HERDING TEST PROGRAM

ELIGIBILITY

1. This program shall be open to all herding breeds and multi-purpose breeds with herding background as listed following these Test Program Rules.
2. Dogs must be six months of age or older.
3. Spayed bitches and neutered dogs may participate.
4. Bitches in heat may take part in tests, but must wait until all other dogs have participated.
5. Dogs must be sound and in good health. Any dog which appears to be unfit will be removed at the tester's discretion; examples are: lameness, injury, illness, advanced pregnancy.
6. Dogs must have prior training to come reliably when called and to down, sit or stand-stay; this requirement must be made clear to owners before they enter. For first-leg HCT tests, it is highly recommended that dogs have had prior supervised exposure to livestock, although it is not a requirement that dogs have had prior herding training. Second-leg tests require that dogs have had some basic herding training; this is to be made clear to prospective entrants.
7. Owners of participating dogs need not be members of any club or organization.
8. A dog owned by the tester or any member of the tester's immediate family or household may not be evaluated by that tester, nor may a dog be evaluated by a tester who has been the owner or the primary trainer/handler of the dog within the last six months.
9. Dogs which have been in previous tests and have not passed shall be eligible to be tested again on another day.

   GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR TESTS

   1. Total entries per day, including pre-entries and any day-of-test entries, are not to exceed 25 dogs per tester, preferably fewer. If the tester is also judging a trial that day, total numbers of entries for the test and the trial must be reduced accordingly.
   2. Tests should be held in the setting of a clinic. Where stock numbers and lower entry limits allow, a short instructional run (as indicated in the guidelines) may be given to each entrant earlier in the day, with a second run constituting the formal test held later, entrants going in the same order each time.
   3. It is preferable that the two legs be earned on different days, and at the very least the two legs must be separated by several hours (i.e. morning and afternoon).
   4. Tests may be held on sheep, ducks, goats or geese. Use of cattle in tests is not encouraged, but may be allowed with special approval. Groups of at least three head of stock must be used for each run (multiple entries of one dog are counted as separate runs); larger numbers may be preferable. Total number of stock present must be at least one head of stock, preferably more, per every dog, plus reserves.
   5. Stock must be kept in identifiable groups and rotated frequently: preferably after every dog, and at least after every two or three dogs. There must be at least three groups, preferably more, for rotation, except when the number of dogs is less than four, in which case there may be two groups. Lengthy rest periods must be provided. No animal may be used for more than four runs during the day; no more than three runs is preferred. Any animal being used more than three times per day, they must have at least a half-hour rest period between runs. Any animal that has been pressed too hard or particularly stressed during its run must be given at least a half-hour rest period and a re-evaluation by the judge as to recovery before it can be used again.
   6. Should an animal need to be removed during a run for a reason unrelated to the behavior of the dog (e.g. lameness, excessive stubbornness or flightiness of an individual), or should outside interference occur, time may be stopped for that run, then restarted.
   7. Waiting dogs and people must keep a sufficient distance from the arena where a dog is being tested. There shall be no outside interference with a dog being tested.
   8. No other dog shall be in the arena with the dog being tested (other than under exceptional circumstances as indicated in the guidelines).
   9. Dogs may wear only plain buckle or snap-lock collars.

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