RULES

General Rules - Competition Scent Dog Trials are judged upon;

1.  Safety

2.  Thresholds

3.  Control & Management

4.  System and Efficiency

5.  Indication & Working to source

  • To pass a Level and progress to the next level, you must; Gain a pass score at that Level ALERT Trial and gain a pass score at that Level PRO Trial for each of the 4 Elements. A pass score is 6/10 for each criteria with 4 out of 5 hides being found.

    Extra points gained

  • Achieving a Clean Sweep gains you an extra 5 points and awarded to all competitors who this regardless of their placing.

    Additional Point deductions

  • False alert - Max 2 allowed, 0.5 points deducted each time, disqualified on 3rd

  • Toileting in the search area - Max 2 allowed, 2.5 points deducted each time, disqualified on 3rd . These point deductions only apply to the first dog who toilets that area, any dogs following them will only lose points if they toilet 1 metre or more either away from the previously marked area.

    Disqualification types - Teams will be disqualified if any of the following occurs;

  • Harsh handling own or another dog

  • Dog toileted three or more times in the trial area

  • 3 or more false alerts

  • Dog aggression towards a human

  • Unsportsmanlike conduct

  • Double handling

    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.

    General rules;

  • You may only run one dog in a trial.

  • Dogs must be 10 Months old or over to enter.

  • Rewards & reinforcements are encouraged. Either food or toys can be used.

  • No Food rewards to be fed from the floor or dropped whilst feeding.

  • Toy reward must not disrupt the search area.

  • Any dog handling techniques or that involves the use of Force, Fear or Pain will result in immediate disqualification.

  • We don’t allow e-collars, pinch collars, 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.

  • Bitches in season are not permitted to enter any Competition Scent Dog Trials (CSDT).

  • The search must be systematic & progressive. A search is 20-30 minutes long depending on Level and search area. A one minute warning can be requested. 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 odour types (at present) is 6.

  • A White Dog will be run before the start of the Trial.

  • Competitors are strictly prohibited from walking around the trial area prior to their search

  • Competitors are not allowed to watch other competitors following their search

  • Competitors will not remove hides, interfere or touch hides in any way.

  • Competitors must ask the Judge before touching anything in the search area or moving objects in scenario-based ALERT Trials. Items must not be touched in a PRO Trial.

  • Competitors are to be reminded that in ALERT Trials, there maybe other tasks and elements within the Trial and fun problem solving may be required.

  • All premises & search areas will be risk assessed prior to the start of the Trial by the TM.

  • 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.

    Search time and tiebreaker:

  • The time allowed for the whole search is 20-30 minutes but as explained 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.