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Working Dog Program

  1. Purpose

    1. To encourage people to work their Alaskan Malamutes in the pursuits for which they were intended.
    2. To provide Certificates for those Alaskan Malamutes proven in these pursuits.
    3. To thus encourage the breeding of a better Alaskan Malamute

  2. Scope

    1. To establish criteria for certification of the Working malamute.
    2. To establish those specialties for which a malamute may receive certification.
    3. To establish the rules for certification.
    4. To revise the criteria as required to improve the certification program.
      1. The criteria may be modified, amended, corrected, or otherwise changed, or the program may be discontinued upon the recommendation of the majority of the Committee upon approval of the AMCA Board.
    5. The Working Dog Certification Program shall be self-supporting and thereby not be a burden to AMCA. Certification charges shall be sufficient to pay for printing and mailing of certificates and any unforeseen costs.

  3. Fields of Certification

    1. Working Team Dog
    2. Working Lead Dog
    3. Working Weight Pull Dog
    4. Working Pack Dog

  4. Eligibility

    1. The Alaskan Malamute shall be registered or registerable with a recognized kennel club (AKC, CKC, etc.). An ILP registration number is also permitted.
    2. Deceased Alaskan Malamutes meeting registration requirements and having fulfilled all legs of certification afater January 1, 1980 are eligible for Working Dog Certification. All necessary paperwork must be completed and submitted for review to the Working Dog Committee.

  5. Basic Requirements

    1. All races or weight pull events entered shall be open events and must meet requirements in this document.
      1. Open events are those which are not restricted to club members only and are sufficiently advertised so that non-club members may compete for a nominal charge.
    2. It is the responsibility of the dog owners to make sure that their dogs are sufficiently trained and conditioned that they pose no hazard to the health or welfare of themselves or other dogs participating in the event. Any team proven a hazard to other teams or mushers shall be disqualified from certification. Any driver/handler who displays poor sportsmanship or abuses his dogs shall be disqualified from certification.
    3. It is the responsibility of the dog owner to obtain and mail all the necessary documents, signatures and otherwise complete all requirements to get their dogs certified by AMCA.
    4. Dog does not have to run on an all Malamute team.

  6. Certified Dogs

    1. Any dog certified by AMCA shall be privileged to use the title in any AMCA literature.

  7. Protests

    1. Any person wish to protest the eligibility of a dog or dog team, the qualification of an event for certification purposes, or protest any violation of race rules or certification requirements, must do so immediately following the conclusion of the event. The protest may be verbal but must be followed by a written statement to the race marshall or chief judge of the event wtihin 10 days with a copy to the certification committee. The committee shall notify the concerned parties of the protest in order that they may file a rebuttal. It shall be the responsibility of the certification committee to decide whether or not the protest is valid by a 2/3 majority vote.

  8. Documents and Processing

    1. Any person found guilty of willingly falsifying documents in order to certify a dog shall be ineligible for certification. (Falsifying records may consist of a dog's name, forging documents or otherwise making false claims to certify a dog).
    2. The Working Dog Award Committee shall consist of three AMCA members, appointed by the Board of Directors, each from a different geographic location.
    3. Certification application forms may be obtained by writing to the Working Dog Committee Chairperson whose name will be listed in the AMCA Newsletter. The completed forms shall be returned to the Committee for review.

  9. Officials

    1. Judges, or other necessary officials, may be AMCA members or other person the Committee recognized and accepts as having necessary qualifications. Application from competitive events must be signed by an event official.
    2. Officials for approving a sledding or packing excursion shall be impartial persons accepted by the Committee as having the necessary qualifications and integrity. If a club event, the witness may be a club officer or event organizer. If an individual event, the witness may be a park official, forest ranger or similarly qualified person. The mailing address of the official must be provided on the application form.
    3. Definitions
      • Race Marshall is appointed by and reports to the race giving club, but has complete and full charge and responsibility for the race from the time it starts through to its completion. All other officials report directly to him and are responsible to him in all matters. He has the final word and the power to cancel or stop the race under extenuating circumstances, weather or trail conditions. Can disqualify or refuse teams at the start, at his discretion. He must be experienced, capable and a responsible expert in the sport of dog racing. He will chair the drivers meeting, officials meeting and protest committee.
      • Time Recorder is responsible for the recording of the time made by all teams during the race. He may have an assistant known as a recorder. He is responsible to the race marshall. It is his responsibility to use proper and adequate chronographs for this purpose, and be completely familiar with the rules.
      • Chief Judge shall report and be responsible to the race marshall. He shall be in charge of the Judges, the Dog Marker and his assistants. He shall deal directly with all drivers and will receive any protests and or complaints. He shll be in charge of starting and finish line, and remain at this position during all heats of the race. He will examine teams at the start and finish, and has power to disqualify dogs, in his opinion, that are unfit to run.
      • Trail Judge shall report directly to the race marshall and is responsible for laying out, preparation of, and marking the race trail. He should be familiar with the requirements of a race trail suitable for dog teams, and do his utmost to prepare a trail that will not have dangerous corners, road crossings, etc., that can be hazardous to dogs and driver. He is responsible for patrolling the race trail during the race, and placing the trail stewards at locations as may be required.
      • Protest Committee shall consist of Race Marshall, Chief Judge, Trail Judge, and Time Keeper to settle all disputes, complaints and protests. To levy all penalties and disqualifications. Decisions of this committee are final and irrevocable.
      • Spotter or Trail Steward is a person located at corner or intersection of trail, responsible for directing teams in corrections and reporting any incorrect occupance to Trail Judge.
      • Racer is a person participating in a race or races.
      • Trainer is a person who trains sled dogs for racing, freighting, or weight pulling.

  10. Sledding Event Rules and Requirements

    1. Sledding — snow or wheeled cart.
    2. Races shall be held under ISDRA rules plus any amendments created by the officiating club's race rules, as long as they do not change the basic requirements of ISDRA rules.
    3. The applicant shall pay the costs of entries plus payment to the AMCA for certification processing.
    11.