Welcome to the K9 Trail Time Members Code of Conduct
We want you and your dog/s to enjoy the sport and to benefit from the time you spend together out and about in the fresh air.
As a subscriber to K9 Trail Time you are an ambassador of the sport and therefore we have a few procedures that we would guide you to follow at all times not only to promote the sport to others but to keep yourself, your dog and others safe.
Animal Welfare
We support the Five Freedoms under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Therefore we expect you to follow the five freedoms with your dog to ensure that Animal Welfare is your first priority when taking part in the sport.
- We expect you to ensure your dog has a suitable environment that allows he/she to have rest and down time between any training and events
- We expect you to make sure you dog has access to a suitable diet and that you are responsible for making sure he/she is fed and watered at the appropriate times
- We expect you to know and understand your dog’s own behaviour and therefore never force them to take part in an event or be part of a situation that would cause them undue stress
- We expect you to ensure your dog is house/restrained suitably in-between running or events to keep him/her safe and allow him/her to be apart from other animals where appropriate
- We expect you to be ever vigilant of your dog and be confident that your dog is protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease and not forced to take part in events whilst he/she is displaying any signs and symptoms of the above
- We expect you to seek veterinary advice immediately should you identify any sign that your dog is in pain, suffering or injured. In order for you and your dog to enjoy the sport, you have a legal and moral responsibility to make sure your dog is healthy happy and fit.
If at any point you are unsure, please seek veterinary advice before commencing training. Allowing a dog to train or take part in events whilst injured could make injuries worse or more permanent, or could even alter your dog’s behaviour or love of the sport.
Abusive Practice
We do not condone the use of any physical abuse, restrictive techniques or equipment and therefore we do not support the use of:
- Any act of intentional physical abuse that causes a dog to suffer
- Any act of unintentional physical abuse that is allowed to continue and allows the dog to suffer
- Electric Collars
- Weight training for dogs in the form of weights attached to the dog in any way shape or form
- Running in a choke chain
- Running in a non-pull harness
- Running in any head collar that restricts breathing
- Running in any muzzle that restricts breathing
Reference: Animal Welfare Act 2006, Section 4 & Section 9
Dog Awareness and Control
Your dog is an animal and has emotions, fears, thoughts and feelings as you do; therefore he/she will react to situations and other living creatures around them. We expect you to have accountability and take responsibility for your own dog’s behaviour when out and about in both private and public spaces.
- Be responsible for your own dog at all times and ensure that you have full control.
- Never run your dog directly at another dog or human
- Never allow your dog to run out of control and loose towards another individual or dog
- Never allow your dog to physically hurt an individual or dog
- Never allow your dog to intentionally intimidate an individual or dog
- Never allow your dog to run loose
- Never let your dog worry livestock
- Never run your dog directly at livestock
- Never let your dog bite livestock or bark at them
Always make sure you use good trail etiquette when out and about and be the responsible person and take control of the situation. Remember, not everyone has seen these sports and therefore may be surprised or intrigued by what you are doing. They will not always know what you are doing and therefore not know what to do should they come across you on a pavement, road or trail.
Always:
- Communicate to other dog owners when running or walking by to let them know when you are passing them so not to spook them and give them time to put their own dogs on a lead/line or get them under control
- Make sure your dog is attached to you when running on pavements, roads or shared paths
- Keep your dog on a lead/line so that you can keep them safe from traffic when near a road
- Be courteous to others be it a public or private environment
Reference: Road Traffic Act 1988, section 27; Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953, Animals Act 1971,section 3 Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 amends the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
Attitude and Behaviour
As a subscriber to K9 Trail Time we expect you to be courteous and safe when out and about. We expect all subscribers to be supportive of those in the sport and recognise that not everyone chooses to exercise their dogs in the same way.
Therefore we expect you to abide by the following guidelines in regards to your behaviour:
- Respect that you choose to do the sport and others may not, so don’t force your opinion on others
- Respect that some people who have never seen the sport before may be curious or not understand the principles and therefore have negative comments. We don’t expect you to be rude to those individuals, just to be polite and respect their views.
- Respect that you may see others out and about running or walking their dogs with inappropriate equipment. It is not for you to police this and you can only give advice and be courteous. Perhaps even signpost them to an appropriate kit retailer or event.
- You may compete in this sport on foot or on wheels, but at all times you are to respect others on pavements, trails and paths and therefore you will give them priority of way, irrespective of their behaviour and attitude to you
- You compete for the enjoyment of the sport and never put your ambitions for a race ahead of the dogs welfare and as such you will not compete at any time in a race which has money as a prize
- You are responsible for making the ultimate decision on a race as to whether you feel the venue, environment or facility is suitable for you and your dog. Never take part in an event or run that you feel is unsafe for you and your dog.
Equipment and Maintenance
Dog sports are reliant on you using the correct equipment and maintaining it moving forward. Although one size harness and one piece of equipment does not fit and suit all, we expect you to:
- Use a suitable dog sports harness that allows your dog freedom of movement and does not restrict its throat, forelimbs or hind limbs
- You use a suitable running belt that does not cause harm to your body and allows you freedom of movement
- You use suitable running lines that have a degree of elasticity or bungee line in them to absorb the impact on yourself and your dog
- You use suitable arms on the bike/scooter to ensure you line does not entangle itself around your dog
- You use the appropriate safety equipment when doing the sport such as gloves, the correct shoes for the trail you are running on or a helmet at all times when using a wheeled device
Training and access
Please be aware of where you allowed to take part in the sports, particularly when training using a wheeled device, we ask that you adhere to the following:
- Biking or scootering is illegal on pavements, so under no circumstances should you be cycling or scootering on a pavement.
- Biking or scootering with your dog on a public highway at any time is also illegal and so a road should never be part of any route you are taking, unless you are taking part in an event organised by a third party and they have express permission to use the road and have arranged adequate marshal cover for any sections of road in accordance with their event rules.
- Ensure you are allowed access wherever you train, public places such as parks, forests and green spaces might not allow biking or scootering with your dog and it is your responsibility to check this with your local council, landowners and any other relevant organisation.
Reference: Section 51 and Schedule 3 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988;
The Highway Code, section 66 & 68
Picking up after your dog
As a responsible dog owner we would expect you to make sure you pick up your dog’s faeces and dispose of them in the appropriate bins.
We want to continue to support the local environment and therefore dog faeces that are not picked up causes a hazard to the environment and a public nuisance.
Leaving your dog’s faeces in livestock and farmers’ fields and spread parasites and can cause cattle to abort. Always make sure you are responsible with dog faeces and clear it up.
Reference: Environmental Protection Act (1990), Litter (Animal Droppings) Order 1991; Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014