From scent articles to trail layers: mantrailing vocabulary, abbreviations and the terms used in Mantrailing Teams, explained simply.
A reference for before, during or after training. Schools sometimes use terms differently. We explain common meanings and distinguish how the app uses them. For an examination, the selected rulebook always applies.
Also called: Old track · Altspur · Trail age · Ageing time
A trail laid earlier. What counts as “aged” depends on the exercise and rulebook; no single time threshold applies everywhere.
ALT flags earlier recorded routes or presence nearby. The name and time provide context. The app does not measure scent or prove that the dog can detect an older trail there.
Also called: Hochwind
Scent carried through the air, for example directly from the target. The dog need not follow the person’s exact walked route.
Also called: Training · Event · Examination · Termin
A scheduled period with a venue and attendance. It may contain several operation blocks. Examiners can only be invited for an event or examination.
Also called: Flächensuche
Searching an area for human scent. Unlike mantrailing, the task is not centred on one specific person’s reference scent.
Also called: Return track · Rückspur
The target retraces part of their route. Outward and return paths overlap; this is different from an older trail from another day.
Also called: Blindtrail · Einfach blind
The handler does not know the route; the accompanying instructor or flanker may know it.
“Blind” hides the reference from the search team, but allows the flanker to see it. The team’s own track is still recorded. The app cannot undo prior knowledge.
Also called: Casten
Guided exploration of an area to locate a continuing scent. Its scope and the assistance given depend on the training objective.
Also called: Begleitperson
An additional person accompanying the run, with a task agreed before starting.
A separate operation role from the flanker. Accompanying a run does not automatically grant access to the planned route or trail-layer track.
Also called: Kontamination · Unwanted scent
Additional unwanted scent on a scent article, for example from another person touching it. Careful handling and clear attribution are therefore important.
Also called: Demo team · Test session
A guided practice run with Anna, Ben and Mia with Sammy on the Berlin demo route. It uses simulated positions and does not need your real location.
Also called: Verleitung · Verleitperson · VLP
Another scent or route that can distract from the current task. A decoy is a deliberately included other person, not the main target.
The app organises a planned human decoy as an additional trail layer with their own route or workflow. That is the app’s assignment model, not the general definition of distraction.
Also called: Doppelblind · Double-blind trail
Neither the handler nor the immediately accompanying instructor knows the route and destination. The trail layer naturally knows their own route.
The reference is also hidden from the flanker. A truly double-blind exercise additionally requires companions not to know or otherwise reveal the solution.
Also called: Replay · Track comparison · Auswertung
Reviewing one or several runs using available tracks, times and media. A run without a recording can also appear in the results.
GPS distances do not measure scent work. A phone track represents the device’s path, not every step taken by the dog.
Also called: PO · Rulebook · Level · Prüfungsordnung
An organiser’s or association’s rules for admission, tasks and assessment. Similarly named levels from different providers are not necessarily equivalent.
Select the rulebook and version. Missing rules can be submitted for review and addition. A GPS comparison does not decide whether you pass.
Also called: Examiner · Invitation link · Prüferzugang
An invitation for a specific appointment of type event or examination. The examiner sees permitted operations and a read-only organisation view.
No start function or location requests. The optional “Hidden person found” action sets the shared find status. Invitations can be linked to an existing account.
Also called: Move hiding place · Spur verlängern
After agreement, the trail layer continues walking and recording, then confirms arrival at the new hiding place. This action is in the three-dot menu while waiting.
Also called: Finish · Fund · Ziel
Confirmation that the target person was actually found. It sets the shared find status. Do not confirm an aborted or uncertain outcome as a find.
Also called: Safety assistant · Backup
Accompanies the search team, watches for hazards and assists as agreed. Not necessarily the trainer; in double-blind work, the flanker also does not know the solution.
The flanker sees the permitted trailer track and their own position. Their own track remains hidden in the live map.
Also called: Flanker track · Flanker-Ersatzspur
A flanker track recorded in the background can serve as a substitute when no usable trailer recording exists. It remains a flanker track, not a reconstructed measurement of the dog’s path.
Also called: Public · Template · Globale Bibliothek
Planning trails and locations shared across teams. Copy another person’s template into your own planning pool to use it; the original stays attributed to its creator.
This is different from sharing a private run recording. Linking accounts alone publishes nothing.
Also called: GPS · GNSS · Position · ± metres
The device’s estimate of position uncertainty. Smaller values are preferable, not a guarantee. Buildings, reception and the device can displace the recorded path.
Also called: Halbblind
A training term without a universally consistent meaning. Agree which parts of the task participants may know beforehand.
In the app, “Half blind”, like “Blind”, hides reference tracks from the search team and shows them to the flanker. Partial knowledge comes from your briefing, not an automatically half-visible map.
Also called: HF · Hundeführer · Hundeführerin
The person handling, observing and keeping the dog safe during the search.
The operation role is called “Trailer”. This person and the selected dog form the search team.
Also called: Anzeige · Passive indication
Recognisable behaviour at the target person, such as sitting calmly. The expected indication depends on training and examination rules.
“Hidden person found” confirms the shared status. It is not the dog’s indication or an automatic assessment of its work.
Also called: Individualgeruch · Reference scent
A person’s scent characteristics used for the search. A scent article provides the reference to the target person. This does not imply infallible identification.
Also called: Indoor · Building search
Mantrailing with sections inside buildings, such as corridors or stairs. Access, safety and the particular environment need to be agreed beforehand.
Also called: Wissend · Blue Line · Dogtrail
The handler and accompanying instructor know the route. This can support a specific training objective; it is not a blind assessment.
“Known” allows the search team to see the reference. Companions do not automatically receive the same information.
Also called: Leinenhandling · Long line · Trailing line
Managing the line deliberately during a search. Safety and freedom of movement matter; avoid unintended directional cues. Required line lengths vary.
Also called: Person group · Identification
The target stands among other people. The dog should distinguish and indicate the person matching the reference scent.
Also called: Synchronisation
The view updates as new data arrives. “Online” and “Live” do not guarantee second-by-second positions. Weak reception may delay points and status updates.
Also called: Training area · Venue
A saved planning place with a position, meeting point and associated trails. It is not an appointment or a run and does not grant permission to enter land.
Also called: Spurabriss · Scent gap
The dog temporarily cannot work an onward route although the person may have continued. The cause needs assessment; this is not automatically a negative ending.
Also called: Person trailing · Mantrailer
Searching for a particular person using their scent. Dog and handler work together. The term covers recreational training and appropriately trained rescue teams.
Mantrailing Teams supports training, organisation and examinations. Using an app or earning a sporting title does not establish readiness for real missing-person searches.
Also called: Presentation · Spectators · Monitoransicht
A large-screen view for following an appointment together. It does not expand access rights. Check that displayed names and permitted positions are appropriate for the audience.
Also called: Firetrail · Anreizen
A short motivation-focused exercise. Some schools let the dog watch the person leave. Names and procedures vary; speed is not a measure of quality.
Also called: Negativ · Negativanzeige
A task or indication involving no matching onward trail being worked. A negative is not automatically a training error or simply an unsuccessful find.
Also called: Ansatznegativ · Negativabgang · NSI
A deliberate task where no matching trail of the target is intended to be present at the start. Define the task and expected indication beforehand.
Also called: Einsatz · Durchführung · Training run
One actual run with people, a dog, status and any recordings. It is neither the saved planning trail nor the entire appointment.
Also called: Block · Einsatzblock
A numbered assignment within an appointment: search team, dog, trail layer, flanker and prepared workflow. The schedule shows its order and participants.
Also called: Einsatztabelle · When is my turn?
A compact overview of an appointment’s blocks. Find your name, task and status. An assignment is not permission to start.
Also called: Start area
Exploring the area around the starting location before the search. Its purpose and execution vary by training approach; there is no universal mandatory circle.
Also called: Collection point · Negativtrail
The target is collected part-way along the route; no findable person waits at the end. This can be a negative exercise. A vehicle does not guarantee complete absence of scent.
Also called: Planned route · Planungstrail
A route saved for preparation. An actual trail-layer recording can later serve as the reference. A planned route, scent trail and GPS recording are different things.
Also called: Release · Access rights · Privat
Controls who can access content. A private setting and a run’s blind policy serve different purposes. Switching to the monitor or evaluation does not remove restrictions.
Also called: Track · GPS track · Aufzeichnung
Saved position points with timestamps. Seeing your position does not mean a track is being recorded. Check the displayed recording status.
Also called: Belohnung · Joker · Jackpot
Something the dog enjoys, such as suitable food or play, reinforces the completed task. Its type and intensity should suit the dog.
Also called: VP · Hidden person · Subject · Versteckperson · Figurant
The target person laying the route in training. “Runner” does not mean they have to run.
Anna takes this role in the demo. “Hiding place reached” reports her arrival, not the later find by the search team.
Also called: Trail-layer track
The trail layer’s recorded route shows where the recording device was. It may differ from the plan; the visible line does not measure scent distribution.
Also called: GA · Geruchsartikel · Geruchsträger · Scent sample
An object or sample carrying the target person’s scent, such as worn clothing. It provides the dog’s reference; other scents can make identification harder.
Also called: Differenzierung
Distinguishing the target scent from other people or trails. Training may deliberately present several people or routes.
Also called: Geruchspool · Pool
A training term for an area of accumulated scent, for example after a longer stay. It is not an exactly bounded, visible patch.
Also called: Geruchsspur · Duftspur
Scent information used by the searching dog. It is not equivalent to a narrow ground line or a GPS track.
Also called: Suchspur · Dog track
The device’s recorded route with the searching team. Usually the handler carries it, not the dog.
The flanker can follow this track in their permitted operation view. It is distinct from the VP track and the hidden flanker fallback track.
Also called: Splitting
The target and a decoy initially walk together, then separate. In a split start, they take different directions at the starting point.
Also called: Rescue-dog examination · Sportprüfung
Passing a sport examination is not equivalent to operational readiness in rescue-dog work. Rescue organisations have their own training, examinations and further requirements.
Also called: Abgang · Ansatz
The beginning of the search task. The dog’s starting location need not be the exact spot where the person set off.
Also called: Start marker · Treffpunkt
The meeting point organises the group. The start point belongs to the search task. They may coincide, but need not.
A location marker is not a person. Participant positions are separately labelled with their role or name.
Also called: Startritual
A repeated routine suited to the dog, for example harnessing, taking scent and a search cue. Its details are developed during training.
Also called: Anriechen · Scent Article Start
The dog is presented with the target person’s reference scent, for example on a scent article. The agreed search cue initiates the search.
Also called: Trailteam · Trailer · Suchteam
In the app, “Team” means the wider training group. The “search team” is the handler and dog working in one operation.
“Trailer” is the searching handler or their operation role; “Runner” is the trail layer. Mia with Sammy is the search team; Anna is the runner.
Also called: TA · Administration
Manages members, team settings and the team subscription. This responsibility can accompany a training role and does not define the person’s task in the current operation.
Also called: Route · Spur
The route of a search task. In everyday usage, “trail” may mean either the laid route or the whole run.
We distinguish planning trails, actual runs and recorded tracks. Reusing a template does not make it the same run.
Also called: Harness · Geschirr
A well-fitted working harness for searching. It should support safe line handling and free movement. Fit and selection are part of practical instruction.
Also called: Instructor · Training lead
Supports the training process and the professional debrief.
These team roles can organise locations, trails and operation blocks. Flanker is an assignment for one operation. A team admin is not automatically the trainer.
This glossary does not replace practical instruction by qualified trainers. An “operation” here is a training or examination run, not authorisation for a real missing-person search.
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