NORTH AMERICAN WORKING BOUVIER ASSOCIATION
COMPETITIVE EVENT POLICY AND REGULATIONS
These regulations shall apply at all NAWBA functions:
1. The Working Championships shall be conducted according to the rules and guidelines established by the NAWBA Board of Directors and applicable American Working Dog Federation (AWDF) regulations.
2. Championship event judges, agitators and all other persons in any way officiating at any function must be approved by the NAWBA Board of directors.
3. When working events are held under the auspices of another governing body, such as the AKC, the CKC or a European organization, then the rules of that organization shall apply to that event in addition to applicable NAWBA and AWDF rules.
4. Entrants in NAWBA events must be registered Bouviers des Flandres. Registration with the AKC, the CKC or any FCI affiliated kennel club is acceptable.
5. NAWBA membership shall not be required for entry into a NAWBA conformation or working event.
6. Neutered Bouviers are eligible for working competition but not conformation competition.
7. The North American Championships shall be held in the months of September, October or November unless otherwise approved by the Board, and subject to other club regulations. (The NAWBA Annual Meeting is normally held in conjunction with the Championship.)
8. No dog may compete in a protection exercise or test before reaching fourteen months of age.
9. In all events, any dog who in the sole determination of the judge is in danger of injury because of lack of conditioning or training will be immediately dismissed from that event only.
10. Any dog who in the opinion of a judge, the Trial Chairman, his representative, a NAWBA officer or a NAWBA Board member is at any time a danger to human beings or other animals or whose handler exhibits poor sportsmanship shall be suspended from that event. Such dogs shall be ineligible for further competition at any NAWBA function until reviewed by a committee made up of the event chairman or an alternate appointed by the Senior NAWBA officer present and two NAWBA officers or Board members and found fit to continue. Dogs not found fit to continue shall be immediately removed from the trial grounds and shall not participate in further events until found fit. No money will be refunded under any circumstances.
11. Catalog entries for all events and competitions shall include country of origin and registration number, breeder, sire, dam, owner and date of birth.
12. In all competitive events, conformation as well as working, there shall be a separate, lower charge for dogs owned by NAWBA members, as determined by the Board of Directors. In the case of events jointly sponsored or conducted with another local organization, the lesser rate shall also apply to its members.
13. Championship entries are to close approximately four weeks before the event, the exact date to be publicly announced. (Later entries, which will not be included in the catalog, may be accepted with a 50% surcharge.)
14. Unentered dogs shall not at any time be present on a competition field, and shall stay well clear when competition is in progress.
15. A dog is not eligible to be entered in any working or conformation event if a judge of that specific event or any member of his family has owned, sold, held under lease, boarded, trained or handled the dog within the current calendar year of the starting date of the event. For purposes of these rules, the words "any member of his family" shall include a spouse, a sibling, a parent or a child, whether natural or adopted, of the judge in question.
16. Dogs in any working or conformation competition must wear well-fitting plain buckle or slip collars. Slip collars of an appropriate single length of leather, fabric or chain with two rings, one on each end, are acceptable. Fancy collars, or special training collars, or collars that are either too tight or so large that they hang down unreasonably, are not permitted. There shall not be anything hanging from the collars. Dogs in tracking events may wear a collar and/or a tracking harness. In working events governed by the rules of other organizations, specific requirements concerning collars shall take precedence over this regulation.
17. Awards for all events shall only be given for passing or qualifying scores.
CHAMPION DESIGNATIONS
Only those dogs qualifying at the highest level shall be recognized by the title Champion.
Dogs fulfilling the following requirements shall be eligible for the title Conformation Champion:
1. Shall hold one of the following working titles: SchH I, IPO I, Belgian Ring III, French Ring I, CQN or KNPV (Dutch Police Dog One Certificate), and
2. shall have received a rating of "Fair" or better hip joint conformation by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. Dogs certified after Jan. 1, 1990 must be tattooed and listed as tattooed by the OFA.
3. shall have placed Select One and been rated Excellent at the conformation competition at the annual North American Championship;
Dogs fulfilling the following requirements shall be eligible for the title Working Champion:
1. Shall have placed first at the Schutzhund III or IPO III level, with a passing score, at the annual North American Championship; and
2. shall have been designated as "Good", "Very Good" or "Excellent" at a NAWBA conformation show, or a show designated by the NAWBA Board as a "Championship Level Show."; and
3. shall have received a rating of "Fair" or better hip joint conformation by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. Dogs certified after Jan. 1, 1990 must be tattooed and listed as tattooed by the OFA.
These requirements may be fulfilled in any order, and over any time span. Any changes in ownership shall in no way effect eligibility for the title. Winners of the North American Championships held since 1980 are eligible for the Championship title if they fulfill the other requirements.
Once the above enumerated requirements have been fulfilled, the dog's owner, who need not be a NAWBA member, must make written application to the Secretary, presenting evidence of the fulfillment of each requirement.
The Secretary shall, upon finding the application valid, present to the Board of Directors a report of said application, and upon approval by the Board, issue a Championship Certificate to the owner of the dog. The Secretary shall make appropriate entries into club records and arrange for an announcement of the Championship in the club Magazine and/or elsewhere as he sees fit.
The term "champion" shall be used in no official context other than as provided for here.
CHAMPIONSHIP RULES AND REGULATIONS
The North American Working Bouvier Association shall hold an annual Championship competition comprising of working events and a conformation show, as provided by these rules and regulations.
The working events shall, as a minimum, include an Schutzhund or IPO trial, as designated by the board.
The highest scoring dog competing at the Schutzhund or IPO III level, and passing all phases, shall be designated as the Schutzhund or IPO Annual Winner.
The highest scoring dog with a combined passing score competing in AKC or CKC obedience competition at the Open and Utility levels shall be designated as the Obedience Annual Winner.
The highest scoring dog with a passing score competing in tracking at the "FH" level shall be designated as the Tracking Annual Winner.
The highest scoring dog with a passing score competing in Advanced Carting shall be designated as the Carting Annual Winner.
A number of separate events may be offered on an optional basis. These fall into two groups:
* Those suitable for young or inexperienced dogs.
* Experimental programs possibly to be promoted to full status when the rules and procedures become standardized and the number of dogs competing warrant it.
In all cases, events for which there are two or fewer entries in the possession of the Championship Secretary by the closing date may be canceled.
IPO and Schutzhund
According to applicable, NAWBA, AWDF and FCI Rules.
Among those dogs whose completed entry forms are received by the Championship Secretary by the closing date, approximately four weeks before the beginning of the trial as designated by the Board, priority for places in the trial shall go to dogs holding IPO III, then dogs entering for IPO III, then dogs holding IPO II, then dogs entering for IPO II, then dogs holding IPO I, then untitled dogs seeking the title IPO I. (Schutzhund titles shall be considered equivalent to the International IPO titles for these purposes.)
OBEDIENCE
AKC or CKC rules, as designated on his entry form.
TRACKING
Elementary: Schutzhund III.
Advanced: Schutzhund FH.
CARTING
Judging is based on completion of exercise, performance, attention and willingness of the dog. All exercises are to be done off leash. To obtain full points, the dog must respond promptly and correctly. Reasonable and appropriate multiple verbal commands are allowed.
Elementary Level:
A. Harnessing - the dog must be under control, and should stand and accept harnessing with no shyness or fear. (5 points)
B. Forward, right and left turns, halts, and changes of pace at the judge's direction. (20 points)
C. Gun test. During exercise B a starters pistol shall be discharged twice at a distance of twenty to thirty feet about ten seconds apart. Dog changing pace or direction, balking or attempting to escape or attack shall lose points. Dog not under control shall be dismissed. (10 points)
D. Serpentine around two stationary objects, beginning and starting from a halt (10 points)
E. Bridge - forward over wooden bridge as specified below. (10 points)
F. Complete circles to the right and then the left (10 points)
G. Backup of at least 5 feet (15 points)
H. Stand and come: The handler orders the dog to stay while he/she moves in a forward direction. When 20 strides away the dog is ordered to come to the handler who continues without looking backwards. The dog should, without further command, move to the usual carting position. (20 points.)
Advanced Carting:
All exercises except the bridge are ridden, with the handler using
lines, leashes and/or voice commands.
A. While moving forward at a normal pace, a bicycle rider sounding a bell or horn shall approach from behind and pass within five feet on the right. Subsequently a jogger with a dog on leash shall pass from behind within five feet on the left. The dog shall be on the joggers left, so that jogger passes between his dog and the cart. For full points the dog must continue moving forward at a constant pace with no noticeable disruption. A dog at any time not under control shall be dismissed. (15 points.)
B. Forward, right and left turns, halts, and changes of pace at the judge's direction. (20 points)
C. Gun test. Same procedure as for elementary test. (5 points.)
D. Serpentine around two stationary objects, beginning and starting from a halt (5 points)
E. Complete circles to the right and then the left (5 points)
F. Backup of at least 5 feet (10 points)
G. Bridge - Handler exits and steps behind cart, from where he directs dog forward over wooden bridge as specified below. (10 pts)
H. Stand and come: Remaining out of the cart, the handler orders the dog to stay while he/she moves in a forward direction. The handler goes out of sight for 90 seconds. When the handler returns, he approaches the dog from the rear, passes him and when 20 strides away the dog is ordered to come to the handler who continues without looking backwards. The dog should, without further command, move to the usual carting position. (20 points.)
I. Gate - includes a stay while a gate is opened, a call through the gate, and a stay while the gate is closed. (10 points.)
Bridge shall consist of two 4 by 8 foot ramps and a 4 by 8 foot center, which shall be ten inches above ground level.
CONFORMATION COMPETITION
Conformation competition shall be "European Style," which means that each dog shall be evaluated and then an individual critique recorded for later publication. Classes shall be as follows, separately for both males and females:
Puppy Class Dogs from six months to one year of age.
Youth Class Dogs from one year old to two years old.
Open Class Dogs over two years of age.
Working Class Dogs with an approved working title.
Approved working titles are: IPO I, Schutzhund I, KNPV Police Dog One, French Ring I, Belgian Ring III or the Belgian CQN.
Once the class judging is complete, up to the five highest placing working class males and up to the five highest placing open class males, rated "excellent" in their class, and holding an "approved preliminary working potential title", shall return to the ring.
Approved preliminary working potential titles are::
�
The Schutzhund or IPO Companion Dog certificate ("Begleithund Prufung" in German and thus commonly referred to as "The B")�
The French Ring Brevet�
The German Breed Suitability Certificate (the "ZTP").From among these Open and Working class males as many as five dogs, at the judge's option, may be designated as select and rank ordered according to merit.
Should the judge designate a Select One male, he shall be known as the Bouvier des Flandres Best Male for that year.
If one or more working class males are designated as Select, the highest ranking of these shall be known as the Best Working Male for that year. If no working class dog has been designated Select, the judge shall designate a Best Working Male from among the working class dogs present.
Once the male judging is complete, up to the five highest placing working class females and up to the five highest placing open class females, rated excellent and holding one of the above enumerated "approved preliminary working potential" titles shall return to the ring.
From among these Open and Working class females as many as five bitches, at the judge's option, may be designated as select and rank ordered according to merit.
Should the judge designate a Select One female, she shall be known as the Bouvier des Flandres Best Female for that year.
If one or more working class females are designated as Select, the highest ranking of these shall be known as the Best Working Female for that year. If no working class bitch has been designated Select, the judge shall designate a Best Working Female from among the working class bitches present.
When the female judging is complete, the Select One Male, the Select One Female, the Best Working Class Male and the Best Working class Female shall return to the ring. The judge shall designate one of the select one dogs as Best of Breed and one of the working class winners as Best Working Class Bouvier des Flandres.