Organising a Tracking Assessment
1. A Tracking Assessment can be organised by an individual or, for example, where availability of suitable land allows, a small group of people.
Please note, where a small group of people are organising a Tracking Assessment, each individual tracking team is being assessed against a set of criteria not against the performance of other tracking teams. This is NOT a competition.
2. The individual or group should approach an Assessor to arrange the Assessment. A list of Assessors will be kept by the UK Tracking Dog Association.
Please note, the individual or group may need to recompense the Assessor for their time / travel. This must be negotiated on an individual basis.
3. A variety of Assessors must be used by the Tracking Team as they undertake the six Assessments required to achieve "Qualified UK Tracking Dog" status, ie; Assessor "A" could conduct 1 Level One Assessment, 1 Level Two Assessment and 1 Level Three Assessment. Assessor "B" could conduct 1 Level Two Assessment and 1 Level Three Assessment. Assessor "C" could conduct 1 Level 3 Assessment.
4. It is the responsibility of the individual handler to print and complete relevant sections of the Assessment form (please see Appendix 1) to present to their Assessor prior to their Tracking Assessment.
5. The individual or group will also need to ensure that they have a track-layer for their Assessment. This should be discussed with their Assessor. A list of track-layers will be kept by the UK Tracking Dog Association.
Please note, the individual or group may need to recompense the track-layer for their time / travel. This must be negotiated on an individual basis.
6. The Assessor should decide on the course of the track. This should be documented. The track-layer will lay the track as decided by the Assessor. No handler should watch the track being laid or watch other handlers tracking until they have completed their own track unless each track is different.
7. After the track, the Assessor should complete the Assessment form and return this to the handler. It is an expectation that the Assessor will discuss their feedback with the handler.
8. For monitoring purposes, original copies of all completed Assessment forms (both "Pass" and "Not Ready") should be returned to The UK Tracking Dog Association by the handler being assessed.
9. If the Tracking team are successful, this information will be entered onto a database and a Certificate and Rosette will be awarded to the handler. A small charge will be incurred for this service to cover expenses. When the Tracking Team achieve the Qualified UK Tracking Dog award they will also receive an engraved dog tag.
10. Only those handlers that return their completed Assessment forms with the required fee will have their results entered on the
database. No Award will be granted by The UK Tracking Dog Association, or progression to further Levels permitted, until this process is completed.
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