Judges Report

Thank you to Kate for the invitation to judge. A venue i have not visited before and I had not had the pleasure of judging any of the teams in either the level 1 or 3. Thank you to Kate’s team who were all very helpful on the day. Also a new venue for many of the L1 and L3 visiting teams so handlers having to be patient and allow their dogs time to settle into the searches.
Level 1 – I judged both interior searches, whilst some teams were very nervous they all coped well allowing their dogs to work. Several wrong alerts on the BBC for some the last search of the trial and I could see that some of the dogs were starting to fade a little, A great group of teams to watch and I hope to see you as you progress up the levels. Very well done.
Level 3 – I judges both exterior searches – a cool 22 degrees!! compared to recent much higher temperatures but it did feel much warmer than that.
Vehicle – Three vehicles parked side by side with approximately 1.5 metre between each vehicle.- This causing a lot of problems for the teams. The first odour (clove) was placed on the opposite side to where teams started, just above the sill in the crease of the drivers door so halfway down the side of the vehicle, lots of interest in this vehicle but also lots of wrong calls as a result of the scent travelling to the rear and opposite side .due to quite a strong breeze. The gun oil on the front of the second vehicle placed nose high in the grill was found by most of the teams – nothing on the third vehicle. Lots of searching of wheels across the three vehicles so one to think about. Really pleased to say that no dogs even considered pawing at any of the vehicles.
Exterior Items – I think a welcome relief for the handlers and dogs to be on a familiar search, most teams covering this with ease, a few wrong calls but I think over tired / warm dogs at this point. Not everyone’s day with only two qualifiers, but I think many contributing factors – Warmer than expected temperature’s – strong breeze – new venue for some – several dogs had attended trials the previous day and / or attended other activities that morning. Whilst some dogs can usually cope well with busy schedules sometimes external contributing factors can take over the best teams.
A disappointing day for some, so a massive thank you to all the teams for persevering and seeing out the trial and still allowing your dogs to enjoy their day.