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CAL Tests

 

CAL 1



Minimum Age 1 year old 

In order to be awarded the CAL 1 title, the dog must be subjected, with favorable outcome, to the following exercises: 

Behavior towards friendly strangers 
The dog must remain calm in front of friendly persons. On indication of the steward, the handler walks the dog with a loosened leash and without giving orders. As friendly strangers walk by, the dog must remain calm; he should also remain calm when the handler approaches or is approached by strangers in order to shake their hand, to ask information. The dog, however, should not be touched. Care must be taken that during this exercise everything is handled as casual as possible. 

Indifference to firearm noise 
For each dog, a pistol is fired twice in rapid succession from a distance of approximately 20 meters. The exercise is executed with the dog held to a loosened leash of approximately 2 meters of length. 

Defense of the handler 
A decoy, armed with a flexible stick is placed behind a blind (hiding place). The handler, with the dog on a leash (the leash is approximately 5 meters long) but held to a length of approximately 1 meter, proceeds ahead according to the instructions given by the steward. A stake is placed at a distance of approximately 10 meters from where the decoy is hiding, and, as the dog and handler reach the stake they stop. At the same time, upon orders given by the steward, the decoy exits from the blind and threatens the handler and dog. The handler remains still by the stake, but incites the dog to face the threat by loosening the leash, therefore allowing the dog to approach the decoy/aggressor. The dog must react immediately and energetically defend its handler. There should never be contact between the decoy and the dog. This exercise must be done with a hidden sleeve or a bite suit top (NO SLEEVES) This exercise is interrupted by the steward when the dog has demonstrated with its reaction readiness, its real defense attitude. The dog that shows indifference, shyness or manifests fear should not be given a passing grade.

CAL 2
In order to be awarded Cal 2, the dogs must be subjected, with favorable outcome, to the following exercises: 

Behavior towards friendly strangers - Same as CAL 1.

Indifference to firearm noise - Same as CAL 1).

Defense of the handler 
A decoy, armed with a flexible stick is placed behind a blind (hiding place). The handler, with the dog on leash (the leash is approximately 5 meters long) but held to a length of approximately 1 meter, proceeds ahead according to the instructions given by the steward. A stake is placed at a distance of approximately 10 meters from where the decoy is hiding, and, as the dog and handler reach the stake they stop. At the same time, upon orders given by the steward, the decoy exits from the blind and threatens the handler and dog. When confronted with this threat, the handler must immediately let the dog free and urge it to attack. The dog must immediately and decidedly react biting the sleeve or bitesuit of the decoy and maintaining, possibly, the hold until the end of the exercise. During this action, the dog does not have to be hit in any way, but only threatened. The dog that does not succeed in maintaining a constant hold for the entire duration of the exercise – unless due to apparent shyness - must however uninterruptedly maintain a decidedly aggressive attitude toward the decoy. The test ends on the indication of the steward which, in estimating it, does not have to hold in account the length of the attack, and that it is not needlessly prolonged, but above what is taken into consideration is the decision and reaction readiness of the dog when confronted with the threat. The dog that shows fear, the total lack of aggressiveness and sleeve hold, indifference, are always considered highly negative factors.

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