 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Home |
Info |
Services Contact Us |
Links |
and Standards |
Training Downloads |
Silva Award |
Missing? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Home |
Info |
Services Contact Us |
Links |
and Standards |
Training Downloads |
Silva Award |
Missing? |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
N.B.T.I. Trailing Team Evaluations The National Bloodhound Training Institute acknowledges that proper foundational requirements needed to qualify and testify as a K-9 Handler have been established by the courts. The Federal and many State Appellate Courts permit K-9 tracking or Bloodhound testimony as evidence. Within the guidelines established by case law, certification or evaluations are not required, as long as logs pertaining to the dog’s training are maintained. We also understand, some agencies, both in the public and private sector, are more comfortable utilizing a K-9 team that has demonstrated a certain standard of proficiency. Based on this understanding, the evaluations administered by the National Bloodhound Training Institute are given to assist those agencies, and K-9 teams that need an outside entity to determine the knowledge of the handler as well as the ability of the K-9. To insure a current level of proficiency is maintained, the Operational, Expert and Master Evaluations are valid for a 12-month period. NBTI reserves the right to modify the evaluations at any time. ORAL REVIEW BOARD The oral review board section of the evaluation will have to be successfully completed during the initial or first time the handler is attempting an evaluation. All re-evaluations and/or subsequent evaluations with different K-9s will not require the handler to repeat the oral review board. The oral review board will consist of one lead or senior handler and at least two experienced handlers approved by The National Bloodhound Training Institute. ORAL REVIEW QUESTIONS 1) The handler must articulate knowledge of the proper foundation needed to qualify as an expert in court, by answering questions posed by the oral review board. The proper foundation cited in the 29 American Jurisprudence 2d #575 will be used as the standard. 2) The handler must articulate basic knowledge of the theory of scent, by answering questions posed by the oral review board. 3) The handler must articulate basic familiarization with the collection process of scent articles by answering questions posed by the review board. COMPLIANCE OF FOUNDATIONAL REQUIREMENTS The handler will demonstrate compliance with case law requiring proof the K-9 is trained, by displaying the training logs of the K-9 being evaluated to representatives of the National Bloodhound Training Institute. In the event the handler has forgotten the training logbook of said K-9 and wishes to complete the evaluation, the National Bloodhound Training Institute may waive the logbook requirement, if a waiver is signed stating logs are being maintained. Two handlers approved by the National Bloodhound Training Institute will witness and sign the waiver . SCENT ARTICLES Scent articles used on all level of evaluations may consist of a variety of objects and materials. EVALUATION EXERCISE EXAMINERS The evaluation trail or evaluation exercise examiners will be comprised of one senior or lead handler and two experienced handlers approved by the National Bloodhound Training institute. OPERATIONAL EVALUATION All requirements maybe filled by either doing exercises designed to test the K-9 team in one specific segment of the evaluation process, or exercises designed to test two or more components of the evaluation process in the same exercise. The discretion of whether the exercises will be set up for one or more components will be determined by the lead or senior handler. The handler can be advised as to which component or segment the dog team is being evaluated prior to starting the exercises. Only the segment designed to determine if the dog team can give a proper direction of travel and the segment designed to determine if the dog team can recognize when no trail is in the area need to be given without prior notification. K-9 INDICATION OF TRAIL LAYER FIND The handler will articulate how his K-9 indicates on or identifies the person being trailed, prior to starting the K-9 on the exercise or trail. If the indication can not clearly be seen, or the indication is done naturally by the dog and has to be read by the handler, or the senior or lead handler feels the indication may cause confusion; the exercise or trail will require at least one decoy, but no more than two decoys, standing approximately 10 feet from the trail layer. The handler will run the trail blind, not knowing which subject is being trailed. Upon completing the exercise or trail the handler must correctly inform the examiners which person his dog trailed. If the indication is one that is considered traditional or standard, or one that does not appear to be a concern and is easily read; the exercise may only have the trail layer at the end with no decoys. The handler may not prompt, entice, or influence the dog to indicate, either verbally or by any other means. If a question arises to whether the handler had to prompt, entice or influence the dog, a trail similar to the one cited for a non traditional indication will have to be completed, to ensure the K-9 is capable of indicating on the person it trailed. ABILITY TO STOP OR REST K-9 While following a trail of undetermined age and distance, the handler will stop his dog and simulate resting in some fashion. The time frame the dog will be held will not be under 2 minutes and will not exceed 5 minutes. The area the dog is stopped may contain moderate contamination. The moderate contamination may consist of some people unrelated to the exercise walking through and around the stopping area. The stopping area may consist of any type ground surface i.e. grass, asphalt, concrete or a combination of different surfaces. The dog must demonstrate the ability to recover the trail without having the scent article presented a second time. ABILITY OF K-9 TO DETERMINE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL ABILITY OF HANDLER TO DETERMINE K-9 HAS A TRAIL A trail layer will leave an area of moderate contamination and walk an undetermined distance. The trail will be aged between 4 and 5 hours. The moderate contamination may consist of some people unrelated to the exercise walking through and around the starting area, or at a time, which will make their scent fresher than the scent of the trail layer. The starting area may consist of any type ground surface i. e. grass, asphalt, concrete or a combination of different surfaces. The distance walked shall be long enough for a competent K-9 team to establish 1) A trail leaves the area 2) The direction the trail is heading The K-9 team may or may not have a find at the end of this exercise, depending on whether the exercise is done in combination with the trail evaluation exercise or done solely to determine the ability, it was designed to test. If no find is made, the handler must articulate to the evaluation team whether or not it had a trail and/or indicate a direction of travel. ABILITY TO IDENTIFY NO TRAIL IN AREA The dog team will be given a bad or false scent article and a starting area of moderate contamination. The moderate contamination may consist of some people unrelated to the exercise walking through and around the starting area. The starting area may consist of any type ground surface i. e. grass, asphalt, concrete or a combination of different surfaces. The dog handler will scent his dog and determine and articulate to the evaluation team if a trail of the scent presented to his dog is in the area. ABILITY TO TRAIL The K-9 team will successfully demonstrate the ability to follow a trail 4 to 5 hours old. The trail will be approximately ¼ to ½ mile in distance. The trail will be laid out to cover multiple surfaces or changes of vegetation, in an area where contamination by people unrelated to the exercise is expected. Understanding how a trailing K-9 works, there will be no particular consideration given concerning the distance the K-9 works from the actual track. The evaluators will not give any assistance concerning how to work out a problem, nor will they reassure the handler in any manner. Their will be no specific time limit on this exercise and will not be stopped unless, the evaluators determine the dog has shut down or quit working and/or the K-9 team has completely left the area of the actual track with no indication of recovering. EXPERT EVALUATION Dog teams must successfully complete the Operational Evaluation exercises before attempting the Expert Evaluation Exercises. Once the Expert Evaluation exercises have been successfully completed, all subsequent re-evaluations with that particular dog will consist only of the exercises included in the Expert Evaluation. The Operational Evaluation exercises will not have to be repeated every year to maintain the Expert Status. All requirements may be filled by either doing exercises designed to test the K-9 team in one specific segment of the evaluation process, or exercises designed to test two or more components of the evaluation process in the same exercise. The discretion of whether the exercises will be set up for one or more components will be determined by the lead or senior handler. The dog handler may be told what is being evaluated prior to starting some of the exercises, as long as the specific quality that is being evaluated cannot be influenced by that knowledge. ABILITY TO CAST FOR A START OF A TRAIL Dog team must demonstrate the ability to cast for a trail, have the dog indicate on the trail and follow it without using a scent article. . The time this exercise ages will be undetermined, and may be coupled with other components of the expert evaluation. The length of the cast shall be no shorter than 30 yards, and no greater than 80 yards. The area shall have no known contamination of recent human scent except for the trail layer used for the exercise. The ground surface shall be natural vegetation i.e. grass, leaves, or dirt or a combination of such surfaces. If this exercise is done independently and not in combination with other components of the Expert Evaluation, the handler will notify the evaluation team when his dog has hit or found a trail and indicates a direction of travel. ABILITY TO WORK THROUGH POOL SCENT While following a trail of undetermined age and distance, the dog team shall demonstrate the ability to work or trail through a scent pool. The scent pool will be created by the trail layer sitting in one spot for a period of at least 60 minutes but no greater than 120 minutes. The trail layer may leave the scent pool area at any angle except one that would create a backtrack. The trail may be laid out in an area where moderate contamination is expected. The moderate contamination may consist of some people unrelated to the exercise walking through and around the trail and or scent pool area. The scent pool area may consist of any type ground surface i.e. grass, asphalt, concrete or a combination of different surfaces. If this exercise is done independently and not in combination with other components of the Expert Evaluation, the handler will notify the evaluation team when his dog has hit or found the trail leaving the scent pool area and specify a direction of travel. If the dog appears unaffected by the scent pool and continues on through it, a successful evaluation will be given. If the K-9 cannot recover the trail or work out of the scent pool it will be the responsibility of the handler to cast the dog to recover the trail and receive a successful evaluation. ABILITY OF K-9 TO DETERMINE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL ABILITY OF HANDLER TO DETERMINE K-9 HAS A TRAIL A trail layer will leave an area of moderate contamination and walk an undetermined distance. The trail will be aged between 12 and 16 hours. The contamination may consist of some people unrelated to the exercise walking through and around the starting area, or at a time, which will make their scent fresher than the scent of the trail layer. The starting area may consist of any type ground surface i.e. grass, asphalt, concrete or a combination of different surfaces. The distance walked shall be long enough for a competent K-9 team to establish 1) A trail leaves the area 2) Specify a direction of travel The K-9 team may or may not have a find at the end of this exercise, depending on whether the exercise is done in combination with the trail evaluation exercise or done solely to determine the ability, it was designed to test. If no find is made the handler must articulate to the evaluation team whether or not it had a trail and/or specify a direction of travel. ABILITY TO IDENTIFY NO TRAIL IN AREA The dog team will be given a bad or false scent article and a starting area of moderate contamination. The contamination may consist of some people unrelated to the exercise walking through and around the starting area. The starting area may consist of any type ground surface i.e. e. grass, asphalt, concrete or a combination of different surfaces. The dog handler will scent his dog and must determine and articulate to the evaluation team if a trail of the scent presented to his dog is in the area. ABILITY TO TRAIL The K-9 team will successfully demonstrate the ability to follow a trail 12 to 16 hours old. The trail will be approximately ¼ to ½ mile in distance. The trail will be laid out to cover multiple surfaces or changes of vegetation, in an area where contamination by people unrelated to the exercise is expected. Understanding how a trailing K-9 works, there will be no particular consideration given concerning the distance the K-9 works from the actual track. The evaluators will not give any assistance concerning how to work out a problem, nor will they reassure the handler in any manner. There will be no specific time limit on this exercise and will not be stopped unless, the evaluators determine the dog has shut down or quit working, and/or the K-9 team has completely left the area of the actual track with no indication of recovering. MASTER EVALUATION Dog teams must successfully complete the Operational and Expert Evaluation exercises before attempting the Master Evaluation Exercises. Once the Master Evaluation exercises have been successfully completed, all subsequent re-evaluations with that particular dog will consist only of the exercises included in the Master Evaluation. The Operational and Expert Evaluation exercises will not have to be repeated every year to maintain the Master Status. All requirements may be filled by either doing exercises designed to test the K-9 team in one specific segment of the evaluation process, or exercises designed to test two or more components of the evaluation process in the same exercise. The discretion of whether the exercises will be set up for one or more components will be determined by the lead or senior handler. The dog handler may be told what is being evaluated prior to starting some of the exercises; as long as the specific quality is being evaluated cannot be influenced by that knowledge. ABILITY OF K-9 TO DETERMINE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL A trail layer will leave an area of heavy contamination and walk an undetermined distance. The heavy contamination will be created by having the starting area at a store entrance or other establishment with a high volume of pedestrian traffic that is open for business. The trail will be aged 24 to 48 hours before starting this exercise. The distance walked will be long enough for a competent K-9 team to establish 1) A trail leaves the area 2) Specify a direction of travel The K-9 team may or may not have a find at the end of this exercise, depending on whether the exercise is done in combination with other exercises or done solely to determine the ability, it was designed to test. If no find is made the handler must articulate to the evaluation team whether or not it had a trail and/or specify a direction of travel. ABILITY TO IDENTIFY NO TRAIL IN AREA The dog team will be given a bad or false scent article and a starting area of heavy contamination. The heavy contamination will be created by having the starting area at a store entrance or other establishment with a high volume of pedestrian traffic that is open for business. The dog handler will scent his dog and determine and articulate to the evaluation team if a trail of the scent presented to his dog is in the area. ABILITY TO DETERMINE VEHICLE PICK-UP While successfully demonstrating the ability to follow a trail of undetermined age and distance, through moderate contamination, the handler will identify the area the trail layer was picked up by a vehicle. The moderate contamination may consist of some people unrelated to the exercise walking through and around the trail at various points. or at a time, which will make their scent fresher than the scent of the trail layer. The ground surface may consist of any type of road base i.e. e. gravel, asphalt, concrete or a combination of different surfaces. The K-9 may stop trailing at the area of the vehicle pick-up, or the K-9 may continue trailing the trail layer’s scent beyond the point of the vehicle pick-up. No particular consideration will be given to either reaction, as long as the handler can determine the area of the vehicle pick-up. ABILITY TO IDENTIFY DOOR OR ROOM TRAIL LAYER ENTERED The K-9 team will be given a scent article and be expected to check various doors to determine which one was entered by the person the scent article belonged .The time this exercise ages will be undetermined, and may be coupled with other components of the Master Evaluation. At least 5 doors are to be used in this evaluation. The trail layer may walk past the other or false doors, but only the door that is to be entered will be touched by the trail layer. The area will have moderate contamination, which should consist of the false or other doors being touched or entered by people unrelated to the exercise. The physical layout of the buildings being used may vary, from detached houses to a large building with multiple doors. If a large motel consisting of two levels with multiple doors on each level is used, the handler will not be required to close on the exact door. The exercise will be considered successfully completed if the handler can close and correctly articulate the subject has entered one of three consecutive doors. All other buildings that do not have the heat and air conditioning units exhausting by the front doors, will require a correct identification on the exact door. ABILITY TO INTERPRET K-9’S ACTIONS The exercise will be in an area of moderate contamination. The exercise will be aged between 4 and 5 hours. The moderate contamination may consist of some people unrelated to the exercise walking through and around the starting area, or at a time, which will make their scent fresher than the scent of the trail layer. The starting area may consist of any type ground surface i.e. grass, asphalt, concrete or a combination of different surfaces. The trail layer will create a scent pool or stay in the starting area for at least one hour. The pooling may consist of him walking around but staying in the general area. The trail layer will then exit the area in a vehicle. The dog handler will be given one scent article, which shall come from the trail layer, and two scent articles that shall come from a person or people that has never been in the area. The dog handler will scent and read his dog to correctly identify which scent article belongs to the trail layer; thereby correctly identifying which person was in the area. ABILITY TO TRAIL The K-9 team will successfully demonstrate the ability to follow a trail 24 to 48 hours old. The trail will be approximately ¼ to ½ mile in distance. The trail will be laid out to cover multiple surfaces or changes of vegetation, in an area where contamination by people unrelated to the exercise is expected. Understanding how a trailing K-9 works there will be no particular consideration given, concerning the distance the K-9 works from the actual track. The evaluators will not give any assistance concerning how to work out a problem, nor will they reassure the handler in any manner. Their will be no specific time limit on this exercise and will not be stopped unless, the evaluators determine the dog has shut down or quit working and/or the K-9 team has completely left the area of the actual track with no indication of recovering. EVALUATION FEE The fee to be evaluated will be $20.00 for non-members and $15.00 for members. All money received from evaluations will be placed in the general fund that is distributed to help underwrite the ongoing cost to educate handlers and their K-9s. | Return Home | Seminar Info | Our Services Contact Us | Great Links | Evaluations and Standards | Free Training Downloads | Sofia Silva Award | What's Missing? | Catalog | |
||
 |
 |
