French Ring Sport is a personal protection
sport. It was developed in France as a way to accurately test
potential breeding stock for working ability. French Ring is
overseen in the Unites States by NARA (North American Ring
Association), which reports to the SCC in France. There has been
a recent movement originating in France to make Ring an international sport. This means instead of countries outside of
France being considered a French region, each country will
"stand on its own". To further this, Ring in Canada
will be overseen by the CRA.
EXERCISES:
When competing in Ring, the dog has no collar or leash on at any
time except during the heel on leash. No food rewards or physical
corrections are allowed at any time while competing. Also,
excessive praise/petting will result in a loss of general outlook
points. Points for an exercise will be lost for multiple
commands, incorrect commands, or failure of the dog or handler to
perform the exercise correctly. Control is emphasized from the
moment the dog/handler team walks onto the field, until they
leave at the end.
Ring Sport consists of a number of exercises. A dog that has been
trained for Ring III level of competition will be able to do the
following:
| Heel on leash | in a pattern determined by the judge with multiple stops and starts, left and right turns |
| Heel with muzzle | heeling off leash while the dog wears a muzzle in a pattern determined by the judge with multiple stops and starts, left and right turns |
| Long Sit/Down | done with the handler out of sight, the dog stays in a pre-drawn position 1 min. |
| Food Refusal | dog is thrown 4 pieces of food (usually meat or cheese) while on a down stay with the handler out of sight. Dog must not eat the food, and if it is "accidentally" thrown into dogs mouth, he must immediately spit it out. The field is also baited with 6 pieces of food, in strategic locations (i.e. by blinds, jumps, area dog runs over during send away, etc.) |
| High Jump | dog jumps a hurdle on command, then does a return jump on command and comes to a heel position by the handler, minimum hurdle height 0.9m for 8 pts (1m = 39.37in) jump construction |
| Palisade | dog jumps and climbs over a wooden wall, minimum height 1.7m, then does a return jump and returns to handler |
| Long Jump | dog jumps a pvc/metal "key" long jump on the ground, minimum length 3m |
| Positions | the dog is told to sit, stand and down in a pre-drawn order. the handler is 18m away. points are lost for creeping forward during the positions, or failure to perform a position |
| Thrown Retrieves | the handler throws the item at least 5m, on command the dog retrieves the item and presents it to the handler. the retrieve object can be any object such as a glove, wallet, rolled up sock, glasses case, etc. |
| Unseen Retrieve | handler and dog are heeling, handler drops the object on the opposite side from the dog, a similar object is placed next to the retrieve object, at a signal dog and handler turn around, and dog is sent to retrieve the object. points lost for mouthing object, 0 points if dog retrieves wrong object |
| Seen Retrieve | the handler drops the object on the same side as the dog and the dog immediately picks it up, runs completely in front of the handler who then stops walking, then dog returns the object to the handler |
| Send Away | the dog is told to run in a straight line away from the handler until called, then it returns to the handler |
| Face Attack | the dog is told to attack a decoy who is facing him about 40m away behaving in a menacing fashion, with out/recall |
| Fleeing Attack | the dog is told to attack a decoy who is running away, with out/recall after the bite/fight |
| Defense of Handler | handler, dog and decoy approach each other and have a short conversation, then continue walking. the decoy turns around and comes up behind the handler, and as soon as the decoy "attacks" (obvious "hit" on handler) the handler, the dog bites the decoy. After the dog is told to out, he guards the decoy until recalled. the dog must stay with the handler until the attack, most dogs are taught to heel facing backwards for this exercise |
| Attack with Gun | the dog attacks a decoy who is firing a gun, twice during the attack, and once after the bite. After the bite/fight, the decoy freezes, the dog lets go and guards the decoy. The decoy tries to escape twice, the dog bites each time, then the handler disarms the decoy and heels the dog away. |
| Search, Hold, and Bark with Escort | The dog finds the decoy who is hidden in one of six blinds, and barks to indicate the decoy has been found. The decoy attempts to escape, while firing a gun, and the dog stops the decoy by biting. The decoy attempts another escape and fires the gun, dog stops decoy by biting. Handler outs dog, then disarms the decoy and retreats at least 3m. The dog escorts the decoy to a designated spot, preventing two more escape attempts by biting. The dog has no set pattern to run the blinds in as long as he finds the decoy in the allotted time. |
| Stopped Attack | This is done exactly like the face attack, with the decoy acting menacing and the dog being told to attack. When the dog is 1 to 4m away, the handler calls the dog who returns to the handler without biting the decoy. Points are based on the distance from the decoy when the dog is recalled, with 0 points if the dog bites. the handler must behave in every way exactly the same up until the recall command for the call off and face attack (EX sneeze during one, you better for the other) |
| Guard of Object | the dog is told to guard an object, and the handler goes to a place out of sight. The handler does not participate in any way again, until it is time to retrieve his dog. The decoy tries three times to steal the object, and the dog stops the decoy each time by biting. as soon as the dog bites, the decoy must freeze for 5 seconds, however if the dog lets go then rebites, the decoy can begin to move. As soon as the decoy begins to move away from the object, the dog lets go to remain close to the object he is guarding. Points are lost for biting to soon, allowing the decoy to move or completely steal the object, being drug away from the object, etc. |
INCREMENTS USED FOR THE JUMPS:
| Hurdle | Broad Jump | Palisade | ||||
| Min | 0.9m | 8 pts | 3m | 8 pts | 1.7m | 8 pts |
| Inc. | .05m | 2 pts | .25m | 2 pts | 0.1m | 2 pts |
| Max | 1.2m | 20 pts | 4.5m | 20 pts | 2.3m | 20 pts |
Hurdle: 0.9m for 8 points with each additional .05m worth 2 points for a total of 20 possible points/1.2m. Note: on the hurdle, the dog receives half the points for jumping over, and half for jumping back.
Long (Broad) Jump: 3m for 8 points with each additional .25m worth 2 points for a total of 20 possible points/4.5m.
Palisade: 1.7m for 8 points with each additional .1m worth 2 points for a total of 20 possible points/2.3m. Note: on the palisade, the dog receives half the points for jumping in, and half for jumping out.
To obtain the Brevet he dog must complete the following exercises;
Heel on leash, 4 points
Refusal of Food (1 piece),10 points
Heel off leash with muzzle, 8 points
Down/stay, (1 minute, handler out of sight),10 points
Defense of handler with gunfire, 30 points
Face (frontal) Attack,(30 Meters/15 seconds), 30 points
General Outlook (attitude of dog/handler etc.), 8 points
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Total 100 points
To pass the Brevet the dog MUST obtain a minimum of 75 points and receive at least 75% of the available points in each protection exercise.
1 meter hurdle, 12 points
Heel on leash, 4 points
Heel off leash with muzzle, 8 points
Down/stay, (1 min., handler out of sight), 10 points
Thrown retrieve, 4 points
Food refusal, (4 pieces), 10 points
Change of positions (6 changes, sit, down, stand at random, handler 18 meters), 20 points
Face attack, (30-50 meters, 15 sec. bite, out & recall), 30 points
Defense of handler, 30 points
Attack with gunfire, (3 gunshots as dog is going to bite, out & guard), 30 points
Fleeing attack, (50-70 meters, out/recall) , 30 points general outlook, 12 points
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Total 200 points
To move from Ring I to Ring II the dog must receive two qualifying scores (160 of 200) under two different Judges.
1.1 meter hurdle (1 meter 12 points), 16 points
Long jump 3.5 meter pit (3 meters 8 points), 2 points
Palisaide (climbing wall, 1.8 meters), 10 points
Heel on leash, 4 points
Heel off leash with muzzle, 8 points
Down or Sit stay, (1 min., handler out of sight), 10 points
Thrown retrieve, 4 points
Dropped seen retrieve, (article dropped by handler, seen by dog), 8 points
Food refusal, (4 pieces thrown & several pieces scattered on field), 20 points
Change of positions (6 changes, sit,down,stand at random, handler 18 meters), 20 points
Face attack, (30-50 meters, 15 sec. bite, out & recall), 30 points
Defense of handler, 30 points
Attack with gunfire, (3 gunshots as dog is going to bite, out & guard), 30 points
Search, Bark, Hold, and Escort (Non-directed search), 40 points
Fleeing attack, 30 points General outlook, 28 points
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Total 300 points
To move from Ring II to Ring III the dog must receive two qualifying scores (240 of 300) under two different Judges.
Hurdle, 1.2 meters (lower heights for less points), 20 points
Long jump 4.5 meter pit (lower heights for less points), 20 points
Palisaded (climbing wall), 2.3 meters, (lower heights for less points), 20 points
Heel on leash, 4 points
Heel off leash with muzzle, 8 points
Down or Sit stay, (1 min., handler out of sight), 10 points
Thrown retrieve, 4 points
Dropped seen retrieve, (article dropped by handler, seen by dog), 8 points
Dropped Unseen retrieve (article drop not seen by dog), 8 points
Food refusal, (4 pieces thrown & several pieces scattered on field.), 20 points
Change of positions (6 changes, sit, down, stand at random, handler 18 meters), 20 points
Send away (30 meters) , 12 points
Face attack, (30-50 meters, 15 sec. bite, out & recall), 30 points
Defense of handler, 30 points
Attack with gunfire, (3 gunshots as dog is going to bite, out & guard), 30 points
Search, Bark, Hold, and Escort (Non-directed search), 40 points
Fleeing attack, 30 points
Stopped attack (same as Face, but call off must be at 2 meters), 20 points
Guard of Object ( three attempts by Decoy to steal object), 30 points
General outlook, 36 points
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Total 400 points
To stay in Ring III the dog must not receive two scores below 240 in the same year. Ring III's are
rated as: Good 200- 240, Very Good 240-300, Excellent 300-400.
To qualify for the Selectifs or pre-championships a dog must be a Ring III and make five trials in
one season with an average score above 340 points for all five trials. To go to the "Coupe de France de Ring" or Championship trial the dog must go to three Selectif
trials ( the decoys at these trials are very good and the work at these trials is usually VERY
difficult as the Judges will often let the decoys "bend" the rules.) The scores from the three
Selectifs are again averaged, and the 30 dogs with the highest average scores are allowed to go to
the "Coupe". The "coupe" is judged by a "jury" of Judges and normally worked by only the best
Decoys. The Champion of France in Ring is determined by averaging the scores from the "Coupe"
and the three Selectifs trials.
French Ring is quite arguably the most difficult dog training sport in the world. It is extremely
demanding of both the dog and training team. If a dog can excel in French Ring the dog can
undoubtedly also excel in any of the other protection disciplines.
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