Competitors’ SDS rule summary
SDS has 4 trial levels: Novice, Advanced, Excellent, Irondog
The odors for each level are:
Novice
Advanced
Excellent
Irondog
Birch
Birch and anise
Birch, anise, and clove
Birch, anise, and clove
Rather than search elements, SDS has three classes. The classes are:
Area search
Container search
Game
Area Search
The area search may include any combination of interior areas, exterior areas,
vehicles, or containers. It may include multiple rooms at all levels. Area searches
are intended to mirror real-world searches. Everything within an area is subject to
a search.
If there is a transition between areas (such as moving to a second room with a
transition area), the time will stop and be recorded as a separate search. The
score room will total the scores. If the areas are searched in flow, the time will
run continuously.
Novice
Up to 900 sq. feet
1-2 hides
Known # of hides
Advanced
Up to 1200 sq.
feet
Up to 2000 sq.
feet
Unlimited
1-3 hides
Known # of hides
0-4 hides
Unknown # of
hides
Unlimited
Excellent
Irondog
Unlimited
Container Search
In SDS, each container class has 2 or more clusters of containers. Each cluster
has 6-12 containers.
Each cluster consists of a different type of container. For example, one cluster
might be boxes and another might be shoes and another might be suitcases.
Teams may search the clusters in any order.
Once the team has completed a cluster, the team may not return to previous
cluster.
Time runs continuously between clusters.
Novice
1-2 clusters Boxes,
of
paint cans
containers
or hardsized
containers
2-3 clusters Any type of
of
container
containers
1 hide per
cluster
Known
number of
hides
No
intentional
distractors
1-2 hides
per cluster
Known
number of
hides
Intentional
distractors
Excellent
3-4
groupings
of
containers
Any type of
container
1-3 hides
per cluster
Unknown
number of
hides
Intentional
distractors
Irondog
Unlimited
Any type of
container
Unlimited
Unknown
number of
hides
Intentional
distractors
Advanced
Games
The game varies per trial. The games highlight particular search skills. For
example, a game might focus on a team’s ability to work quickly. Another game
might highlight a dog’s ability to work at a distance from the handler. A third
game might test a dog’s ability to correctly find a hide in the presence of
numerous distractors.
Elevation
Teams may encounter elevation as follows:
Novice – up to 2 feet
Advanced – up to 3 feet
Excellent – up to 4 feet
Search Times
There is a maximum search time allotted to each search at each level.
Novice
5 minutes
Advanced 6 minutes
Excellent 10 minutes
The Judge will determine actual search times after the boundaries and hides are
set. Times will be communicated to handlers during the briefing. If needed, a 30second warning will be given to the handler.
Accessble vs. Inaccessible
At the Novice level, the source of odor will not be visible, but it will be accessible
to the dog.
There may be a combination of accessible and inaccessible hides at the
Advanced level and beyond. Inaccessible hides may be behind a barrier such as
a cabinet door or in a drawer that is left cracked.
Alerts
When a handler determines that the dog had located a hide, the handler must
call “Alert.” The time for the team will stop unless there are multiple hides. After
he/she has called an alert, a handler may not cue the dog to search again until
the Judge has confirmed the call. After the Judge has confirmed a correct call,
the handler may reward his/her dog and continue the search if there are multiple
hides.
After multiple hides (even if known), a handler must call “Finish” to stop the time.