WCGB - The Working Dog

Working Trials are an ideal sport for the Weimaraner. The breed is able to use its natural abilities to perform tasks, which will satisfy its mental and physical needs.

The Working Trials “ladder” of stakes in the UK are, Companion Dog, Utility Dog, Working Dog, Tracking Dog, and Patrol Dog. Except for C.D. the dog must first gain a Certificate of Merit at an Open Trial to enable him to compete in the relevant Championship Stake. Each stake is comprised of three sections: Nosework, Agility and Control. The dog must obtain a minimum of 70% of the marks available in each section, plus at least 80% of the total marks overall, to be awarded the Excellent qualification e.g. C.D.ex U.D.ex etc. The P.D. stake has an added section of manwork.

This is the section in which Weimaraners excel. Their powers of scenting are on a different level to that of many breeds. The exercise that carries the majority of marks is the track. The dog should follow a stranger’s scent for approximately half a mile on a harness and line. The track will be left to allow the scent to settle, from half an hour up to three hours depending on the stake. En route the dog must find two or three articles left by the tracklayer, which will vary in size according to the stake being worked. In T.D. stake this can be down to the size of a matchstick.

The Property Search – a square of land is marked out with poles (15 yards square for C.D. and 25yds square for all other stakes) and human scented articles are placed for the dog to retrieve, 3 within 4 minutes for C.D. and 4 within 5 minutes for other stakes. Both the track and the square are laid out of sight from the handler and dog.

Weimaraners are naturally agile creatures and generally thoroughly enjoy jumping. There are three jumps for the dogs to negotiate, under control, and from a stationary position- a three foot hurdle, a nine foot long jump and a six foot scale. The dog is only required to traverse one way over the long and hurdle jumps, but on the scale the dog must wait in a designated position before returning over the jump to the handler.

The Weimaraner can work this section well if their training is correct, for example a couple of Weimaraner C.C. winners often qualified by gaining full marks on their Control section. The Control section consists of – heelwork, retrieving a dumbell, sendaway – sending the dog to a designated spot which can be 50 yards in C.D. to 300 yards plus in T.D. and there is also a redirection in the latter; steadiness to gunshot, generally performed after the nosework in an open field; stays – in C.D. a two minute sit and in all the stakes a ten minute down. All stays are executed with the handler out of sight.

In CD the dogs are also required to perform a recall to handler. In T.D. and P.D. the dogs are asked to speak on command.

The Patrol Dog stake also has the added section of Manwork. To qualify to work for this stake the dog must be completely under control with the minimum of a W.D. ex qualification. To date the only Weimaraner qualifying P.D.ex has been the Police Dog serving with the Metropolitan Police.

This section includes, quartering the ground for a missing person, the dog giving voice on location and also refusing food; test of the courage of the dog ; search and escort of the criminal; recall from the criminal – the dog is sent in pursuit of a criminal but recalled before biting; pursuit and detention of criminals – the dog must apprehend a fleeing criminal by holding the arm or knocking him over.

N.B. With the introduction of the Dangerous Dog Act it is the responsibility of the owner not to enter into training for the P.D. stake in a light heated manner. It is not an area for novices as a partially trained dog of any breed can be lethal.

Challenge Certificates are awarded to the winners of the T.D. and C.D. Championship Stakes. The dog must have been awarded two C.C.’s to carry the title Working Trials Champion. To date there is only one Weimaraner to have gained its title in the UK

Working Trials Champion Ritsons Constellation CD ex UD ex WD ex TD ex owned & handled by Jenny Wilson. He gained his title in 1988 and to mark this prestigious achievement the WCGB presented Jenny a Special Moments Scroll in recognition of this momentous occasion.
He won:

Weimaraners have competed in Working Trials since the very early days. Mrs S Milward was the first owner to train and handle and gain an award with her bitch Strawbridge Irene CDx . She won a Kennel Club Obedience Certificate at Paignton in 1958.

The 1960’s saw Cartford Capricorn owned by Kay Price gain CDx & Diana Oldershaw ‘s Gunmetal Guy gain CDx & Udx . Her two bitches also gained CDx namely Waidman Giselle & Gunmetal Emma.

Metpol Monroes Thor UD ex WD ex PD ex handled by Paul Dodd Thor was the first Weimaraner in the UK to qualify WD ex at Benefleet Essex in 1974 & also the first to date to qualify PD ex in 1977. He won the WCGB Weimaraner of the Year Trophy in 1974 & was joint winner of the Working Weimaraner of the Year in 1978.

Grinshill Rana Vanessa CD ex UD ex WD ex TD ex owner Ann Cook Gretal was the first Weimaraner to earn a TD ex qualification. She also competed in Obedience Shows & qualified for the Pedigree Chum finals at the Olympia Horse Show in 1979 & 1980. She was placed 5th in 1979.

In 1980 Gretal & Ann won the WCGB Working Weimaraner of the Year award.

Beckstone Envoy CD ex UD ex WD ex TD ex owned & handled by Ann Cook. Rangda competed in Working Trials, Obedience & agility. She holds the breed record, so far, for acquiring 15 TD ex qualifications. She won two Novice classes in Obedience Ring and represented the Northern region in the inter-regional Obedience competition at Crufts in 1998. In the Agility Ring she competed upto the Senior Agility class. In 1986 she won the WCGB Weimaraner of the Year Trophy

Ch Reeman Aruac CD ex UD ex WD ex TD ex (Brig) owned & handled by Bob Lynch. Brig is not only the highest qualified Weimaraner covering three disciplines, but also the highest qualified dog out of the whole Gundog Group in the UK.

He won his first CC in the Show ring at 10 months. He went onto win four CC’s thus gaining his title of Show Champion.

Brig competed in Working Trials and gained his TD ex qualification at Lincoln in 1987. In the same year he gained fourth place at a Novice Field Trial, thus becoming a full Champion. He is one of three Working trial dogs to achieve this (Ch Fossana Bruno CD ex UD ex WD ex TD, owned & handled by Val O’Keefe & Ch Monroes Ambition of Westglade CD ex UD ex WD ex owned & handled by Gwen Sowersby being the other two).

In 1983 Brig was awarded the Weimaraner of the Year Trophy & the Bruno Trophy for Working Trials

Ritsons Rainbow Dust CD ex UD ex WD ex TD ex owned & handled by Jenny Wilson. Dusty won his first TD ex in 1992 at the age of three. The highlight of Dusty’s career came at ASPADS Dundee Trial in 1993 when he was placed first, thus winning the CC and then at the SKC Trial in 1995 he was placed fourth. He won the Weimaraner of the Year Trophy in 1991 The Bruno Trophy in 1991 and 1993 Scottish Branch of the WCGB Scottish Weimaraner of the Year & Scottish Working Trials Trophy 1991/92/93.

Reemans Classic Image CD ex UD ex WD ex TD ex owned & handled by Jackie Johnston. Herne regularly achieved full mark control rounds and at 75% of the trials he qualified at he was also placed. In 1992 he won the TD CC . He had previously been awarded the Reserve CC and was very close to becoming a Working Trial Champion.

Since then a number of dogs have competed in Working Trials with various measures of success but the most successful has been Allyson Thome’s Longhair bitch Fursdon Twylyte Tramontan K9MS2 AD BH FH1 FH2 CDex UD ex WDex TD ex.


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	The Weimaraner in Working Trials
	Working Trials are an ideal sport for the Weimaraner. The breed is able to use its natural abilities to perform tasks, which will satisfy its mental and physical needs. The Working Trials “ladder” of stakes in the UK are, Companion Dog, Utility Dog, Working Dog, Tracking Dog, and Patrol Dog. Except for C.D. the dog must first gain a Certificate of Merit at an Open Trial to enable him to compete in the relevant Championship Stake. Each stake is comprised of three sections: Nosework, Agility and Control. The dog must obtain a minimum of 70% of the marks available in each section, plus at least 80% of the total marks overall, to be awarded the Excellent qualification e.g. C.D.ex U.D.ex etc. The P.D. stake has an added section of manwork. NOSEWORK This is the section in which Weimaraners excel. Their powers of scenting are on a different level to that of many breeds. The exercise that carries the majority of marks is the track. The dog should follow a stranger’s scent for approximately half a mile on a harness and line. The track will be left to allow the scent to settle, from half an hour up to three hours depending on the stake. En route the dog must find two or three articles left by the tracklayer, which will vary in size according to the stake being worked. In T.D. stake this can be down to the size of a matchstick. The Property Search – a square of land is marked out with poles (15 yards square for C.D. and 25yds square for all other stakes) and human scented articles are placed for the dog to retrieve, 3 within 4 minutes for C.D. and 4 within 5 minutes for other stakes. Both the track and the square are laid out of sight from the handler and dog. AGILITY Weimaraners are naturally agile creatures and generally thoroughly enjoy jumping. There are three jumps for the dogs to negotiate, under control, and from a stationary position- a three foot hurdle, a nine foot long jump and a six foot scale. The dog is only required to traverse one way over the long and hurdle jumps, but on the scale the dog must wait in a designated position before returning over the jump to the handler. CONTROL The Weimaraner can work this section well if their training is correct, for example a couple of Weimaraner C.C. winners often qualified by gaining full marks on their Control section. The Control section consists of – heelwork, retrieving a dumbell, sendaway – sending the dog to a designated spot which can be 50 yards in C.D. to 300 yards plus in T.D. and there is also a redirection in the latter; steadiness to gunshot, generally performed after the nosework in an open field; stays – in C.D. a two minute sit and in all the stakes a ten minute down. All stays are executed with the handler out of sight. In CD the dogs are also required to perform a recall to handler. In T.D. and P.D. the dogs are asked to speak on command. MANWORK The Patrol Dog stake also has the added section of Manwork. To qualify to work for this stake the dog must be completely under control with the minimum of a W.D. ex qualification. To date the only Weimaraner qualifying P.D.ex has been the Police Dog serving with the Metropolitan Police. This section includes, quartering the ground for a missing person, the dog giving voice on location and also refusing food; test of the courage of the dog ; search and escort of the criminal; recall from the criminal – the dog is sent in pursuit of a criminal but recalled before biting; pursuit and detention of criminals – the dog must apprehend a fleeing criminal by holding the arm or knocking him over. N.B. With the introduction of the Dangerous Dog Act it is the responsibility of the owner not to enter into training for the P.D. stake in a light heated manner. It is not an area for novices as a partially trained dog of any breed can be lethal. Challenge Certificates are awarded to the winners of the T.D. and C.D. Championship Stakes. The dog must have been awarded two C.C.’s to carry the title Working Trials Champion. To date there is only one Weimaraner to have gained its title in the UK Working Trials Champion Ritsons Constellation CD ex UD ex WD ex TD ex owned & handled by Jenny Wilson. He gained his title in 1988 and to mark this prestigious achievement the WCGB presented Jenny a Special Moments Scroll in recognition of this momentous occasion. He won: The Weimaraner of the Year award in 1984 The Bruno (Working Trials trophy) in 1984 Scottish Branch of WCGB – Weimaraner of the Year & Working Trials Trophy in 1986 & 1987 SWTS- The Teilhaber Shield presented to the top Scottish W.T. dog in 1988 ASADS Dundee Branch – The Rory Strachen Trophy for winning his first CC in 1987 A truly remarkable dog Weimaraners have competed in Working Trials since the very early days. Mrs S Milward was the first owner to train and handle and gain an award with her bitch Strawbridge Irene CDx . She won a Kennel Club Obedience Certificate at Paignton in 1958. The 1960’s saw Cartford Capricorn owned by Kay Price gain CDx & Diana Oldershaw ‘s Gunmetal Guy gain CDx & Udx . Her two bitches also gained CDx namely Waidman Giselle & Gunmetal Emma. The following dogs have proved their ability in more recent years: Metpol Monroes Thor UD ex WD ex PD ex handled by Paul Dodd Thor was the first Weimaraner in the UK to qualify WD ex at Benefleet Essex in 1974 & also the first to date to qualify PD ex in 1977. He won the WCGB Weimaraner of the Year Trophy in 1974 & was joint winner of the Working Weimaraner of the Year in 1978. Grinshill Rana Vanessa CD ex UD ex WD ex TD ex owner Ann Cook Gretal was the first Weimaraner to earn a TD ex qualification. She also competed in Obedience Shows & qualified for the Pedigree Chum finals at the Olympia Horse Show in 1979 & 1980. She was placed 5th in 1979. In 1980 Gretal & Ann won the WCGB Working Weimaraner of the Year award. Beckstone Envoy CD ex UD ex WD ex TD ex owned & handled by Ann Cook. Rangda competed in Working Trials, Obedience & agility. She holds the breed record, so far, for acquiring 15 TD ex qualifications. She won two Novice classes in Obedience Ring and represented the Northern region in the inter-regional Obedience competition at Crufts in 1998. In the Agility Ring she competed upto the Senior Agility class. In 1986 she won the WCGB Weimaraner of the Year Trophy Ch Reeman Aruac CD ex UD ex WD ex TD ex (Brig) owned & handled by Bob Lynch. Brig is not only the highest qualified Weimaraner covering three disciplines, but also the highest qualified dog out of the whole Gundog Group in the UK. He won his first CC in the Show ring at 10 months. He went onto win four CC’s thus gaining his title of Show Champion. Brig competed in Working Trials and gained his TD ex qualification at Lincoln in 1987. In the same year he gained fourth place at a Novice Field Trial, thus becoming a full Champion. He is one of three Working trial dogs to achieve this (Ch Fossana Bruno CD ex UD ex WD ex TD, owned & handled by Val O’Keefe & Ch Monroes Ambition of Westglade CD ex UD ex WD ex owned & handled by Gwen Sowersby being the other two). In 1983 Brig was awarded the Weimaraner of the Year Trophy & the Bruno Trophy for Working Trials Ritsons Rainbow Dust CD ex UD ex WD ex TD ex owned & handled by Jenny Wilson. Dusty won his first TD ex in 1992 at the age of three. The highlight of Dusty’s career came at ASPADS Dundee Trial in 1993 when he was placed first, thus winning the CC and then at the SKC Trial in 1995 he was placed fourth. He won the Weimaraner of the Year Trophy in 1991 The Bruno Trophy in 1991 and 1993 Scottish Branch of the WCGB Scottish Weimaraner of the Year & Scottish Working Trials Trophy 1991/92/93. Reemans Classic Image CD ex UD ex WD ex TD ex owned & handled by Jackie Johnston. Herne regularly achieved full mark control rounds and at 75% of the trials he qualified at he was also placed. In 1992 he won the TD CC . He had previously been awarded the Reserve CC and was very close to becoming a Working Trial Champion. Since then a number of dogs have competed in Working Trials with various measures of success but the most successful has been Allyson Thome’s Longhair bitch Fursdon Twylyte Tramontan K9MS2 AD BH FH1 FH2 CDex UD ex WDex TD ex. Pictures of the recent dogs
	Working Trials - Rules
	For further information, please see this page of the Kennel Club website.




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The Weimaraner in Working Trials