CONTROL
The Judge will define an exercise involving some
combination of fast, slow and normal paces, often with halts, right, left, and
about turns. The dog should walk
smartly in a natural manner through turns and among and around persons and
obstacles as required by the Judge.
Your dog is expected to maintain
a position reasonably close to your left leg without any extra cues or
assistance. You are expected to walk in a natural and relaxed manner as well
(e.g.: comfortable posture with your hands swinging at your sides in a normal
manner). A heel command should be given
only when starting the exercise and when setting off from a halt. This may sound as though you are not
supposed to give your dog any assistance at all if needed. NOT SO! If your dog
loses attention then, by all means, give his name and a nice clear
command - you’ll loose minor points, but complete the exercise. The dog can only be worked on a smooth
collar (No choke chains, pinch collars
or electric collars will be allowed during any exercise.)
Work your dog to the best of your ability. It is better to loose minor points for extra commands than major
points for not successfully performing an exercise.
RECALL TO FRONT AND FINISH
(WCD stake only)
The recall involves the following steps (each cued
by the Judge or Steward): position your dog in the sit, down or stand position
(handler’s discretion) at the location indicated by the Judge or Steward, leave
your dog and proceed to the recall position (typically 30-50 yards away), call
your dog to a front position, and finish your dog to a heel position. Any simultaneous command and signal or second cues will be penalized.
Before walking
onto the field, remove all food items from your pockets! Competitors carrying
food or training aids during competition will be disqualified.
The sendaway involves sending your dog to a location
specified by the Judge or Steward. The
location might be a pole, a bush, or simply a spot on the ground. In the higher stakes, the sendaway is
completed with a redirection to another location to the right or left. Position and send your dog, continuing to
work your dog if needed (for a loss of some marks) until you have either
achieved the desired location, you feel that you cannot better your dog’s
position, or the Judge indicates that you should stop. At that point, halt the
dog in a sit, down or stand (handler’s discretion). Typically the dog will be
scored based on his final position (if he stops at ½ the desired distance, you
will typically receive no more than ½ marks). The Judge will take into account
the number of commands used during the exercise, but emphasis will be placed
upon the handler’s ability to direct the dog to the place indicated.
Never
turn around and ask the Judge for help and advice but instead
concentrate on getting the best performance from your dog that you can.
The retrieve involves the following steps (each cued
by the Judge or Steward): throw the dumbbell, send your dog, take the dumbbell
and finish. When commanding your dog,
use your dogs name and either a command or a signal, not both or second cues, as
some Judges will penalize you. Most
Judges will allow you to use a command as you take the dumbbell from the dog.
Remember to give your dog a chance to eliminate before an
exercise. If a
dog fouls during an exercise, it will be heavily penalized or disqualified.
STEADINESS TO GUNSHOT (WUD
and above)
Steadiness to gun is often done immediately after
the search and tracking portion of the trial, and it shall not be tested
without warning or be incorporated into any other test. The dog may be either
walking at heel free or be away from the handler who must be permitted to
remain within controlling distance while the gun is fired. Any sign of fear, aggressiveness or barking
may be penalized. The gun is usually
kept hidden from the dog.
Before each exercise, listen carefully to the Judge or Steward and if
you
are in any doubt, ask questions before
you start the exercise.
SIT STAY (2 minutes) (WCD
stake only) & DOWN STAY (10 minutes)
Dogs may be tested individually (perhaps during
another exercise) or in a group or groups, and may be placed in a line or
scattered around a field. Give yourself
plenty of time and space to settle your dog.
It is normal to be asked to remove both the collar and lead. Do this quickly and listen to the
instructions carefully. When you are
instructed to give your "last command", do so firmly but calmly. Go to the out of sight position as directed
by the Steward and remain quiet and completely out of sight of all dogs until
told to return. The best procedure, if
your dog breaks the stay position and joins you, is to adopt a calm attitude
and put your dog into the correct position, out of sight of the other dogs,
then leave him and stand near the other competitors for the duration of the
exercise.
No dog will be awarded any marks that gets out of
the designated position, or crawls more than its approximate body length in any
direction.
When you return to your dog at the end of the
exercise, do not allow your dog to leap to his feet and race around in an
explosion of excitement. The dogs must
remain in the stay position until the Judge has indicated the end of the
exercise. At the completion of the
exercises, put your lead on and praise your dog.
pass beyond any part of the jumps before the exercise is completed.
The scale jump exercise consists of three actions:
sending the dog across the jump, placing the dog in a control position (sit,
down or stand - handler’s discretion) on the other side of the jump, and
recalling the dog across the jump.
Before beginning this exercise, the handler must designate the control
position that the dog will take up on the other side of the jump. You will also be told how the Judge or
Steward will indicate for you to call your dog back over the scale. The dog and
handler must be within nine feet of the jump when the dog is sent. As soon as he is over the jump, give your
control cue and then watch the Judge or Steward for the signal to call the dog
back over the jump. You are not permitted to peek at your dog. The dog must hold the control position until
the handler is told to recall the dog.
In these exercises, the dog is sent across the jump
and then placed under control on the
other side (any control command, any position). The handler may approach the jump with the dog, stand between the
dog and the jump, or send the dog to the jump.
Take a moment to be sure your dog is positioned correctly for the run
up. Make sure that your dog has seen
where the top bar of the bar jump is situated.
You are not allowed to touch the jumps but you are allowed to point them
out to your dog. Concentrate on your
dog and when you have positioned him, give a positive command, and/or signal to
jump. Most Judges will allow
simultaneous command and signal in agility exercises. The dog should not exert any pressure on the clear jump or the
long jump as it negotiates it. Excessive
pressure is considered to be a failure, casual fouling with legs or tail may be
penalized. After sending the dog over,
you can give a command for the control position on the other side of the jump.
AGILITY SECOND ATTEMPTS: You
may be offered a second attempt if your dog fails to negotiate a jump
correctly, refuses the jump or you go past the jump before being told to do
so. Most Judges will allow you a second
attempt in the lower stakes over one or more jumps. The second attempt will be scored at ½ of the original marks
available.
The search square is a large grassy square marked by
4 poles from which the dog must find and retrieve a number of small
Steward-scented articles without the handler entering the square. At the WCD stake the articles might be the
size of a playing card, getting progressively smaller in higher stakes. Articles cannot be glass, but can be
anything else which is not dangerous to the dog. The handler is free to move about and communicate with the dog (talk,
touch, command, wave, cheer, etc) as long as no part of the handler’s body
enters the square. The objects do not
have to be formally retrieved, but the handler must be able to present them to
the Judge upon completion.
The WCD stake search area is 15 yards square, all
other stakes are 25 yards square, with
each competitor set up on a separate piece of land. The search square will be clearly defined by a pole or flag at
each corner and fresh articles, scented by the Steward, will be used for each
dog. The WCD search square shall
contain 3 articles and squares for all other stakes shall contain 4. Time allotted is 4 minutes at the WCD level
and 5 minutes in all other stakes.
Handlers may work the dog from any position outside the area, but must
not enter it.
Time will start when you begin working your
dog. The object of the exercise is to
recover all the articles, two being sufficient
to qualify. Your job is to keep
the dog in the square and allow him to work and cover the whole square. Over handling or under handling, depending
on your dog’s needs, will be appraised and possibly penalized. If your dog struggles to pick up a
particular article, (metal is often the culprit) do not waste all the time on
it - note where the “difficult” article is, move on, and return to it after you have recovered all others.
The search
square should be worked with special consideration to wind direction. Many Judges will expect you to put your dog
into the square on the downwind side.
You may move around the outside of the square as is necessary to assist
your dog, but should stay away from the upwind side of the square to keep your
scent from falling into the square (but again, if moving upwind is necessary to
find or recover articles, it is better to possibly loose a few handling points
but help the dog to retrieve additional articles). If you feel that the Judge, Steward or spectators are in a
position to interfere with your square, politely direct them to a more
appropriate location. Nerves sometimes
play a part here - at one English trial a handler carefully checked wind
direction, and then promptly moved the Judge and Steward directly upwind!
The Judge will want to see the articles recovered to
your hands and not dropped on the ground.
This does not mean that your dog has to do a formal presentation. The dog merely needs to release the articles
into your hands.
Be careful with the articles that the dog has
brought to you. Only articles that you
hand to the Judge will be awarded points.
At the completion of the search, hand your articles to the Judge and,
once the search Steward has recovered any articles remaining, it is a nice
gesture to help gather up the search poles.
Be courteous to your Judge
and Steward. Even if you have a problem
on an exercise, remember that they are out there for you, and thank them for
their efforts.
TRACKING (WUD and above)
The track is a half mile long, minimum of 30 minutes
old, with usually six to eight turns of any angle at the WUD level. One article is laid somewhere in the first
half of the track, the second is at the end.
One article must be recovered in order to qualify. Time allowed to complete the track is a
minimum of twenty minutes.
Competitors are expected to be at the main field
waiting their turn on the tracking field.
A helper will either escort or direct you to the tracking area. You will normally arrive just as the last
competitor is finishing their search and gun exercises. Keep your dog on the lead and stay well
clear of the area being worked but, if possible keep the Judge or Steward in
sight. Listen for the gun as it could be
your signal to begin walking toward the Judge - or - you will be asked to
remain where you are and the Judge will join you.
Listen carefully to the Judge and concentrate on
what you are being told. The Judge will
tell you about the track and might ask how your dog indicates the articles.
When the time comes to start the track, walk toward the first pole and when you
are ready, put the harness on carefully and make sure the line is tangle
free. Two starting poles are often used
in the WUD Stake to help you to get your dog into the track - the track will
usually continue in a straight line for at least 100 yards before turning.
If, at some point, you are unfortunate enough to
hear a whistle (indicating that the Judge is concluding your track), without stopping
your dog, look to the Judge for confirmation that you are being stopped. Most Judges raise and wave both arms to
signal confirmation that you are being stopped. From time to time a bird has whistled or someone has shouted
several fields away and the competitor has removed the harness and started
walking back to the Judge only to find out that they had not been whistled off
at all. If you have been whistled off,
stop your dog immediately just in case you are in danger of fouling another
track.
When you have completed your track, remove your
harness and attach your line to the collar.
Do not allow your dog to run all over the field. Walk right back to the Judge and he will
often comment on your track as this may help in your future training. Partial marks can be awarded, and are
usually based on the distance covered, number of turns navigated, and number of
articles recovered.
Assuming that you complete the track and recover the
articles, place them carefully in your pocket.
Remove the harness and attach the lead to the collar while tidying up
the line. This allows your dog an extra few minutes of rest before the search
exercise. Hand the Judge the articles
(failure to present the articles to the Judge will result in the loss of 10-20
points, so be careful).
You will normally be allowed to offer your dog a
drink of water before doing the search square, but always ask permission first.
In Working Trials, you are
competing with no one but yourself, so cheer the other guy on - it will make
everyone involved happier, no matter what the outcome.