New to working trials?

Working Trials is divided into various levels called Stakes –

• Special Stake
• Introductory
• Companion Dog - CD
• Utility Dog – UD
• Working Dog – WD
• Tracking Dog – TD
• Patrol Dog – PD

With the exceptions of the Introductory Stake, which has no specific level and is designed for newcomers, and the Special Stake, there are two levels of each Stake – Open and Championship – and in all but CD stake, you need to qualify at Open level before competing at Championship level. The stakes are designed to encourage progress and are carefully structured to allow the inexperienced dog to learn each step thoroughly before progressing to the next.

The formal requirements for competing at a Kennel Club licensed working trial are quite simple:

• Your dog must be registered with The Kennel Club, either on the Breed Register or on the Activity Register
• Your dog must be aged 18 months old or over on the closing date for entries to the trial (but can participate in Special Stakes at an earlier age)
• You must complete an entry form and send it in before the trial's closing date for entries (six weeks or more before the date of the trial)
• You should be familiar with The Kennel Club's Working Trial and Bloodhound Trials I Regulations beforehand. These are essential reading before entering a trial with guidelines for judges and competitors. They will help you understand what you should and should not do.

Preparing your dog to compete successfully will take a little longer than the formal requirements. It is essential that your dog is fully socialised and that you have effective control at all times, especially as your dog will be competing off lead. For safety's sake, it is recommended that dogs do not start training on equipment until they are at least one year old.

As a puppy you could play hide and seek from the age of four months just to get used to training.

All dogs can do working trials. Your dog does not have to be a pedigree.

Training for working trials takes place at societies and clubs across the country, as well as at a number of training weekends and courses, and there is a friendly social scene to be enjoyed. To find your local training club, try our find a club service. 

Preparing your dog to be able to compete successfully will require considerable time and training.

Experience in other activities such as obedience and agility will be of benefit, both in establishing a basic rapport between you and your dog, and in preparing for particular exercises like heelwork, retrieve and stay. It is essential that your dog is fully socialised and that you have effective control at all times, especially as your dog will be competing off lead.

Some elements such as 'search' and 'nosework' need specific preparation and training for working trials, and you may find it useful to attend one or two of the training weekends or longer courses available as well as regular training with a club to guide you in your preparations for competing in a trial. You might also find it helpful to attend a trial as a spectator where you can view the tests first hand and chat to competitors - an invaluable source of informal information about the sport.

Working trials require perseverance and some hard work, but at all levels they are a rewarding and fulfilling activity for handlers and their dogs alike.

1. Nosework

Nosework comprises search and track exercises.

Tracking: the dog must follow where a person (tracklayer) has walked. Depending on the level of the stake this track may have been walked from half an hour for a UD track to three hours for a TD track before the handler and dog come to work it.  After putting in a pole to mark the start of the track, the tracklayer will walk the required pattern (designed by the judge), turning as necessary and placing articles on the track.  After the required time has elapsed the handler and dog will approach the pole and, with no knowledge of the pattern, will proceed to follow the track finding articles along the way.

The dog will be marked on how accurately they track. UD tracks are a minimum of 550 metres long whilst WD, TD and PD around 800 metres. Tracks have corners and angles, not just a straight line. Tracking surfaces can be grass, heather, stubble, wheat, or any other crop.

Each straight line of the track is referred to as a leg and, depending on the stake, the track can be anything from 6 to 26 or even more legs. Many things can affect a track while it ages and wind, rain, or snow can influence how or if it can be tracked. Terrain also plays a big part, and some grounds track better than others.

Search: a search square is an area marked out by walking and placing poles on the corners. In CD it is 14 metres square (15 yards) with 3 articles to be recovered in 4 minutes. In all other stakes it is 23 metres (25 yards) with 4 articles to be recovered in 5 minutes. The dog must deliver all articles it finds to the handler outside of the square. A minimum of two articles must be recovered to qualify in this exercise. The handler can assist their dog by taking account of the wind direction and sending their dog into the square accordingly.

2. Agility

1.676m (5ft 6”) scale, 2.438m (8ft) long jump and 914mm (3ft) clear jump. For the clear and long jump the dog is sent over but the handler must not touch or pass any part of the jump and the dog must remain in a controlled position on the other side of the jump until joined by their handler on the command of judge or steward. For the scale, the dog must be sent over then wait in a pre-determined position until recalled over on the handler’s command when directed by the judge or steward.

Jumps are reduced in height for small dogs however this is currently only in Introductory, CD and UD stakes.

3. Control

There are various exercises in this section which are detailed below:

Heelwork: On and off the lead in Introductory and CD, but entirely off lead in all the other stakes. The test contains normal, fast, and slow pace with changes of pace on steward’s command. The pattern and order are at the judge’s discretion, and they will be judging the ability of the dog to keep its shoulder reasonably close to the left knee of their handler who should be walking in a natural manner following the steward’s instructions. Extra commands are permitted in Introductory and CD Stakes, and in TD and PD there is an additional “down on the move” during the heelwork.

Recall: CD only. The dog is commanded to wait in a sit or down position while the handler walks away and, at the steward’s command, turns and faces their dog.  Then, once again on steward’s command the dog is called to sit in front of their handler and return to heel.

Sendaway: the dog is sent away from the handler in a straight line to a point specified by the judge and remain there until further commanded. The minimum distance that the judge will set for the sendaway is 20 metres for the Introductory and CD stakes and 50 metres for all other stakes. In the Introductory stake the maximum distance that the judge shall set for the send away shall be 50 metres. 

Stays: sit stay in Introductory stake consisting of 1 minute and in CD stake consisting of 2 minutes with handlers in sight. Down stays (Introductory and CD stake 5 minutes. All other stakes 10 minutes) Handlers must be out of sight of the dogs who may be tested individually or in a group or groups.

Retrieve a dumb-bell: the dog should wait by the handler’s side while the dumbbell is thrown and not move forward to retrieve until ordered by the handler on the judge or stewards’ instructions. The retrieve should be executed at a smart pace without mouthing or playing with the dumb-bell and the dog should sit in front of the handler and return to heel.

Speak on command - training your dog to bark on command. The judge will advise the position of the handler in relation to the dog. In UD Stake and WD Stake, this position should be near and in sight of the dog. The dog may be in the stand, sit or down. In TD and PD, the handler may be required to work the dog walking at heel. If the dog is not required to walk at heel, the handler may place the dog in the stand, sit or down. In UD, the number of barks should be 5, in WD the number of barks should be 10.

Patrol Round (Optional)

The patrol round is only suitable for dogs of exceptional temperament. They should be confident, friendly, and well controlled.

Exercises in the Patrol Section consist of a series of tests where the dog is required to find hidden or missing persons, defend its handler from attack, chase and detain a running person (protected steward), face a test of courage, and recall from a chase on command from its handler.

The term 'docked' includes dogs which have had their tails shortened for medical reasons after the relevant dates - these count as having been docked and therefore such dogs are not allowed to be shown/compete at events where the public are admitted on payment of a fee. Please see the Defra website for further information.