This guide explains how to arrange a dog trial or competition with the WeHunt app.
Note: Trial features are under active development. This guide is updated as new features are released, so we recommend reading it again before each event rather than relying on what it said last time.
In summary
- Trials are run using the hunt feature. The organizer creates a hunt and shares the join code, everyone joins and adds their dogs, and the hunt is marked as started once everyone has gathered.
- Spectators follow the event for free. Turn on Dog competition when planning the hunt, and the event gets its own code for spectators.
- The timeline works both during and after the hunt. Judges can scroll back and review a dog's movement while the trial is still in progress.
Once before the season
These steps are done once and serve every trial after that.
Start with a team
Use a team you already have. If you don't have one, create a new one, and keep it from year to year instead of creating a new team for each trial.
If there is no organizing club or association, a dog handler can create a team with no other members. A one-person team works perfectly well as the base for a hunt.
Save trial grounds to the team (optional)
Areas, gathering points, parking spots and boundaries can be saved to the team once, so they are ready for every trial. They are visible to everyone who joins a hunt created under the team.
Because the team is kept for years, observations recorded during trials also build up there. Over several seasons, the organizer's map gives a picture of where game is usually found and at what time of year. This is completely optional.
Before each trial
Create a hunt
Create one hunt per trial, and set the start time to the official start of the trial.
Note: A hunt cannot be marked as started before its planned start time. If you want to start earlier, change the planned start time first.
Turn on Dog competition
Turn on Dog competition when planning the hunt. The view changes to Plan competition, and the event gets two codes: the regular join code for handlers and judges, and a separate code for spectators.
Choose what spectators see
When Dog competition is on, you can also choose what spectators see:
- Show participants: spectators see the participants' positions and trails, not only the dogs.
- Replay during the competition: spectators can use the timeline while the competition is live.
Press Send invite, even if you are not inviting anyone
This step is easy to get confused by. The codes won't appear until you press Send invite, even if you have no one to invite.
The invitation only goes to team members, and trial participants are usually not in the team. The button saves the hunt and won't send anything to anyone unless you have selected a recipient.
Open the hunt from the calendar
After saving, you can find the hunt in your calendar. Open it to view both codes.
Share the codes
The hunt's join code is for handlers and judges. You can share it days in advance, or at the latest at the morning briefing.
The spectator code is for the audience. Spectators are not shown on the map or in the participant list, and they cannot add dogs or write in the hunt chat.
The codes do not expire when the hunt ends, so it's worth writing them down: the code of a finished hunt can be used later to view its summary.
Note: Don't use a dog code for the trial. It is meant for sharing a single dog and does not add anyone to the hunt.
On the day of the trial
Everyone joins the hunt and adds their dogs
Participants enter the join code and select the dogs they are bringing. There is no need to join the team; joining the hunt is enough.
Be careful when adding dogs. The dog selection view opens automatically after joining, and your own active dogs are already selected. Tapping the map next to the view confirms the selection instead of closing it. If you don't want to add dogs, clear the selections before leaving the view. A dog added to a hunt currently cannot be removed from the hunt report.
Mark the hunt as started once everyone has gathered
Mark the hunt as started when everyone is at the gathering point, not when the dogs are released. This gives everyone time to check that they can see each other on the map. If someone isn't showing, it's much better to notice it there than out in the field.
During the trial
The map shows the locations of dogs and participants, tracks, barking, distances and speeds. Observations are marked in the hunt and stay with it. You can also send messages within the hunt.
End the hunt
End the hunt when everyone has returned. The recording is kept permanently and can be reviewed later on the timeline. If you forget to end the hunt, you can end it later.
Public event following
Event following lets the audience watch the trial without joining it. Spectators see the dogs entered in the competition. Participants' positions are shown to them only if you turn on Show participants. Spectators are not shown on the map or in the participant list, and they cannot add dogs, call the participants or write in the chat.
Someone who starts watching late still sees the trails from the start of the competition. Spectators can leave at any time with Stop watching, and watching an event doesn't stop anyone from taking part in a hunt of their own.
You can turn it on yourself. When planning the hunt, turn on Dog competition. There is no need to contact us.
Watching is free. Spectators can follow the event in the WeHunt app on any plan, including the Free plan. The organizer, handlers and judges take part in the hunt, so they need a Premium subscription to see the dogs on the map.
Share the spectator code with the audience, not the join code
Two codes, two purposes: The join code is for handlers and judges. The audience gets the spectator code, never the other way around.
If the join code is shared publicly, everyone who uses it joins as a participant, which means:
- Every spectator appears on the map and in the participant list, making it harder to see the dogs and handlers who are actually taking part.
- Spectators can add their own dogs, which makes the list longer. With enough of them, participants can no longer find their own dogs, and no one knows which dogs are in the trial.
- Spectators can write in the hunt chat, which can disrupt the trial.
Timeline
The timeline works both during and after the trial. Judges can scroll back and follow a dog's movement while the trial is still running, and the whole event can be reviewed afterwards.
If you turn on Replay during the competition, spectators can use the timeline too, so the audience can go back and see what happened instead of only following live locations.
Why trials use a hunt instead of a team
A hunt is an event with a start and an end. Locations are shared only while the hunt is running, and only with the people taking part in it. Your drive to the trial site, stops along the way and the trip home are not visible to anyone.
The alternative, sharing your location continuously through a team, would mean every team member could see where you have been, whether you were at the trial or not. Clubs can have hundreds of members. That is why the hunt feature exists.
The hunt recording is also kept permanently, so a trial can be reviewed even years later.