Both the Canadian Criminal Code and provincial Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act apply to dogs in sporting events. Any acts perceived as cruel at events may be reported to the appropriate governing bodies. This includes to training methods used at home and in classes perceived as cruel.
Each competition venue may have specific rules pertaining to the treatment and condition of the dogs during competition. Each venue has developed a set of rules available for consultation regarding guidelines and standards during competition, usually found online. For instance, the AAC rule book states that “any dog suffering from illness or injury, that affects the physical or mental performance must NOT be permitted to participate in an AAC trial.” Another clause can be found in the AAC rule book stating that any act witness and perceived as abuse must be reported to the trial judge and that exhibitor will be asked to leave the event. While sporting events do not have specific rules about training methods or things that occur outside of the event, the NASCW nosework venue does take the dogs well being one step further. At NASCW trials, the use of aversive collars including shock or prong collars is not permitted on trial grounds outside of the exhibitors vehicles.
