General Summary

Working Trials is a very demanding sport that requires a high level of fitness and discipline in general obedience. It is a very enjoyable sport to do with your dog.

As with most Dog Sports and activities The Kennel Club holds overall responsibility in ensuring the management of Working Trials Competitions, the appointment of Judges etc.

To compete in Working Trials dogs must be over 18 months of age, as the exercises involved in the agility section are too arduous for young dogs and they must be registered for Working Trials with the Kennel Club.

Stakes

Working Trials Tests are called Stakes which are: -

• Companion Dog (C.D.) Stake is a basic level stake, which does not involve tracking.

• Utility Dog (U.D.) Stake is the first level, which involves tracking

• Working Dog (W.D.) Stake is the second level up.

• Tracking Dog (T.D.) Stake is the top level.

• Patrol Dog (P.D.) Stake which is also a top level test - has a "Manwork" element added.

Progression

As with most other dog activities a dog’s progression is achieved by winning out of one level into the next and so on In the case of Working Trials in order to progress to the next level dogs are required to obtain 70% of the marks in each section and 80% overall in competition.

A dog may achieve the title of Working Trial Champion. To do this it has to win a minimum of two ‘Tickets’. To win a ‘Ticket’ the dog has to win the Trial outright and a dog may become a Champion by winning two TD or PD 'Tickets'. The dog can also achieve the status of Champion by winning one ‘Ticket’ each in TD and PD stakes.

The Kennel Club Working Trials Championship is held every year in October, and is organised a by different club or Society at different venues each year. Winning this Championship is the equivalent of winning at Crufts.

Working Trial Tests

There are four principle skill evaluation tests in Working Trials; - Nosework, Agility, Control and Manwork (P.D.) only.

Nosework

Nosework is an exercise whereby the dog follows a track laid by a ‘tracklayer’ (who is a stranger to the dog), who walks a set pattern designed by the judge. This track is the same for each dog.

A Working Trial track is approximately half a mile long and is laid out over natural terrain such as grassland, arable fields; etc. The track is laid down at differing times prior to the dog following the track, this time determined by the level of the stake - for UD 30 minutes; WD 90 minutes– PD 120 minutes and for TD 180 minutes.

The dog also has to retrieve articles placed along the track by the tracklayer, there is no tracking section in the CD stakes.

A dog has to perform a Search Square in which a number of articles must be found in a given time in a marked square area - the handler must control the dog from outside the square.

The picture to the left shows examples of the items which the dog has to find - No! the DVD disk is not a seek item - but has been included to show how small the seek items actually are and to emphasise how acute a dogs nose must be to find such small items in what can be very long grass, undergrowth etc.

Agility

This test is designed to test a dog’s agility in which the dog must clear three obstacles - a three-foot hurdle, a six-foot high wooden scale and a nine-foot long jump. In the CD and UD stakes, the height and length are reduced for smaller dogs:

Two attempts may be permitted at each obstacle.

Control/ Obedience

The Control Tests consist of; Heelwork; Stays, Send-away and Retrieve (in TD and PD Stakes this is replaced by 'speak on command' test– in which the dog has to bark on command).

Finally, with the exception of the CD Stakes, dogs are required to show they are steady under gunfire.

Manwork.

This test is only used in the PD Stakes in which in addition to the normal Nosework, Agility and Control the dog has to quarter the ground for a hidden person, complete a test of courage, escort a person following a search by the handler, detain a running person and perform a recall from a running person.

Training at the Club

While we have a few members competing in working trials with great success, there are currently no training classes for trials but if you are interested please ask at club and we will be able to point you in the right direction.