Working Dog Sports in Britain: Tests, Trials, Canicross

A gundog working test is a judged, non-shooting competition in which dogs retrieve dummies over ground that mimics a day's shooting, and each dog is scored out of twenty by each judge on the day. A herding trial is a timed, scored run in which a dog moves sheep around a course, from the outrun through the drive to the single, and points are deducted rather than awarded. A first canicross or bikejor season is a winter and early spring of short, organised races on forest tracks, entered class by class as fitness and equipment are sorted out.

How is a gundog working test run and scored?

A working test is the non-shooting cousin of the field trial. Dogs run in classes that mirror the field trial ladder: puppy or novice, then all aged, then open. Spaniels and retrievers are usually run separately, and the tests are set on ground that stands in for a walked-up or driven day.

A typical spaniel test asks for a hunt with the handler, a flush of game or a dummy, and a steady response to the flush. A typical retriever test asks for a marked retrieve, a memory retrieve, and a blind retrieve, sometimes with a shot fired and sometimes without. Pointers and setters are handled differently: they are run in pairs, and the judge is looking at how the brace works the moor, finds game, and backs the other dog.

Scoring is out of twenty per judge per dog. Judges watch the same piece of work and write a number, and the numbers are added. Twenty is a clean run with nothing to fault. Deductions come from unsteadiness, a missed cast, a hunt that drifts, a retrieve that is dropped, or a dog that will not stop to the whistle. The sheets are read the way field trial sheets are read: the number tells you the ranking, and the written remarks tell you what the judge actually saw.

Entry is by post or online, and most tests are oversubscribed, so places are drawn. A novice class is the usual first step, and a dog that places there can move up. Anyone who wants the fuller picture of how these days are organised, from the draw to the reading of the sheets, will find it set out at The Trial Ground, which covers gundog, herding and pulling sports in Britain.

What happens at a herding trial, from the outrun to the single?

A herding trial is a scored run on a field of sheep. The dog works the sheep, the handler stands at a post and gives directions by whistle and voice, and a judge deducts points for every fault. The standard run is a set sequence, and the sequence is the same whether the dog is a border collie on a hill farm or a beginner's dog at a nursery trial.

The outrun is the first element. The dog leaves the handler and runs wide around the sheep to get to the far side without disturbing them. A good outrun is wide, calm and shaped like a pear, and the dog should end up behind the sheep, not beside them. The lift is the moment the dog first moves the sheep, and the fetch is the straight line back to the handler.

The drive sends the sheep away from the handler around a course, usually with a gate to pass through. The pen is a small enclosure the dog must put the sheep into while the handler holds the gate open. The shed is the separation of one or more sheep from the group, and the single is the final test: the dog holds one sheep away from the rest while the handler works it.

Scoring is by subtraction. A judge starts from a maximum, often 100 points, and takes off for a wide outrun that is too tight, a lift that is too fast, a drive that is offline, a missed gate, a grip, or a command the dog ignores. Nursery classes are for young dogs and are run on a shortened course. Open classes are the full course, and the August trials are the ones that decide the season's standings. A dog that finishes with a high score has not been given points for anything; it has simply lost fewer.

How does a first canicross or bikejor season work?

Canicross is running with a dog attached by a belt and a line. Bikejor is the same idea on a bike. Carting, or rig racing, puts the dog or a team of dogs in front of a wheeled rig. All three are winter and early spring sports in Britain, because the dogs work better in cold weather and the ground holds up.

A first season usually starts with canicross. The handler wears a waist belt with a quick-release point, the dog wears a padded harness, and a bungee line runs between them. The dog pulls; the handler runs. Races are short, often 5 kilometres or less, and they are run on forest tracks. A March forest track is the classic first race: firm enough for speed, soft enough to be kind to paws.

Bikejor comes next for many people. The bike is a purpose-built or converted mountain bike, the dog runs in front on a line, and the handler pedals. Dry, hard tracks suit bikejor better than mud, and the first races are usually short. Carting is the step after that, with a rig and one or more dogs, and it is the closest of the three to the sled dog world.

Equipment matters more than most beginners expect. A harness that fits badly rubs, a belt that sits too high pulls the runner forward, and a line that is too short gives the dog no room to work. Clubs lend kit and run training sessions, and most people do a season of training before entering a race. Entries are class by class, and a first season is usually two or three races, not ten.

What do the three sports have in common?

All three are judged or timed sports in which the dog does the work and the handler gives the directions. All three have a written rulebook, a class structure that starts with beginners, and a culture of reading results sheets closely. All three also depend on the same basic thing: a dog that is fit, sound, and trained to work at a distance from the handler.

They differ in what the judge is looking for. A gundog test is scored on steadiness and handling. A herding trial is scored on control and stock sense. A canicross or bikejor race is scored on time. A handler moving from one to another will find the vocabulary changes, but the habits of preparation do not.

Where does a beginner start?

The usual answer is a club. Gundog clubs run training days and working tests, sheepdog societies run nursery trials and training, and canicross clubs run beginner sessions and lend equipment. A first entry is normally a novice or nursery class, or a short canicross race, and the aim of the first season is to finish, not to place.

Reading the rules before the first entry saves a lot of time. The rulebooks are public, and the class definitions are specific. A dog that is entered in the wrong class is usually moved or withdrawn, and the entry fee is not returned. The same applies to equipment checks at a canicross or bikejor race: a harness that does not meet the specification means no start.

A note on figures

The twenty-point scale in a gundog working test and the hundred-point maximum in a herding trial are the common formats, and individual societies may vary them. Race distances in canicross and bikejor vary by event and by class. Treat all of these as approximate and check the schedule for the event you are entering.

Scoring in gundog working tests, the run from outrun to single at a herding trial, and a first canicross or bikejor season all come down to rules a newcomer has to learn before the first outing. Combat sports work the same way, and the differences are not small: a strike that ends a fight in one code is simply illegal in another. The elbow rule in muaythai is the clearest example, since the elbow is legal in muaythai but banned in kickboxing and K-1.