Attachment A

Regulations For AKC Scent Work

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Chapter 1, Section 2. Overview. … The dog is the star of the Scent Work trial—the handler guides the dog’s search only when necessary and lets the judge know when the dog has found the scent. …

The remainder of this section is unchanged.

Chapter 2, Section 2. Class Eligibility.

• Novice A Classes are open to dogs who have not completed any title for that particular element, who have not completed a comparable title with another organization, and whose handlers are neither Scent Work judges, nor have ever worked as professional detection dog handlers.

… Dogs are able to enter up to two (2) difficulty levels in each element, in each trial. Dogs may only enter classes for which they are eligible, according to the above guidelines.

The remainder of this section is unchanged.

Chapter 2, Section 11. Sections A and B of Novice Classes. Novice A and Novice B are different sections of the same class. The hide location does not move between Novice A and Novice B. Teams are judged under the exact same criteria in Novice A and Novice B.

The sections in the remainder of this chapter will be renumbered to reflect insertion of this section.

Chapter 2, Section 12. Entering Under a Judge. …Stewards and timers may compete in the trial if it does not conflict with the completion of their assignments. A person may not be the timer for a class in which they are directly competing.

The remainder of this section is unchanged.

Chapter 3, Section 1. Clubs Eligible to Hold AKC Scent Work Trials. Any club or association that meets the requirements of the American Kennel Club may be licensed to hold AKC Scent Work trials. Scent Work trials must be open to all breeds and to mixed breeds registered with Canine Partners, except that Specialty clubs and Group clubs may choose to limit entries to the breed or group applicable to their club, and clubs may exclude up to five (5) specific breeds to alleviate conflicts. Specialty clubs holding a limited Scent Work trial for all AKC recognized breeds may accept entries of dogs of their own breed first, then accept entries from all breeds and dogs listed with AKC Canine Partners until the entry limit specified in the premium list is reached.

Chapter 3, Section 7. Order of Classes. The order in which classes will be run at trial is at the club’s discretion. Once an order of classes is published though, the classes may not be rearranged, unless all exhibitors are present and consent to the change.

The remainder of this section is unchanged.

Chapter 3, Section 12. Event Committee. A club that has been granted AKC permission to hold a trial or match must appoint an Event Committee, which will have complete responsibility for planning and conducting the event. The Committee shall be composed of at least five (5) club members (including the Chairperson), and shall ensure the safe, efficient, and orderly conduct of the event. Individuals who are judging at the event may not serve on the Event Committee. The Committee must have on hand, on the day of the trial, sufficient assistance and equipment, and must ensure that the area is free of dangerous materials or conditions.

The remainder of this section is unchanged.

Chapter 3, Section 14. Premium List. …

• Names and cities of residence of judges, including their assignments

… The premium list must be submitted via e-mail to ScentWork@akc.org prior to publication. The premium list must be made available by paper and/or electronically to prospective entrants a minimum of two (2) weeks prior to the opening date for acceptance of entries for the event.

The remainder of this section is unchanged.

Chapter 3, Section 18. Waiting List. … The club must establish a maximum number of entries that may be placed on the wait list. Whether a club is offering a wait list, how many entries are being accepted on the wait list, and the closing date/time of the wait list must be published in the premium list. On the day of the trial, the club may assign entries for absent individuals to those on the wait list who are present at the trial site. If multiple waitlisted individuals are present at the event site, the runs must be assigned in wait-list order. A full refund is to be reimbursed to any entrant whose entry is replaced by a wait-listed entry.

The remainder of this section is unchanged.

Chapter 3, Section 20. Judging Limits. At no time may a club exceed the judging limits as specified in Chapter 4, Section 3 of these regulations, except that the club may assign an overage of up to 15 dogs per judge, with the explicit written permission of the affected judges. After the entries have closed, if any judge exceeds the limit established in these regulations, the club will immediately secure the approval of the AKC for an additional judge, or for reassignment of its advertised judges, so that no judge will be required to exceed the limit.

Chapter 3, Section 21. One Judge Per Class. Each class has only one assigned judge; classes cannot be split between judges, with the exception of the Novice class. Clubs are able to assign one judge to the Novice A section and a judge to the Novice B section if that is required for balancing of judging limits.

The sections in the remainder of this chapter will be renumbered to reflect insertion of this section.

Chapter 3, Section 23. Entry Acceptance Methods. …Guaranteed Entries for Show Workers: The club may guarantee entry spots for show workers who have agreed to work at the trial. Alternatively, clubs may choose to grant vouchers to workers for entries into future trials. Entry spots for show workers are part of the total entry limit stated in the premium list.

The remainder of this section is unchanged.

Chapter 3, Section 25. Armband Numbers. An armband number shall be assigned to each dog in a trial and is used to determine the running order of dogs as well as to help judges and trial officials identify dogs in their records. The running order may be modified for the smooth running of the trial. For example, clubs can choose to run volunteers first, regardless of their armband number. The armband number need not be physically displayed on the dog or handler.

Chapter 3, Section 31. Recording of Results. … For each dog entered in the class, the marked catalog must display the 1) Armband number, 2) Dog’s AKC number, 3) Registered name of the dog, 4) Call name of the dog, 5) Name of the owner, 6) Address of the owner, 7) Name of the handler (if different from the owner), 8) Official time, 9) Number of faults, 10) Result. At the club’s discretion, the address of the owner may be omitted from the class pages and presented in an index at the back of the catalog.

Recorded adjacent to each entry of each dog must be one of the following: Qualified (Q), Did not qualify (NQ), Absent (ABS), Excused (EXC), Disqualified for attack (DQ), Withdrawn- in season (AIS), or Withdrawn due to Judge Change (AJC). If marked “EXC” or “DQ,” a brief description must also appear in the catalog. If a dog earned a placement (1 through 4) for the class, that must also be denoted adjacent to the dog’s entry.

The remainder of this section is unchanged.

Chapter 3, Section 32. Submittal of Results. An official marked catalog bearing the above required information, and with each page initialed by the individual who judged each class, must be sent to the American Kennel Club so as to reach its office within seven (7) days after the event. Included in this packet must be the judge’s certification pages and Trial Secretary certification, the Trial Secretary’s report, and payment of recording fees. Clubs may incur fines for catalogs received after this deadline.

The remainder of this section is unchanged.

Chapter 4, Section 3. Judging Limits. The limit for each Scent Work judge is 125 entries per day. With the express written consent of the judge, the club may assign an overage of up to 15 entries per day.

Chapter 4, Section 8. Confirmation of the Alert. When the handler calls Alert the judge is responsible for confirming whether the alert is correct or incorrect. If the dog is clearly indicating the source of the scent, the judge should respond in the affirmative when the handler calls Alert.

The remainder of this section is unchanged.

Chapter 4, Section 9. Alert Confirmation for Accessible Hides. If the dog is near the source of the scent, but it is not clear to the judge that the dog has communicated the exact location to the handler, the judge should ask “where?” The handler must then indicate the source of the scent by pointing or gesturing. If the area that the handler indicates includes the hide location or the location where the odor would have settled in the judge’s expert opinion, the alert should be considered correct and the judge should respond in the affirmative.

Chapter 4, Section 10. Alert Confirmation for Inaccessible Hides. For inaccessible hides, the dog will not be able to pinpoint the exact location of the hide, so the judge will be looking for the dog to get as close as possible to the inaccessible hide location. If the dog is clearly indicating this area, the judge does not need to ask “where?” If the dog has not indicated clearly or seems to be indicating in multiple differing locations, the judge should ask “where?” If, in the judge’s expert opinion, the area that the handler indicates includes one or more of the locations where the dog would have encountered the escaping odor from the inaccessible hide, the alert should be considered correct and the judge should respond in the affirmative.

Chapter 5, Section 3. Placement of Odors. The scent aid must always be placed inside a scent vessel, which is then hidden in the search area. Only one (1) scent aid may be used per scent vessel, and only one (1) scent vessel may be used per hide. The scent vessel may be any small object that prevents the scent aid from coming into direct contact with any object or surface in the search area, and that allows scent to escape. Some examples of a scent vessel include a plastic straw, empty lip balm tube, or a metal tin with holes. Due to safety concerns, scent vessels may never contain glass. The scent vessel may be affixed to an object or surface with tape, adhesive putty (such as QuakeHold) or by any other method, so long as it does not harm the object or surface.

Chapter 5, Section 4. Hides on Boundary Markers. The hide may never be placed on or inside an object that is put in the search area to denote the boundary (such as a cone or flag). However, the hide may be placed on a wall or structure that is natural to the search area and is used as the outer limit of the search area. For example, the side of a building may be used as the edge of a search area, and the side of the building may be in play.

The sections in the remainder of this chapter will be renumbered to reflect insertion of this section.

Chapter 5, Section 8. Collars, Leashes, and Harnesses. … No special training tools, such as electronic collars, prong collars, head halters, or no-pull harnesses will be permitted during the search. Martingale collars are permitted. No odor-emitting collars (such as no-bark collars that spray citronella, or DAP calming collars) may be worn or present in the search area. A wearable camera such as a Go Pro may be mounted to the dog’s harness, if desired.

The remainder of this section is unchanged.

Chapter 5, Section 10. Start Line. For each search area there shall be a start line that the dog and handler must cross. The start line may be a maximum of five (5) feet long. If the dog or handler fail to cross the start line, the judge will record a fault for handler error.

The sections in the remainder of this chapter will be renumbered to reflect insertion of this section.

Chapter 5, Section 12. Incorrect Calls. If the handler makes an incorrect “alert” or “finish” call, the search is over. Teams do not proceed to the remaining search areas after an incorrect call.

The sections in the remainder of this chapter will be renumbered to reflect insertion of this section.

Chapter 5, Section 15. Distraction Items.

• Non-Food Distraction: A non-food distraction may be any item, other than food, that might be enticing to a dog. A used tennis ball is a prime example. The non-food distraction may not contain any artificial scent (such as another essential oil, a perfume, or a scented lotion), but it may contain the scent of another animal (such as a cat toy).

The remainder of this section is unchanged.

Chapter 5, Section 21. The Hide Steward. For each search, one individual, the hide steward, is in charge of placing the scent in the hide location designated by the judge. Having only one individual in contact with the scent will minimize the chance of contamination. The hide steward should wear latex, nitrile, or vinyl gloves when setting the hides, and should not handle or move any other items.

Chapter 5, Section 15. Residual and Lingering Odor. If search areas are reused during the course of the trial, the judge must inform teams during the handler’s briefing (and may remind them on the start line) of the prior hide locations, to warn of possible residual or lingering odor. These areas may also be marked with stickers or tape.

The sections in the remainder of this chapter will be renumbered to reflect insertion of this section.

Chapter 5, Section 12. Rewards and Reinforcers. Food or toy rewards may be used by the handler at any time during the search (for example, to calm and focus a nervous dog.) However, these items may not be used to bait the dog toward a specific location to search. When a dog correctly finds the scent, the handler may reward the dog with a food or toy reinforcer, which may be delivered at or away from source. The handler must take care not to contaminate the search area with food particles or saliva. Toys may be thrown, but if the toy or the dog causes disruption to the search area, the team may incur a fault. Toys that make noise are not allowed.

Chapter 6, Section 4. Non-Qualifying Faults. …

(f) The handler allows the dog to disrupt the search area unduly. This includes excessive food residue, or intentional biting, hard scratching, pouncing or other by the dog that causes damage to the container/object/area. Cases in which a dog's nose or feet get caught on containers or other objects shall not be considered a disruption of the area.

The remainder of this section is unchanged.

Chapter 7, Section 3. Container Searches. The Container search element mimics the work of detection dogs to search packages for contraband. In the Container classes the dog must locate the target odor(s), which is/are hidden in one or more containers within a search area, and communicate the find to their handler. A container can be a cardboard box, a back pack, a briefcase, a storage bin, a piece of luggage, etc., as required by difficulty level. Container searches may be conducted either inside or outside.

The remainder of this section is unchanged.

Chapter 7, Section 6. Buried Searches. The Buried search element simulates the task of Human Remains Dogs to search for scents that have been buried under the ground. The Novice and Advanced classes use containers filled with store-bought soil (see Chapter 5, Section 7 above for size requirements), and may be conducted indoors or outdoors.

The remainder of this section is unchanged.

Chapter 8, Section 11. Handler Discrimination Advanced. … There is one hide at this level, which must be accessible and may not be located higher than 24 inches off the floor.

The remainder of this section is unchanged.

Chapter 8, Section 13. Handler Discrimination Master. Combined search. At this level, the search area presents the team with two or more elements (container, interior, or exterior) within one search. For example, the search area may span indoors and outdoors, may be an indoor search that includes containers, or any other combination. The handler scent may not be buried. Three handler-scented articles are hidden in two or three distinct search areas. The total space of all search areas must be not less than 300 and not more than 800 square feet. Each search area will be worked independently, with a separate time limit. One search area will have 1 hide, the other will have 2 hides; none of these search areas may be blank. None of the hides may be inaccessible, and none may be located higher than 24 inches above the ground. Also hidden on the course are two additional scent-aids, one scented by the judge, and one scented by a steward. There are one or two distractions at this level, which may be non-food, food, visual, auditory, human, or mimic. The dog must find the handler scents and communicate the finds to its handler. The handler must call “Alert” when the dog indicates each find. In each search area, the handler must call “Finish” to indicate that all hides have been found and to stop the time. The time limit is set by the judge and must be between 2 and 3 minutes for each search area. The Handler Discrimination Detective Class is open to dogs who have earned the Handler Discrimination Excellent (SHDE title).

Table following this section will also be modified pursuant to these changes.

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