A Herding Title Primer

 

For our visitors who might have an interest in learning more about the herding titles that could be earned by the three primary organizations that provide a competitive herding venue for Welsh Corgi participation, we hope the following list will be helpful.

 

American Kennel Club

 

Pass/Fail Test Titles:

            HT –  Herding Tested

            PT –  Pretrial Tested

 

Trial Titles:  To earn a trial title the dog must receive three qualifying scores for each stock type under three different judges within each course type.

 

HS -  Herding Started. The title is followed by A, B or C for the type of course and by d, s, c for ducks, sheep and cattle which designates the type of stock the dog earned his title working.

HI -   Herding Intermediate.  The title is followed by A, B or C for the type of course and by d, s, c for ducks, sheep and cattle which designates the type of stock the dog earned his title working.

HX -  Herding Excellent.  The title is followed by A, B or C for the type of course and by d, s, c for ducks, sheep and cattle which designates the type of stock the dog earned his title working.

HC -  Herding Champion.  This title is designated in the front of the dog’s name.

DC -  Dual Champion.  This title designates that the dog earned both a conformation championship and a herding or field sport championship.

 

In cases where you might see a dog’s name with the prefix(s) of HX or HS and no course or stock designation, the title(s) were earned before the AKC rule change that added both the course and stock types.

 

 

Australian Shepard Club of America (ASCA)

 

            STD -  Started

            OTD -  Open

            ATD  -  Advanced

 

            Each title designation will be followed by a d, s, c for ducks, sheep and cattle that indicate the type of stock the dog earned his title working.  The dog must earn two qualifying scores under two different judges in each stock type.

 

            WTCH -  Dogs who have earned their ATD title in all three stock types under different judges.  A post-advanced title is the PATD.

 

            ASCA trials also offer classes for novice handlers and juniors.

 

 

American Herding Breeds Association (AHBA)

 

            Pass/Fail Test Titles:

                        HCT -  Herding Capability Tested

                        JHD -  Junior Herding Dog

 

            Trial Titles:

                        HTDI, II, III -  Herding Trial Dog

                        HRDI, II, III -  Herding Ranch Dog

                        HCH -  Herding Champion

 

In all three organization’s venues, any titled earned replaces any previously earned lower level title.  For example:  PT replaces HT and HRDIII replaces HRDII.  Official guidelines and rules for herding competition are available on all three organization’s web sites.