Scurries

Working Trials

by Allyson Tohme

Working Trials date back to 1924, when the Associated Sheep, Police and Army Dog Society (ASPADS) held the first event.

Dogs compete at various levels called stakes. From the lowest stake, Companion Dog (CD), through to Utility Dog (UD), Working Dog (WD), Patrol Dog (PD) and Tracking Dog (TD) at the very top, the dog is required to obtain 70% of the available marks in each section and 80% of the overall marks in order to be entitled to place the titles CDex, UDex, WDex, PDex or TDex after their name. Two wins in Championship TD and/or PD enable the dog to bear the title of Working Trial Champion. (WT Ch). Working Trials are similar to the Three Day Event in the equine world in that they are the ultimate all round test for the canine athlete. The dog has to demonstrate the control of the Obedience dog, the dexterity of the Agility Dog and the Initiative of the Field Trial Dog.

The Exercises are basically divided into three sections:

Control - Consisting of heelwork at slow, fast and medium pace, both on and off lead; sendaway and redirect, retrieving a dumb-bell, 2 minute sit stay and a 10 minute down stay out of sight, recall, steadiness to the gun and a speak on command. Agility ? The dog is required to clear a 3 ft hurdle, 9ft long and negotiate a 6ft scale twice.

Nosework - The dog must follow a track laid by a track layer (who is a stranger to the dog), walking a "pattern" designed by the judge. The track is approximately half a mile long and may be laid on grassland, stubble, plough, etc., As the dog follows the track, it has to seek out and recover between 2 to 3 articles placed along the track by the track layer. The tracks are ½, 1 ½ , 2 and 3 hours old in UD, WD, PD and TD respectively. The CD stake does not include a track.

The other component of the nosework is the search square, where the dog has to search and retrieve 3 or 4 articles placed in a 20/25 yard square in 4/5 minutes respectively.

In the P D stake, in addition to the control, agility and nosework exercises, 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..

Dogs cannot be entered into Working Trials until they are eighteen months old. This age restriction prevents young dogs competing in agility
exercises which could cause injury to growing bones and joints.

There are many gundogs that have competed successfully in Working Trials including both Cocker and Springer Spaniels; Golden, Chesapeake, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling and Flatcoat Retrievers; Gordon Setters, GWPs, GSPs, Weimaraners, HVs, and Large Munsterlanders, but the most successful breed has been the Labradors which have several WT Chs to their credit.

Allyson Tohme

Allyson has competed in WT for 15 years with Weimaraners, her current bitch has won a "ticket" in TD and will be competing in the Kennel Club Championships in October.

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