The Question of a Championship title for AKC Scent Work

**Edited to include fact check corrections from members of the "Friends of AKC Scent Work" Facebook group.  Thank you!!!

A lot of Scent Work competitors have opined that Scent Work dogs should have the opportunity to earn a Championship.  I agree, but before I could form any kind of idea how I thought such a thing might work, I wanted to better understand how the existing championships work -- what has the AKC implemented in the past, and what is good and, well, not so good about those systems? This post is mostly an attempt at organizing what I learned, in case that is helpful to you, as well.

What is a Championship? 

If you're involved with dogs registered with the AKC -- the American Kennel Club -- for any length of time, sooner or later, someone will tell you about a "well-rounded dog," one that has "titles on both the front and the back."  What they mean is that Agnes' adorably, scruffy little dog that you know as "Tuffy" has a much more impressive "official" name, something like "Hezawonder Tuffy McSquiggles at Aglandia."   But when the name is listed in official documentation, it also includes any titles the dog has earned.  Some of those can be for "stuff the dog has done" like accomplishments in Agility or Obedience.  These are characterized as "postfix" titles because they are listed after the name, so when Tuffy and Agnes earn a CD (Companion Dog title), he becomes Hezawonder Tuffy McSquiggles at Aglandia CD.   

In the AKC, titles that go in front of the name -- prefix titles -- are Championships.  Mostly, we think of the Champion titles as coming from Conformation competition, where dogs are gaited and posed in front of a judge.  The judge compares each dog to the published standard for that breed, and then decides which dog most closely matches the mental picture described by the standard.  After winning that comparison competition under a specific set of parameters, a dog like Tuffy becomes a conformation Champion, and is then known as CH Hezawonder Tuffy McSquiggles CD -- now a well-rounded dog with titles "at both ends."  

National Championships

Actually -- and something many people don't realize -- there are several other avenues through which a dog can be declared a Champion.  Like the postfix titles, these prefix titles are based on demonstrated behavior, as opposed to the physical appearance and movement upon which the conformation championship is awarded. There are two types of championships that come from things other than conformation -- National Champions and Champions.  National Championship titles are awarded to dogs that "win" at specific competitions.  For example, the National Obedience Champion (NOC) prefix title is awarded to the dog that wins the National Obedience Invitational, which is held annually.  A National Champion title has been defined for AKC Scent Work: SWNC, Scent Work National Champion of [year].   This title is to be awarded following a national competition organized by the AKC's Scent Work division. None has yet been held, so no dog holds that title yet.  We'll come back to the whole idea of the Scent Work National Champion later on.  

"Earned over time" Championships

The other type of Championship title is earned over time as the dog is repeatedly judged to meet specific criteria.   Tuffy's conformation championship described previously is one example, and there are actually five additional tiers of award that dogs can achieve in conformation.   Then there are at least twenty-four other types of "earned over time" championships, all based on demonstrated behavior and skills.  

Many of these are restricted by breed: Field Championships (FC) are only awarded to dogs eligible to compete in Beagle, Basset, Dachshund, Spaniel, Pointing Breed, or Retriever Field Trials, or to the hound breeds eligible to participate in lure coursing events. Herding Championships (HC) can only be earned by dogs from breeds on the approved list for herding trials.  And, honestly, I don't know what to tell you about Coonhounds... they are a world unto themselves, with nine different prefix champion titles all their own.   Somebody should totally write an article or book about whatever happened in 2004 to bring all that about.  But I digress.

For Agility, Obedience, Rally Obedience and Tracking, however, any AKC-registered dog is eligible to work toward earning a championship.  Mixed-breed dogs (and those from breeds which the AKC does not recognize) have been able to be registered with the AKC since 2011 as "All American dogs," and are thus able to participate in AKC events like these.  

Many have suggested that such an earned championship in Scent Work should be awarded when "all" the existing titles have been achieved.  And there is actually precedent for this.   

Tracking - an "earn all the titles" Championship

Scent Work is, arguably, a closer cousin to Tracking than to any of the other sports.  Tracking has been around much longer, initially having been a part of the Utility Dog title, but becoming a separate discipline in the 1940s.  Tracking is classified by the AKC as a "Companion Dog" sport, along with Agility, Obedience and Rally, while Scent Work is a "Performance event,"  something that most of us find inexplicable, but if that matters, only the AKC knows why.  Tracking events are "Tests" rather than "Trials" -- they are non-competitive and pass/fail in nature.  In fact, Tracking (along with Rally Obedience and Agility) offers an earned championship that doesn't *require* competition, doesn't require the "defeat" of a certain number of dogs. 

In Tracking, the Champion Tracker title is earned based on an aggregation of the Tracking Dog or Tracking Dog Urban titles, and the Tracking Dog Excellent title and the Variable Surface Tracking Dog title.  In each case, the successful track must only be demonstrated once, although there is "certification" required, essentially testimony by an expert that a dog is sufficiently skills to warrant eligibility for a titling test, not dissimilar to the Odor Recognition Test employed by other nosework organizations.   There are also "numeric" title options, for example "TD2" or "VST3" indicating that the dog has met the titling requirements, i.e. passed the test, more than once.  

The biggest difference between Tracking and Scent Work, however, is in the availability of resources for training and trialing and the resulting participation numbers for each sport.  Suitable space in which to lay tracks can be very difficult to find, even for the Urban and Variable Surface types.  But possibly even harder in today's world is setting aside the time to train: tracks must be 'aged,' often for hours as the challenges increase.  This also means that tracking tests are extremely limited in numbers of participants.  In 2022, in Tracking, there were 1372 entrants in 359 tracking tests, and 495 titles awarded; 38 were Championships.   By contrast, that same year, there were 191,104 entrants in 1,514 Scent Work trials and 31,213 titles awarded.   So, while the two types of event have a great deal in common in terms of the behavior being demonstrated, the day-to-day environment in which the two sports live is extremely different. 

Points-based Championships 

With the exception of Tracking's "earn all the titles to become a Champion Tracker" policy, the rest of the "earned over time" championships all rely on some sort of points systems.  In many cases -- Conformation, Field Trials, Lure Coursing and Herding -- the points awarded are based on placement in competition in which a minimum number of dogs participated, often with a points schedule that increases the points awarded as the number of dogs defeated increases.  These sports are all restricted by breed in some fashion with Conformation being the most liberal, only excluding the All-American (mixed breed) Dogs.  These systems usually require 15 points for a championship award.  It should be noted that each may have other specialized requirements, as well.  Spaniels must pass a water test; Bassets, Dachshunds and the herding dogs must place first a certain number of times; and there are often required "major" wins that come into play, an assurance that, at least some of the time, the dog was competing successfully within a large group, fishing in a "bigger" pond.

There are, then, only three sports besides Tracking that are not breed restricted in participation and that have paths to "earned over time" championship:  Obedience, Rally Obedience and Agility.   They all use point schedules -- with additional requirements -- as well. 

Obedience

The Obedience Trial Championship (OTCH) is awarded upon the earning of 100 points and the completion of a few other requirements.  Dogs are eligible to begin to accumulate championship points once they earn the Utility Dog title and earning the Companion Dog and Companion Dog Excellent titles are a required precursor to attempting the Utility Dog title.  Points are earned by placing in the Open B (with a minimum entry of 6) and and Utility (minimum entry of 3) classes.  Placing first in Open B earns between 2 and 34 points depending on how many dogs were defeated (5 to 49+) and placing first in Utility earns between 2 and 40 points depending on the number of dogs defeated (2 to 40+).  There is a separate points schedule for events held in Alaska and Hawaii.  Dogs must also have earned a first place in Open B, a first place in Utility and one more blue ribbon from either class, all under different judges and only one of those can be earned at a Specialty (breed-restricted) show; the rest must all be from all-breed events.  It is possible to earn "numeric" OTCH titles with repeated achievement, and I *think* that OTCH61 may be the highest numeric awarded thus far.  There were 242 OTCH (or numerics) awarded in 2022.

Rally Obedience

The Rally Obedience Championship (RACH) is awarded upon the earning of 300 points and the completion of one additional (big!) requirement.  Dogs can begin to accumulate championship points after they earn the Rally Excellent title, which has Rally Novice and Rally Advanced as precursor requirements.   Points are awarded based on the score given in the Advanced B, Excellent B and Master classes, with a score of 91 earning 4 points and a perfect score of 100 earning 10 points.  In addition, the dog earn 20 "triple Qs," receiving qualifying scores in Advanced B, Excellent B and Master on the same day in the same trial. The AKC introduced a Virtual Rally Obedience titling program during the pandemic in 2020, and has since made this a permanent option.  Virtual titles are identical to those earned in face-to-face events and championship points can be accumulated through Virtual scores but there is no option to satisfy the "triple Qs" requirement through the Virtual Rally Obedience program, so a RACH cannot be earned entirely online.  "Numeric" titles are possible with additional points here, also.  356 RACH titles (or numerics) were awarded in 2022.  RACH10 may be the highest numeric.

Agility

The Agility Championship comes in two flavors, the Master Agility Champion (MACH) and Preferred Agility Champion (PACH).  In Agility, dogs are measured at the withers (spot where spine meets neck) and that height is used to determine how high the jumps will be on their course.  There are five options -- 8", 12", 16", 20" and 24" -- and judges keep the size of the dog in mind when they "wheel" the course they have created, measuring the total distance the dog is likely to travel and using that measurement to calculate a "Course time" that is different for each height division.  The Preferred Agility classes were introduced in 2002 and allow dogs to jump 4" less than would be required by their height, and also giving them 5 extra seconds of course time.  For the championship, dogs must earn 750 points out of regular classes for the MACH or out of Preferred classes for the PACH.  A point is earned for each full second the dog's qualifying time is under the official Course Time for the Excellent B Standard and Excellent B Jumpers with Weaves classes.   At one time, first place dogs doubled their points and second place dogs earn 1.5 times their points (with all fractions being rounded away), but that policy went away.     Dogs must also have 20 "double Qs," in which they have qualified in both the Excellent B Standard and Jumpers with Weaves classes on the same day at the same trial.  Dogs can earn both the MACH and PACH and numeric titles are possible with both.  Interestingly, the PACH title is the only championship that was "retroactive" -- if dogs had completed the requirements for the PACH before that title was introduced in 2011, they were awarded the title at that time.   In 2022, 1943 MACHs (or numerics) were awarded, with the highest being MACH47.  For the PACH, 719 were awarded, with the highest being PACH18.

Agility also has a Grand Championship, which is achieved through 100 qualifying scores from the Master Standard class, 100 Qs from the Master Jumpers with Weaves, 75 Qs from Master Fast, 75 Qs from Time 2 Beat, 50 Qs from Premier Standard and 50 Qs from Premier Jumpers with Weaves.  This title was created in July of 2016 and Qs earned before that were 'grandfathered in.'   Two dogs had achieved the AGCH title as of the end of 2022. 

Dual and Triple Championships

Dogs that earn both a Herding Championship or Field Championship and a Conformation championship are "Dual Champions."  Any Dual Champion that earns an Obedience Trial Championship, a Tracking Championship or an Agility Championship (regular or preferred) becomes a Triple Champion.  

So What? 

Why would anyone bother to write this many words with the intent that someone read them?  Well, I, for one, believe that Scent Work should have an "earned over time" pathway to AKC Championship, and I know that many others share this view.  It seems that none of us really know how to best approach the AKC to try to effect change (something else we should talk about), but I've always been taught that if you're going to lobby someone for something, you should present them with not just a problem but with your proposed solution.  It may not be what you get in the end, but it's a starting point for negotiation.  More importantly, it hopefully prevents the issue of getting what you've asked for only to realize it wasn't really what you wanted at all.  

The Scent Work community needs to develop consensus on what we want the AKC to do.  As observed previously, people have talked about a Scent Work Championship (we can call it SWC, keeping in mind that it is presently not an AKC-recognized title!) coming from the accumulation of all levels of Elite titles, or all levels of Elite titles and Detective.  Of course, one could add Handler Discrimination requirements into that mix.  As noted, there is a precedent for achieving Championship this way in Tracking.  Before requesting this method, however, I'd encourage a couple of considerations.  The first is retroactivity.  It would seem only reasonable since all these titles have been in existence for quite some time that such an award be retroactive, but the AKC does like to create championships as "add ons" once the sport has been in place for a while, offering an additional achievement for which to strive. Retroactivity might be a big ask.  Without it, or even with it, with numerics, do you really want everybody going back through all the levels to earn the Qs for numerics when we've already got trial entry bottlenecks and waitlists?  If so, we probably need to request "B" classes for all the levels, not just Novice.  

The other consideration is the Scent Work National Champion is defined in the rules.  The SWNC is to be crowned through a National Invitational of some kind.  There are supposed to be Regional competitions in which one could qualify for this Invitational, but the full set of Regionals haven't been successfully held thus far, let alone the National.  We need to talk about "fixing" the Regional format -- it just doesn't work as presently envisioned -- and, as a result, as things stand, we're not ever going to have a National.  In the sports that use points accumulation toward championship, points are often a qualifier for the National Invitational.  Obedience has Regional qualifying competitions, along with inviting dogs with the highest number of championship points per breed, but Rally and Agility just use points to determine eligibility.  If Scent Work had a points accumulation system, you could have a National -- and a list of qualifiers to invite to it -- within a year, sooner if the points were retroactive in some way.  By contrast, in Tracking, where the cap for the National Invitational is 12 dogs, a random draw is used to determine who gets to compete.  

With Scent Work, though, how would one implement points?  We have no score, like Rally Obedience and Obedience do.  We don't have a course time, exactly, although we do have a time limit and times that could be considered in terms of ratios to the limit, or ratios to the fastest time for the class.  The problem with using time in Scent Work, however, is that, while it is a timed sport and speed matters, there is a huge element of luck that just isn't there for the other sports.  In Scent Work, a breeze kicking up or dying down, a door opening or closing, a random start toward the left rather than the right can make all the difference -- all things that are just not under anyone's control.  Those things are also more or less true of pass/fail Tracking, but your route in Agility and Rally is prescribed and kept as standard as possible.  In Obedience, they try so hard to keep things the same for each competitor that Judges have been known to scold if Stewards don't fold their arms the same way every time they are in the ring.  Will we end up concurring that luck (probably) breaks differently for everybody all the time and use qualifying times in some way, anyway?  If we use qualifying times, do the max times handed down by the AKC for some classes still make sense or do they all need to be Demo Dog-assisted, like those for Interiors and Exteriors?  

We do have the opportunity (entry limits allowing!) to demonstrate consistent ability across multiple elements and/or multiple levels.  However, the entry systems for Rally, Obedience and Agility provide the ability to register for multiple classes at once for those who are chasing double or triple Qs -- and if someone who "needs" two or three classes in the same trial is not able to get into them, their entry rules say the rest of the classes must be closed even to "single" entrants at that point.  Can you imagine adding that kind of calculus to the already mind-bending environment of managing Scent Work Trial judging time?  The head explodes!  And, of course, those other systems also emphasize Qs from the advanced levels, the ones that, in Scent Work, already take the most time.  Where I trial most frequently in Arizona, we often already have 20-30 entrants in every Master element, and are beginning to see Premiums that limit not just Detective entries but also Master Interior entries -- transitioning between those three rooms is such a time suck.  If we end up with some kind of emphasis on the higher-level classes, is it worth having an in-depth chat about the pros and cons of not having a 30 second warning in Master, in the hopes that competitors not having to dink around with stopwatches would help things run more efficiently?  Should there be a "one big space" option instead of the three rooms? 

How should (or shouldn't) Virtual Scent Work fit into the picture? 

We do have placements; they could be used as a multiplier.  Are there other data that we don't presently capture that perhaps would be meaningful to use in calculating points?  How about the "all the elements at a single level" High in Trial concept that the AKC doesn't record? 

Maybe Detective should be a championship?  Or maybe there could be a  Detective "time under max time" conversion to points to go toward a championship? 

I definitely don't know the answers.  I just want to be sure that we've thought through the pros and cons of anything we propose... and it feels like we, as a community, are moving toward proposing something...? 

** Originally published on March 31.  Edited with corrections on April 1:  Variable Surface Tracking rather than Versatile Surface Tracking (thanks, F.E. Burks), Points multipliers no longer exist in Agility (thanks, B. Jeleski), and Field Championship (FC) titles for the hunting dogs rather than FTC (thanks, M. Gover, D. Gehring)