An inside or outside area that contains items used for transportation. Space must be free of any safety hazards (e.g., broken glass, garbage, sharp objects, exposed wires, etc.).
Hides may only be placed a maximum of 3’ (91 cm) off the ground on the OUTSIDE of the vehicle. Hides may NOT be placed inside the vehicle, including but not limited to, the glove compartment, in between the seats nor may hides be placed in the undercarriage of the vehicle. Up to two hides may be placed onto a single vehicle.
Some examples include cars, SUVs, trucks, buses, boats, tractors, motorcycles, bicycles, wheelbarrows, riding lawn mowers, golf carts, hand trucks, carts or planes.
Considerations and Tips
Only vehicles the handler and assistant have explicit permission to use may be used in searches filmed for Cyber Scent Work.
For food and paired odor searches, all hides must be accessible to the dog so they may self-reward. This means NO inaccessible hides.
For odor searches, ensure odor can escape the odor vessel (e.g. use metal tins with holes on top as opposed to solid tins with no holes).
Note that the surface of many vehicles can become extremely hot when sitting in the direct sunlight for even a short period of time. This could potentially burn a dog’s nose as they are sourcing a hide. Handlers and assistants should be mindful of this when they are designing their searches.
All steps must be taken to avoid any damage to the vehicles.
We should NOT promote dogs jumping up on vehicles if at all possible, so handlers and assistants should be mindful of where they place their hides.
Practice is the key to success, so handlers and assistants are urged to have previously designed and run searches playing with various elements and factors typical of vehicle searches. These include, but are not limited to, orientation of the vehicles to one another, size of vehicles in relation to one another, wind direction and so on.
Beginner Level
Requirements
# of Containers
10-12 containers
Container Orientation
Straight row, two straight rows, three straight rows, two staggered row or three staggered rows.
Advanced Level Requirements
# of Containers
15-20 containers/search area
# of Containers
Straight row, two straight rows, three straight rows, two staggered row, three staggered rows, clusters, a circle or square.
Novice Level Requirements
# of Containers
12-15 containers
# of Containers
Straight row, two straight rows, three straight rows, two staggered row or three staggered rows.
Master Level Requirements
# of Containers
15-25 containers/search area
# of Containers
Straight rows, staggered rows, scattered, clusters or shapes (circle, square, U, Z, S, etc.). Containers may be elevated.
Intermediate Level Requirements
# of Containers
15-20 containers
# of Containers
Straight row, two straight rows, three straight rows, two staggered row or three staggered rows, clusters or circle.
Expert Level Requirements
# of Containers
15-35 containers
# of Containers
Straight rows, staggered rows, scattered, clusters or shapes (circle, square, U, Z, S, etc.). Containers may be elevated.
Beginner Level
Requirements
# of Vehicles
2-3 vehicles
Vehicle Orientation
Straight row, side-by-side or perpendicular.
Advanced Level Requirements
# of Vehicles
3-5 vehicles/search area
Vehicle Orientation
Straight row, side-by-side, circle, square, triangle or perpendicular.
Novice Level Requirements
# of Vehicles
2-4 vehicles
Vehicle Orientation
Straight row, side-by-side or perpendicular.
Master Level Requirements
# of Vehicles
3-5 vehicles/search area
Vehicle Orientation
Straight row, side-by-side, circle, square, triangle or perpendicular.
Intermediate Level Requirements
# of Vehicles
3-5 vehicles
Vehicle Orientation
Straight row, side-by-side, circle, square, triangle or perpendicular.
Expert Level Requirements
# of Vehicles
3-5 vehicles/search area
Vehicle Orientation
Straight row, side-by-side, circle, square, triangle or perpendicular.