LK9 Services

21/04/2025

Easter photos part two…

21/04/2025

Oh my word, what fun we had this morning!

Jen and Lisa worked with 10 totally egg-cellent teams, and despite the rather damp weather, every dog and handler had the best time.
There was some very enthusiastic hunting—ears up, noses down, and tails wagging like bunny tails in a breeze!

Each dog had personal wins to be proud of, showing off their skills with some truly hare-raising enthusiasm.
The Easter Bunny had clearly been on the loose—dropping eggs along the trails and leaving behind some novel (and very carrot-y) scent articles for the dogs.

We feel so lucky to have such an amazing bunch of handlers (and hounds!) who trust us to guide them. You’re a supportive, fun-loving bunch who know how to hop to it when it comes to trailing—and we love you for it!

Wishing everyone a very hoppy Easter and a nose-full of adventure!

Too many photos for just one post 🙈so here’s the first batch:

19/04/2025

🐰🐰Easter ears and wagging tails,
Fluffy friends on springtime trails!
Just one tip before you scoff —
Keep the choccy well sealed off!
Happy Easter from our LK9 pack to yours!

19/04/2025

Saturday morning mantrailing in Tewkesbury!
We headed into town bright and early to give the dogs a chance to settle before working the busier areas. It was a great session with a good mix of open spaces, tracks, parkland, and High Street busyness to really test the dogs’ focus and skills.

Everyone started with a warm-up trail, then 4 of the 5 of the dogs took on a challenge trail featuring an obvious trail layer and decoys in a big open area—lots going on to think about! After that, the teams had the option to work either in the urban areas or stick to the park for their third trail. I was genuinely impressed with how they all handled the many distractions.

Lacey wasn’t quite feeling it today, so we switched things up for her playing around with rewards and short fun trails to help boost her enthusiasm—always happy to meet the dogs where they’re at.

As always, the usual chat, banter and giggles made for a cracking morning. Thanks, ladies (and Matt)!😃

18/04/2025

Friday afternoon back on the industrial estate brought stronger winds but less traffic than the morning — a different kind of challenge for the dogs!

For some teams, it was their first time working in this kind of urban setting, while one dog was a seasoned pro. I even worked my old boy Loxley — he absolutely loved it and reminded me he’s still got it!

🐾Ginny was a bit baffled by the lack of scent compared to our usual rural trails — such a good reminder of how different environments really change the picture for the dogs.
🐾🐾Olive and Laney came full of enthusiasm and handled their trails really nicely, showing great problem-solving when it was needed.
🐾Luna(tic!) was super-duper, absolutely smashed the challenge I set for her and made it look way too easy!

All in all, a fab way to spend an afternoon — and the rain pretty much held off too, which is always a bonus!

18/04/2025

Today (Friday) we were hosted by our friends at Signs R Us in Evesham, giving our dogs the chance to work around the industrial estate — always a great spot for some challenging mantrailing!

This morning’s group was a mix of experience levels:
• The three more experienced teams tackled two longer trails (400/500m+),
• While two newer teams completed three shorter but equally challenging trails.

With strong gusty winds, traffic, road crossings and lots of buildings, it was fascinating to watch how each dog handled the environment and found the best scent source— often hugging close to vegetation to do so.

Highlights? Oh yes…
🔥 Lottie was absolutely on fire today! She smashed her trails, even if she was a bit baffled to find her trail layer lying on the floor!
🚙 Kobe was a little triggered by the traffic movement today -collie 🙈, but we worked through it and discussed strategies to help him
🤯 Blaze really had to think at the road junctions. He followed the trails well and showed great problem-solving when checking out multiple paths before choosing his direction.

And a big shoutout to the newbies:
👏🏼 👏🏻Lyra (the Bavarian MH — not my Lyra!) and Hudson took on their longest and most complex trails yet, in a totally new environment… and absolutely nailed it! Super proud of how these two dogs have grasped the game and their enthusiasm. The owners did an amazing job with line handling too👍🏻.

Absolutely buzzing after this session — such an impressive bunch of dogs and handlers this morning!

Report from the afternoon session to follow…

16/04/2025

5 fantastic teams joined Jen on Monday evening in Worcester!

This brilliant venue has so much to offer — a mix of surfaces, pathways, roads, buildings, green spaces, and even ponds. It’s the perfect place to challenge both dogs and handlers!

The teams worked around buildings and explored how structures can affect scent movement, along with practising road crossings and navigating junctions.

Everyone did an amazing job and left ready for a good night’s sleep — dogs and humans alike!
Great work, everyone — we can’t wait to do it all again soon!

14/04/2025

If you’re thinking of ordering some natural treats or selection boxes soon, do it now to grab a discount 😉

To celebrate Easter early we are giving all orders 20% off our Training Treats, Natural Treats and Box ranges until Wednesday this week! 🐰🐣

We have had so many orders recently that our stock is limited so it's first come first served on what is left before we restock!

Orders following Thursday 17th will be posted on Monday 28th April as we take Canine Chef on tour to France!

12/04/2025

Friday afternoon’s mantrailing session took us into the woods—plenty of lovely shade which was very welcome in the sunshine!

We were a slightly smaller group this time, with one person unable to make it, so four teams worked six dogs between them, each at different stages of their mantrailing journey. Some of the dogs are still getting to grips with the game of hide-and-seek with humans, while one of our more experienced teams absolutely nailed every trail—as usual!

It’s always fascinating to see how different breeds approach the same task. On this session we had a lurcher, a Vizsla, two collies, a pomski, and a husky—all working hard and showing off their skills. And earlier in the day (see previous post), we had another great mix: a collie, GSD, cavapoo, cavapoochon, and a spaniel.

I absolutely love how inclusive mantrailing is—whatever the breed, they can all get involved and have fun doing it!

12/04/2025

🗓️Date for your diary
This looks like a fun dog show

We are working so hard behind the scenes to put this event together for you.

We have also been working with some local companies to donate for sponsoring classes and raffle prizes.

We want to say a massive thank you to LK9 Services for sponsoring TWO of our Dog Show classes.

Best Fancy Dress
Best Sausage Catcher

LK9 have us all addicted to Mantrailing with our dogs and really getting them working their noses.

Mantrailing is a fun, dog-led scent game where pups use their super sniffers to track down a specific person—just like in real-life search and rescue missions! Oh, and don’t miss out on totally free deals for treats, food, cool gadgets, accessories, and all the other must-haves for awesome pet parents.

If you are part of a local business and would like to sponsor this years show or donate a raffle prize please contact us via the page, email or whatsapp

11/04/2025

It’s been a long, busy Friday with two mantrailing sessions—but what a brilliant day to be out with the dogs🌞🌞!

Our first session was in Pershore town. We started on the quieter outskirts for a warm-up trail, then took to the bustling streets. It was a proper challenge for the dogs—urban environments are noisy, full of distractions like traffic, people, trolleys, sirens, and scent contamination from so many passersby. Add in the heat, and it’s no easy task for a dog to hold the trail.

But as always, those amazing noses rose to the occasion. You wouldn’t have known how tough it was—the dogs worked like pros, even the ones who aren’t usually comfortable in busy areas.

Superb work from everyone today—dogs and handlers alike. Absolutely brilliant effort, ladies and pups!

09/04/2025

Monday evening brought more sunshine and plenty of chatter amongst the 5 mantrailing teams who joined Jen in Droitwich town.

With a mix of experience levels, the teams hit the streets to work on junctions, decoys, and determining old scent from new.

They all successfully tackled the underpass, side roads, and crossed the main square—urban trailing at its best!

Line handling definitely needs some extra thought in these trickier town environments, but everyone rose to the challenge.

Well done, teams—brilliant work as always!

09/04/2025

What a wonderful way to spend a Tuesday evening!
🌞🐕‍🦺🦮🌳🌲

Five teams joined Lisa for three trails in the woods.
We kicked things off with a warm-up to help everyone settle into the environment — it was a new venue for most of them and there are lots of critter smells for the dogs and opportunities for line handling skills to be tested 🙈🤣.

For the second trail, each team faced an individual challenge, whether it was a novel scent article or a different type of start.

For the final trail the trail layer (our “missing person”) was walking and clearly visible. This was a brand-new scenario for all the dogs, and the change in context really threw some of them — while others picked it up straight away.

Great fun all round, with lots of learning points to build on in future sessions!
Thanks to everyone that came along, you did brilliantly 🤩

08/04/2025

I feel like everyone should live life a little bit like Ruby 🤪🤩

08/04/2025

DO YOU KNOWS ABOUT MY NOSE?

Dogs largely perceive and interpret the world through their sense of smell, which is their strongest sense.

Their sense of smell can be powerful enough to detect substances at concentrations of one part per trillion—a single drop of liquid in 20 Olympic-size swimming pools.

Just like every person has a unique fingerprint, each dog has their own unique nose print made up of ridges and bumps that create a unique pattern.

While all dog breeds have an excellent sense of smell, brachycephalic dogs – breeds that have a short muzzle and a flat or snub-nosed face like Pugs, French Bulldogs, Boxers, Bulldogs, Boston Terriers, Pekingese, Shih Tzus etc. have been found to have the least sensitivity to scent compared to non-brachycephalic breeds

The Bloodhound and other hound breeds are thought to have the best sense of smell. Their long ears carry scents upwards from the ground and the loose skin around their head and neck trap and retain scents, which makes them excellent tracking dogs.

Providing different types of scent enrichment has huge benefits for any breed of dog, especially as it’s such a natural behaviour.

Scent games, sniffing walks, a new environment or area to explore are all simple ways to provide enrichment.

Scenting has been shown to decrease heart rate, lower blood pressure, build self-confidence, decrease stress and anxiety and help dogs feel more positive and optimistic.

Here are some links for simple scent games to play with your dog -
Indoor Scent Games for Dogs:
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/training/indoor-scent-games-for-dogs/

A YouTube Video from K9 of Mine - 6 Nosework Games for Dogs - easy, simple scentwork
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTYZ_cenuWw

06/04/2025

Who needs a Sunday lie-in when you can be out mantrailing in gorgeous weather with your dog?
Blue skies, lovely views, and five focused teams smashing it this morning!

Today’s trails took our dogs and handlers through a real mix of challenges—working around buildings, crossing roads, tackling surface changes and navigating junctions. Add in distractions like people, cars, and wildlife, and it was a proper test of focus and line handling.

The shifting wind kept the dogs on their toes, but it was amazing to watch them work out the puzzle, piece by piece. You could really see those noses in action!

Brilliant effort from every team—smiles all round and some very happy (and tired!) dogs by the end.
Great work, teams!

Thanks Sian for some cool incoming photos 😉

05/04/2025

What a lovely sunny Friday evening at Lido Park for Jen, working with five fab mantrailing teams!

🐾 Frankie took scent beautifully from a mug and worked confidently through open space to find his trail layer.

🐾 Neve/Mia trailed from the park out into the streets, powering through wind and junctions with great determination.

🐾 George had an outstanding night. Despite being dog reactive, he stayed fully focused and worked past other dogs like a pro to find his trail layer. What a win for him! ❤️

🐾 Barney may be new to mantrailing, but he totally gets the game. Tonight he did his first ever scent article start—and smashed it! This boy loves to work.

🐾 Bob joined us for his first progression session after a recent intro—and what a natural! He’s already offering a sit at the trail layer, no prompt needed.

Awesome work from all the teams tonight—so proud of you all! 🤩