COMPETITORS HANDBOOK
WELCOME!
Our aim is to give you the best experience we can that is fun and relaxedand it’s all about the search.
Our Competition Scent Dog Trials are conducted with the utmost credibility and closely simulate real-life operational searches. Our writers and Judges possess City and Guilds Assured Credentials as Handlers and Instructors ensuring our Trials are highly reputable and trustworthy. They will test both dog and handler.
Although winning a trial is nice, we also put high value on a clean sweep.
A clean sweep shows that you and your dog have worked well together and found all of the hides, it’s a job well done and what we train for.
As such, the search Elements are done as a whole search, not individually, and are timed as a whole search.
There will be two types of Trials. Competitors may (advertised as a PRO Trial) or may not (advertised as an ALERT Trial) be told what they will be searching prior to the Trial briefing.
ALERT Trial Competitors will just be given a location and start time. It is scenario based and asking the right questions may get you a map and other useful information.
GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN!
GENERAL RULES
Competition Scent Dog Trials are judged upon Safety, Management of your dog, System and Efficiency. To pass a Level and progress to the next level, you must; Gain a pass score at that Level ALERT Trial . Gain a pass score at that Level PRO Trial for each of the 4 Elements. A pass score is 7/10 for System, Control and Safety and found the required number of hides. pass a Level and progress to the next level, you must; Gained a pass score at that Level ALERT Trial . Gained a pass score at that Level PRO Trial for each of the 4 Elements.
Any deliberate breach of Safety may result in disqualification.
· Any dog handling techniques or that involves the use of Force, Fear or Pain will result in immediate disqualification.
You may only enter one dog in a trial.
· Dogs must be 10 Months old or over to enter.
· Bitches in season are not permitted to enter any Competition Scent Dog Trials (CSDT)
· Dogs who compete must not wear equipment such as slip leads or no-pull harnesses that tighten on the dog or any piece of equipment that causes pain or discomfort.
· Head collars are not permitted during a CSD Trial.
· Belly bands are not permitted.
· Rewards & reinforcements are encouraged. Either food or toys can be used.
· No Food rewards to be fed from the floor or dropped whilst feeding.
· Toys must not disrupt the search area.
· The search must be systematic & progressive. A search is 20-30 minutes long depending on Level and search area.
· Although the search is allotted a time span, ample time will have been allocated to enable the search to be completed. You will be offered a one-minute time warning if you are nearing the end of the allotted time for the search. Time is for the benefit of the Trial Manager so venues can be booked. How long your search takes you will not be recorded and is NOT part of the overall score.
· All competitors will search numerous odours which will increase as the Levels progress.
· The maximum number of odours (at present) will be 6.
· A White Dog will be run before the start of the Trial
Competitors will not remove hides, interfere or touch hides in any way.
· In an ALERT Trial, the Competitors must ask the Judge before touching anything in the search area or moving objects.
· Competitors are to be reminded that there may be other tasks and elements within an ALERT Trial and fun problem solving may be required.
· Candidates must take responsibility for their own and their dog’s safety during the search as each search must be Safe, Managed, Systematic & Efficient.
· The handler’s alert signal must be stated BEFORE the commencement of the search.
ODOUR & HIDES
· All hides and blanks will be inaccessible & placed out of sight.
· Soaks MUST be placed in a shell to prevent contamination.
· Contamination control is paramount.
· The Odours will be Napier Gun Oil, Clove, Hunter English Truffle Oil, a Vodafone SIM card, a spent shot gun cartridge (gundog trainers) and British Raw Cannabis Oil 250 in blue box.
· A maximum of 2 drops of oil-based Odour is used and placed separately from each other on the carrier & not one on top of the other.
· The SIM card will be new and unused.
· The spent shotgun cartridges can be acquired from local shoots. Store in Mason jars and use the whole cartridge in a shell.
· No two hides shall be placed within 2 metres of each other.
· We do not recommend hides are deeply buried. However, under the edge of a paving slab in the pathway is OK.
· Hides may be placed at height or in drawers, cupboards, suitcases, bags etc.
· Hides at height must be achievable.
· A full safety assessment must be carried out by the TM and Judge.
· Hides can be used to encourage the dog to problem solve (standing on hay bales for example etc) but safety comes first.
· Odour will be cooked for 24hrs prior to the trial and kept in a sealed glass mason jar.
· Strict odour hygiene must be observed when preparing hides including the use of tweezers and glove.
· The shell must be vented to allow for the flow of odour.
TRIAL LEVELS
THE SIZE OF THE SEARCH AREA MUST REFLECT THE LEVEL OF THE TRIAL.
There are 10 Levels to compete in. These will be known as L1 - L10
The Competitor will not be told (after L1) how many hides, the target odour or number of clear areas being used. Two blank hides will be used in each level.
· LEVEL 1
1 hide in each search area. Target odour is Gun Oil. All hides must be found.
· LEVEL 2
Up to 2 hides in each search area. Target odours are Gun Oil and Clove. The ratio between the two odours can be varied. All hides must be found.
· LEVEL 3
5 hides per Trial.. Target odours are Gun Oil, Clove and Truffle Oil. The ratio between the odours can be varied. 4/5 hides must be found.
· LEVEL 4
5 hides per Trial. Target odours are Gun Oil, Clove, Truffle Oil and Raw Cannabis Oil. The ratio between the odours can be varied. 4/5 hides must be found.
· LEVEL 5
5 hides per Trial. Target odours are Gun Oil, Clove, Truffle Oil, Raw Cannabis Oil and a spent shotgun cartridge. The ratio between the odours can be varied. One search area can be left clear with no odour. 4/5 hides must be found.
· LEVEL 6
5 hides per Trial. Target odours are Gun Oil, Clove, Truffle Oil, Raw Cannabis Oil, spent shotgun cartridge and a Vodafone SIM card. The ratio between the odours can be varied. 4/5 hides must be found. One search area can be left clear with no odour. 1 hide of any odour may be placed on 1 person in a group of 4 people. The group may carry luggage or be wheeling a wheeled suitcase. The odour can be either on a person or in the luggage.
· LEVEL 7
5 hides per Trial. Target odours are Gun Oil, Clove, Truffle Oil, Raw Cannabis Oil, spent shotgun cartridge and a Vodafone SIM card. The ratio between the odours can be varied. 4/5 hides must be found. One search area can be left clear with no odour. 1 hide of any odour may be placed on a person, a person carrying luggage or a person with a wheeled suitcase. The odour can be either on the person or in the luggage.
LEVEL 8
5 hides per Trial. Target odours are Gun Oil, Clove, Truffle Oil, Raw Cannabis Oil, a spent shot gun cartridge and a Vodafone SIM card. The ratio between the odours can be varied. 4/5 hides must be found. One search area can be left clear with no odour.
1 hide of any odour may be placed on a person, a person carrying luggage or a person with a wheeled suitcase. The odour can be either on the person or in the luggage. One area must be cleared using advanced search techniques.
LEVEL 9
5 hides per Trial. Target odours are Gun Oil, Clove, Truffle Oil, Raw Cannabis Oil, a spent shotgun cartridge and a Vodafone SIM CARD. The ratio between the odours can be varied. 4/5 hides must be found. Two search areas within the search element can be left clear with no odour.
1 hide of any odour may be placed on 1 person in a group of 4 people. The group may carry luggage or be wheeling a wheeled suitcase.
One search element must be cleared using advanced search techniques.
LEVEL 10
5 hides per Trial. Target odours are Gun Oil, Clove, Truffle Oil, Raw Cannabis Oil, a spent gun cartridge and a Vodafone SIM card. 4/5 hides must be found.
Two hides of any odour may be placed on 2 people in a group of four or on a piece of luggage or wheeled suitcase.
THE SEARCH
TYPES OF SEARCHES
The Trial consists of one full search.
There are two types of searches.
In each level the competitor must achieve the pass mark in a ALERT Trial and in a PRO Trial, complete all Elements and achieve the pass mark before moving up to the next level.
PRO Trial: -
This will be advertised as such. A PRO Trial can contain up to two elements. The competitor will be informed prior to the trial what element/s the Trial contains. L1 will always be a PRO search.
ALERT Trial: -
This will be advertised as such. This is a scenario-based Trial.The competitor will not know what elements they will be searching. They are given a location, date and time. The Competitor should ask who called in the threat, why they think there is a threat and who has the blueprints/map of the search area. This Trial is fun but is aimed at testing the the Competitors ability to think independently.
SEARCH TIME AND TIEBREAKER.
The time allowed for the whole search is 20-30 minutes but as explained earlier, time forms no part in the scoring. In the event of an equal score, a tiebreaker set of 3 questions based on Scent theory will be asked. The winner will be the handler who clicks a clicker first and answers two of the questions correctly.
THE ELEMENTS OF A SEARCH.
There will be up to 2 of the elements in a PRO Trial which are: -
Building Search, Vehicle Search, Area Search, Route Search
All 4 Elements of a Pro Trial must be completed to move up a level.
THE COMPETITOR WILL BE JUDGED ON.
SAFETY OF THE SEARCH.
The handler is to work the dog in a safe search method.
To identify and announce to the Judge any situations showing a potential threat to either the handler or dog. This may be a prop placed by the TM.
MANAGEMENT OF THE DOG.
The handler will show the ability to maintain good management of the dog both on or off leash.
It is the Competitors choice how they work their dog.
Bad leash/line handling will result in a lower overall mark.
The Competitor must show the ability to manage their dog around the search area in the correct way using knowledge and understanding.
To be able to work the dog in the search areas despite all reasonable distractions.
Management of the dog using knowledge and understanding.
The competitor should show the ability to read their dog.
And understand when the dog is working to source.
Positively identify the dog’s indication of hides placed at varying heights.
Marks will be lost for negative cueing.
We encourage the use of rewards but a food reward fed from the floor or dropped by the handler will result in a fault.
SYSTEM AND EFFICIENCY.
The handler and dog should cover the areas using an efficient and systematic search pattern.
It is expected that the overlap, baseline and base bubble is searched.
The handler is to work the dog in a safe, systematic way with good coverage.
Each search will have good flow.
Repetitive searching of the same area will loose marks.
Candidates will not be reminded of the base line, base bubble or overlap. This will loose marks if not completed.
The search area is not to be interfered with. In scenario ALERT Trials, permission from the Judge can be sought to touch or use item
TRIAL POINTS
EXTRA POINTS GAINED
· Clean Sweep 4 points and given to all competitors regardless of placing.
ASKING WHERE
If the Judge is not sure where the competitor is alerting to, the Judge can ask “where”. The Competitor will tell the Judge but must not re-task the dog to the hide.
If the dog has missed any hides, the competitor will not be allowed to task the dog into a missed hide at the end of the search.
THE JUDGES DECISION IS FINAL, PLEASE DISCUSS ANY CONCERNS CALMLY
As hard as we try, hiccups happen. So, to help us with your concern, please tell us the date and location of the Trial along with the name of the Trial Manager and Judge. We promise to listen to your concern and to let you know the outcome if that is what is needed as soon as we can.
IF YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER CONCERNS please email Jenny Dyer competitionscentdogtrials@gmail.com
DIS = DISQUALIFIED
