Thanks Justine for the invitation to judge the first of the new format L8 at Elton. Carl scribed for me and I had no complaints there, thank you Carl
All areas were white dogged to check the area, hide placement and to help set times.
Interior 1
5 hide,s 5 minutes
Half the hall and a committee room.
The “No Go Zone” was dealt with very well, the scented article was in the seam of wooden double doors and was the only hide in the hall. The remaining 4 were in the adjoining committee room. The only hide that caused any problems was on the corner of the flap of a long roll of flooring suspended over a storage cage. This was where Karen and Barley picked up a small deduction from obviously being in odour but not quite close enough to source.
Exterior
5 hides, 5 1/2 minutes
Elton offers quite a lot of scope for decent sized searches, I added a car (2 doors open) and a pile of random flower pots and large plastic trays. Of the hides, the tricky ones proved to be the 2 on a wooden bench, both on the same level and both cloves. Nobody got both on the one pass but there was ample time for two of the handlers to return to it and make the find. The other was in a small alley way formed by a fence, a gate and a wall. Truffle was placed tight to the corner fence post. Access to the post and the fence was slightly inconvenienced by 3 large traffic cones. This, and perhaps how the dog entered the area (clockwise or anti clockwise) may have contributed to why none of the teams found this hide.
Interior 2
2 hides, 4 minutes
Half the hall, entrance lobby and kitchen
The hide in the kitchen proved no problem. The one in the hall was found by Helen and Nellie only. It was placed under a radiator in line with the chairs, these were not included but were there to mark the boundary of the search area. Because of the gap between chairs and radiator there was no visual barrier to hold the dog in the area. This served Nellie well because as Helen called her back into the area Nellie hit odour. Something similar happened with Melanie and Rowan except Melanie specifically tasked Rowan back, unfortunately the point she picked was just a bit too far into the search area. Marvel “rounded off the corner and although Rebecca made sure that she covered the area from both directions they failed to make the find. Karen and Barley did something similar, so well done Helen on being the only team to find all the hides in Interior 2.
1st Karen and Barley. It’s a funny thing with Karen and Barley, they work so quietly and calmly together that you almost don’t notice them. Barley is a sensitive soul but this was her second win in almost as many weeks. The last of the old Level 8’s and the very first of the new, a great achievement and very well deserved. There were a few “clear’ calls over the course of the trial but Karen’s call in Interior 1 was the only correct one.
2nd Melanie and Rowan I always enjoy watching little Rowan. I wonder if she hadn’t been such a good girl and responded exactly to Melanie’s tasking whether she too would have found that threshold hide in Interior 2?
Helen and Nellie. Always a pleasure to watch Nellie, only just missed out today. Her day will come I’m sure.
Rebecca and Marvel. Marvel is a searching machine and so exciting to watch. He just didn’t quite seem himself today but this team will bounce back, no doubt.
Thanks Justine for the invitation to judge the first of the new format L8 at Elton. Carl scribed for me and I had no complaints there, thank you Carl
All areas were white dogged to check the area, hide placement and to help set times.
Interior 1
5 hide,s 5 minutes
Half the hall and a committee room.
The “No Go Zone” was dealt with very well, the scented article was in the seam of wooden double doors and was the only hide in the hall. The remaining 4 were in the adjoining committee room. The only hide that caused any problems was on the corner of the flap of a long roll of flooring suspended over a storage cage. This was where Karen and Barley picked up a small deduction from obviously being in odour but not quite close enough to source.
Exterior
5 hides, 5 1/2 minutes
Elton offers quite a lot of scope for decent sized searches, I added a car (2 doors open) and a pile of random flower pots and large plastic trays. Of the hides, the tricky ones proved to be the 2 on a wooden bench, both on the same level and both cloves. Nobody got both on the one pass but there was ample time for two of the handlers to return to it and make the find. The other was in a small alley way formed by a fence, a gate and a wall. Truffle was placed tight to the corner fence post. Access to the post and the fence was slightly inconvenienced by 3 large traffic cones. This, and perhaps how the dog entered the area (clockwise or anti clockwise) may have contributed to why none of the teams found this hide.
Interior 2
2 hides, 4 minutes
Half the hall, entrance lobby and kitchen
The hide in the kitchen proved no problem. The one in the hall was found by Helen and Nellie only. It was placed under a radiator in line with the chairs, these were not included but were there to mark the boundary of the search area. Because of the gap between chairs and radiator there was no visual barrier to hold the dog in the area. This served Nellie well because as Helen called her back into the area Nellie hit odour. Something similar happened with Melanie and Rowan except Melanie specifically tasked Rowan back, unfortunately the point she picked was just a bit too far into the search area. Marvel “rounded off the corner and although Rebecca made sure that she covered the area from both directions they failed to make the find. Karen and Barley did something similar, so well done Helen on being the only team to find all the hides in Interior 2.
1st Karen and Barley. It’s a funny thing with Karen and Barley, they work so quietly and calmly together that you almost don’t notice them. Barley is a sensitive soul but this was her second win in almost as many weeks. The last of the old Level 8’s and the very first of the new, a great achievement and very well deserved. There were a few “clear’ calls over the course of the trial but Karen’s call in Interior 1 was the only correct one.
2nd Melanie and Rowan I always enjoy watching little Rowan. I wonder if she hadn’t been such a good girl and responded exactly to Melanie’s tasking whether she too would have found that threshold hide in Interior 2?
Helen and Nellie. Always a pleasure to watch Nellie, only just missed out today. Her day will come I’m sure.
Rebecca and Marvel. Marvel is a searching machine and so exciting to watch. He just didn’t quite seem himself today but this team will bounce back, no doubt.