, no food is given during the trail, so your dog stays focused on the search.
What is a jackpot?
A jackpot is a reward that is clearly bigger and more attractive than the usual treat. Instead of a single piece, your dog gets several bites one after the other, along with praise and joy. This teaches it that the search is really worth it. Many teams let the person who is found give the reward, because this turns the person being searched for into a goal your dog looks forward to.
How the reward at the end of the trail works
- Let your dog arrive: Your dog reaches the person and indicates them, for example by sitting down, nudging or simply arriving.
- Reward immediately: The jackpot comes within one to two seconds – from the person or from you.
- Hand over bites one by one: Several small pieces in a row last longer than one big piece at once.
- Celebrate together: A friendly voice, stroking or a short game, if your dog enjoys it.
- Finish calmly: Afterwards, let your dog catch its breath, offer water and take off the harness.
What makes a good jackpot?
For the jackpot, choose snacks your dog rarely gets in everyday life: soft, fragrant cubes from the soft meat cubes category or something unusual such as Wild boar meat strips, which the person keeps ready broken into small pieces. You will find more ideas among our special treats. What matters is that the snack is eaten quickly and your dog does not have to chew for long.
Soft cubes for the jackpot at the end of the trail:
Tracking with treats: Food on the track
In tracking, treats are often placed directly on the track during training so your dog learns to search from footstep to footstep with its nose down. The food rewards every precise step and keeps your dog calm and focused on the line.
How to place food on the track
- Small pieces: Pea-sized bites that are eaten quickly work best.
- Dense at first: At the beginning, there is a piece in many or even every footstep.
- More sparing later: As experience grows, the gaps get bigger and the food spots more irregular.
- Reward at the article: When your dog indicates an article, it gets a special reward right there.
- Finish at the end: A small jackpot at the end of the track is worthwhile in tracking too.
Small, dry snacks are especially suitable for food on the track, for example from the mini meat cubes category. They keep their shape on damp grass and are easy to portion.
Phasing out food on the track
The goal is for your dog to follow the track because the search itself is rewarding. That is why you reduce the food gradually once it works reliably. Whether and when food on the track is allowed in trials is governed by the respective trial regulations – it is best to discuss this with your club or your trainers.
Timing: When the reward works in scent work
The reward works best when it comes immediately after the desired behaviour: in mantrailing right when the person is found, in tracking at the moment of the correct step or indication. Even a delay of a few seconds makes it harder for your dog to link the reward to its performance.
Typical timing mistakes
- Rewarding too early: Feeding shortly before the goal interrupts the search.
- Rewarding too late: If you rummage in your bag for a long time, the moment of success has passed.
- Distracting during the search: Constantly talking to your dog can break its concentration.
- Forgetting the reward: Especially after difficult trails, a generous finish is particularly important.
Preparation is everything
For the timing to be right, the reward should be within easy reach. The hiding person carries the jackpot in an easy-to-open tin or pouch, and you have small snacks for the track portioned out in advance. How to keep treats fresh and handy on the go is covered in our post on treat pouches, which you will find below in the further reading.
Suitable treats and amounts throughout the day
Small, strong-smelling snacks that are eaten quickly are ideal for scent work – and you deduct all training treats from the daily ration. This keeps your dog motivated without gaining weight.
Which snacks suit which purpose?
| Use | Suitable snacks | What to watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Food on the track | dry mini cubes, training snacks | small, keeps its shape, eaten quickly |
| Jackpot in mantrailing | soft cubes, meat strips in pieces | especially coveted, several bites |
| Reward at the article | special treats | give immediately and within easy reach |
| Simple exercises in between | part of the normal food ration | saves calories |
Good all-rounders for tracking include the Beef training snack or dried Chicken breast meat, which you can break into small pieces. You will find a large selection in the training snacks and meat strips categories.
Counting amounts throughout the day
A long trail with a generous jackpot or a track with many food spots quickly adds up to a considerable amount. As a guide, the common rule of thumb is that snacks should make up no more than about 10 percent of the daily energy requirement in total. Our guide How many treats per day? explains how to calculate this.
- Portion in advance: Before training, put the snacks for the track and the jackpot into a tin.
- Weigh: With a kitchen scale, you know how much your dog actually gets.
- Reduce the main food: On training days, deduct the amount from the normal ration.
- Keep an eye on the figure: Regularly check your dog's weight and body shape.
If your dog has pre-existing conditions, is overweight or has a sensitive digestion, it is best to discuss the type and amount of snacks with your vet.
Mini cubes for laying out on the track:
Frequently asked questions about the mantrailing reward
How do I reward my dog in mantrailing?
In mantrailing, you reward mainly at the end of the trail, once your dog has found the person. A jackpot of several especially coveted bites, often given by the person who was found, has proven effective. As a rule, no food is given during the search so your dog stays focused.
What is the difference between tracking and trailing?
In tracking, your dog follows a ground track with its nose down, as precisely as possible footstep by footstep, usually across a meadow or field. In trailing, it searches for a specific person by their individual scent, even in town and across tarmac. In tracking, food is often placed on the track during training, while in mantrailing the jackpot comes at the end.
Which dogs are suitable for mantrailing?
In principle, almost all healthy dogs can learn mantrailing, regardless of size, age or breed. Scent hounds such as the Bloodhound are particularly known for their noses, but mixed breeds and small dogs often enjoy it a lot too. If your dog has health limitations or is older, check the physical demands with your vet beforehand.
Which treats are suitable for tracking?
Small, dry snacks that keep their shape on damp grass and are eaten quickly are suitable for food on the track. Mini meat cubes and training snacks are easy to portion. For the reward at the article or at the end of the track, it can be something special.
Do I always have to reward with food in mantrailing?
No, what matters is what motivates your dog most. Many dogs prefer to work for food, others are happier with a toy or a game with the person found. Often a combination of food, praise and shared joy is ideal.
Conclusion: Staying on track with the right reward
The right mantrailing reward is a generous jackpot at the end of the trail, given at the moment of finding and ideally by the person being searched for. In tracking, food on the track helps during training but is gradually reduced as experience grows. Pay attention to good timing, choose small and especially coveted snacks and count all treats towards the daily ration. This keeps your dog motivated, healthy and enthusiastic about scent work.
Further reading on this topic:
- Snacks for Sport Dogs: Energy for Agility & Co.
- High-value dog treats: What makes a treat special?
- Treat Pouch: How to Keep Dog Treats Fresh on the Go
This post was created with the help of AI
