Level 3 Trial
I would like to say a big thank you to Kate for asking me to judge at this Level 3 trial, Cannock Wood is a great venue for trials and I always enjoy judging and working here. I would also like to say a very big thank you to Helen for being a great scribe but also for soothing a few nerves before searches began and for offering invaluable advice after searches.
The weather was beautiful; a bright and sunny spring morning turned into a nice warm afternoon with a gentle breeze.
10 teams entered the trial and most teams had competed in a Level 3 trial before, it was a first trial at this level for just a couple of handlers. 1 team worked NFC.
We set searches that were mostly straightforward although a couple of the scents were placed in places that were a little more challenging as we wanted to see how handlers and dogs worked together as a team to find them.
A white dog was used to check the scents before each exercise began.
We started inside with the table/chairs/perimeter search, which took place in the main hall. The cloves scent was put underneath one of two tables towards the top right hand corner. It was placed on one of the metal locking levers and chairs had been arranged around the table to enable dogs to get under the table to search. The gun oil was placed to the left hand side of the room under a radiator at the end a piece of foam lagging on the pipework. Most handlers started off by searching the tables and chairs and it was noticeable that the chairs were searched much more than the tables. There was some really good, methodical searching by Oswald and Emma and Meadow and Anita on this one but Jemima got the fastest time, finding both scents in 55 seconds. Rachael and Jemima were lovely to watch – Jemima romped around the room, tail wagging as she tried to find the scents – she had great fun! Most teams eventually located the scent on the table but many struggled to find the scent on the perimeter, only half of the dogs were able to locate this one. The dogs that didn’t find this one often went over the top, sniffing more at nose level – working with dogs searching at lower levels would benefit some teams. A special mention to Lynda and Izzy and Sue and Delphi on this one, both dogs searched beautifully and listened to your instructions for where to search – well done!
We went out into the sun for the second search – the exterior -which took place in an enclosed area to the side of the main hall. The area had a hedge to one side and a low fence to the back with a field beyond.
The cloves scent was placed in a circular foot pump that was more or less in the middle of the search area and the gun oil was put into a pipe that stuck out horizontally from a pressure washer that had been placed a the top left hand corner of the search area. This search was a challenge for many dogs, most of which found the cloves scent but only four teams located the gun oil.
It was encouraging to see the environment didn’t particularly distract most dogs and handlers quickly bought the few that went sniffing on the perimeter back to the search.
Most dogs covered the search area well but many of the items were only searched on one side or from the same direction. If dogs aren’t picking a scent up then it is always worth working towards the articles from a different direction and try to get your dogs to work around the articles rather than just sniffing one side and moving on. A very big well done to the 4 teams that found both scents – Lisa and Reuben, Anita and Meadow, Lynda and Izzy and Emma and Oswald – you worked your dogs really well and searched around each item, ensuring that your dogs picked up the scent. Your dogs really persevered too – there were no quick times in this search.
The third search took us back inside to the boxes and luggage search, located in a smaller side room. The cloves scent was put into a larger box towards the top right hand corner of the search area and the gun oil was hidden in a smaller box towards the lower left hand side. Most dogs searched this beautifully and most found both scents. There were a few false alerts but on different boxes.
The last search of the day was outside in the sun again and we used a vehicle and a section of wall that had planters at the base and a doorframe at the end. The cloves scent was placed at the front of the car on the passenger side, pushed under the headlight casing and the gun oil was pushed into a metal foot that was at the base of the wall in a gap between two planters. Most teams started with the vehicle and successfully found the scent but a gentle breeze may have been the cause of one or two indicating close to but not close enough to the source. The wall was worked well by most teams with most dogs eventually finding the scent, although it took a little time. Remember to work your dogs into gaps between planters or other furniture that might be at the base of the wall. A shout out to Rachael and Jemima, Lynda and Izzy, Lisa and Reuben and Anita and Meadow for the way you handled your dogs on this search – it was lovely to watch.

I would like to say a huge well done to all handlers and their dogs, but a particularly big well done to –

1st Place –Lynda and Izzy – a great team, Izzy knows the job and Lynda trusts her dog and lets her get on with the job – a well deserved win for you both today at your first Level 3 trial. Well done!
2nd Place – Emma and Oswald –a calm and steady partnership who are always a joy to watch. Ozzie is always ready to go and Emma’s calm nature keeps the balance between his enthusiasm and not losing his head when searching. Another great start to Level 3 – Well done!
3rd Place – Anita and Meadow – Great teamwork, a happy girl who enjoys her searching and a handler who knows her so well and gets the best out of her. I love the relationship that you have with her Anita, it’s beautiful to watch!
4th Place – Sue and Delphi – Another calm and steady partnership. It’s lovely to watch you both working together – just try not to look so surprised when she finds the scent!

I really enjoyed judging this level 3 trial, there were a mixture of easier and more challenging finds and I was really impressed with the way that many of you handled your dogs, particularly when perseverance was required. I hope you all enjoyed the trial and even if the result wasn’t what you hoped for, I hope that it has given you some pointers for what to work on next.
I really enjoyed judging all of you and your beautiful dogs and I hope to meet up with you all again in trials in the near future.

Happy training!

Julie

I would like to say a big thank you to Kate for asking me to be one of two judges at our Level 1 trial and I would also like to say a very big thank you to Wendy Littlehales for being a great scribe (first time too!)
Cannock Wood Village Hall is a great venue for trials and the weather was kind to us too, a beautiful spring morning turned into a warm and sunny afternoon – a pleasant change from the rain and chilly temperatures of the last few days.
11 teams competed in the trial. Some teams had competed in a Level 1 trial before, but we had quite a few teams that were new to trials.
All areas were checked by experienced white dogs Alfie and Jess, prior to putting the scents out and then once more once the scents were in place.
The first search of the day for us was the exterior search, which took place in an enclosed area to the side of the main hall. The area had a hedge to one side and a low fence to the back with a field beyond. A mixture of articles were used for this search and the teams were given the choice of a pressure washer, an upturned shopping basket and a section of sawn off log, with the scent being placed in a large slit on the latter. Some of the dogs, noticeably the spaniels, were a little distracted with the area to the sides of the search area and the field beyond. This tested the teams a little but most handlers did really well to keep dogs on task or to refocus them if they became distracted. Martyn had to work particularly hard to keep Evie focused on this one, as her spaniel nose sought out the wonderful scent of leaves and an odd pine cone that she found that was far more interesting than scenting for cloves. My heart went out to you Martyn but you didn’t give up trying and eventually managed to work together to locate the scent. Other dogs showed little interest in the environment and searched really well. A shout out to Rebecca and Storm, Elaine and Pip, Pam and Darcie and Carlie and Pluto who all made it look easy. All teams successfully found the scent, with Carlie and Pluto finding it in the fastest time – 11 seconds.
We continued with the tables and chairs search, which took place in the main hall of the building. Eight chairs surrounded two tables and the scent was placed on one of the middle pairs of chairs (the furthest from the start point) to the right hand side, just underneath the outer edge of the seat. Some of the dogs were initially a little distracted by a new environment but handlers worked hard to get them searching and to keep their focus and all dogs eventually searched the chairs well. A big well done to Jack on this search. Phoebe was a little unsure of the flooring but Jack handled her sensitively and she searched well, despite walking tentatively around the search area. It was good to see all handlers giving the dogs space on this search and not getting in the way or blocking them as they made their way around the tables. Most teams found this scent easily, the quickest time being Pam and Darcy in a super quick 11 seconds, followed by Alan and Missy and Brenda and Mabel in just over 20 seconds. It was good to see some very thorough searching and strong indications from dogs at this level.

I really enjoyed judging 2 of the exercises at this level 1 trial and I was really impressed with the standard of handling and the indications that the dogs gave when finding scent, this is really encouraging from teams (many of them who are new to trials) working at this level. The fact that everyone qualified and the number of clean sweeps and full handling marks shows how hard you all worked and how well you know your dogs.

I would like to say a huge well done to all handlers and their dogs, but a particularly big well done to –

1st Place –Rebecca and Storm – a great team, Storm knows the job and Rebecca trusts her dog and lets them get on with the job – a well deserved clean sweep for you both today. Well done!
2nd Place – Pam and Hoolie – a really calm and steady partnership who were a joy to watch. Pam is really in tune with Hooli and gives her dog time to search – lovely handling. Another well deserved clean sweep.
3rd Place –Pam and Darcy – Great teamwork, a happy girl who enjoys her searching and with the best indication ever. You can’t go wrong with a yodel!
4th Place – Carlie and Pluto – lovely to watch you both working together – you know your dog well and let them get on with the job – well done!

I really enjoyed judging all of you and your beautiful dogs and I hope to meet up with you all again in trials in the near future.

Happy training!

Julie