Sat 04 Jan 2020, Walsall

Levels 2 & 3: Judges - Harry Latusek & Gloria Bonnell
T&C - A/FT&C - HT&C - TES - A/FES - HES - TVS - A/FVS - HVS - TB&L - A/FB&L - HB&L - TMarksTime
A/F = Alert FindH = HandlingT = Time (seconds)
Tables & ChairsExterior SearchVehicle SearchBoxes & LuggageTotals
Level 2A/FHTA/FHTA/FHTA/FHTMarksTime
1Laura Williams - Jess2057720550204.95742051299.95213
2Rachel Richards - Chip204.99420534205122204.818799.7437
3Denise Pile - Oddbod20576204.95149204.95106204.57199.4402
4Anita Scott - Meadow2054610549205612054490200
5Jackie Pywell - Jessie10560204.95180204.951262052389.9389
6Deb Atkins - Belle204.96110559204.9592052589.8204
7Helen Hepple - Marcus20546104.8112204.9562055389.7267
8Sue Ellis - Poppy20558104.789204.9752057089.6292
9Paula Warwicker - Ludo2055604.942205522054079.9190
10Rob Warman - Bella205411052620553104.89979.8219
11Sarah Fortes Mayer - Bonnie104.8129204.9569205137104.913479.65469
Level 3
1Louise Grant - Bo20531205192051251053190206
2Rachael Fox - Loganberry105592051262051132055890356
3Julie Bytheway - Jess20528020564204.9134104.97289.8550
4Paula Davis - Bonnie Jazz104.924820539204.81352055389.7475
5Cath Seddon - Reaper105137204.8118205146204.912089.7521
6Vicki Martin - Kaizer105107204.949204.91231055779.8336
7Jane Page - Dinah1058220595104.81482052879.8353
8Helen Taylor - Skylar104.930020526204.975104.93879.7439
9Jean Tomkinson - Neah105246104.5133204.91672057479.4620

Trial Manager and Judges Reports

Level 3
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Exterior
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This was held in a fenced of area of the car park,to the front of the main hall.
The cloves scent I hid inside a wall clock,placing this to the front right of the start line.The gun oil was secreted in a small fire extinguisher and placed to the front left.11 of the 13 teams worked exceptionally well,with good coverage of the area and easily finding both hidden scents,the remaining two finding one.Worthy of note for their good handling were,Louise and Bo,19 secs.Helen and Skylar,26 secs.closely followed by,Paula and Bonnie,39 secs.Michelle and Loki,48 secs and Julie and Jess,64 secs.

vehicles
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The 3 vehicles were lined up side by side,adjacent to the exterior search area.The 1st scent was hidden in the bottom sill of the right hand passenger door of the 1st vehicle to the left of the cones.The middle vehicle was left clean.The remaining scent was placed in a wheel nut of the the 3rd vehicle,on the front passenger wheel.The temperature had dropped considerably from the morning and we were blessed with a little blustery swirling breeze.This was to prove a decisive factor for 4 of the teams who were unable to find both scents.The other 9 worked exceptionally well, searching around the vehicles and being duly rewarded.Lovely teamwork shown by Louise and Bo,Cath and Reaper and Rachael and Loganberry.
Overall this was a very successful trial for the majority of teams.
My congratulations go to the eventual rosette winners. 1st Louise and Bo,2nd.Rachael and Loganberry,3rd.Julie and Jess,4th.Paula and Bonnie Jazz.

Thankyou Ellen for inviting me along to Judge the level 2 and 3 at Walsall. A big Thankyou also to my scribes on the day,Vicky Martin,(level 2) and Collette Guy(level 3),you both did a wonderful job.I co judged with my good friend,Gloria Bonnell.I was tasked with the indoor searches in level 2,switching around in the afternoon to Judge the outside searches in level 3.
A white dog was used prior to all searches commencing.

Level 2
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Tables/chairs and perimeter.
I set up the tables in a square pattern,hiding the cloves scent underneath the left hand chair,nearest the start line.The 2nd scent was hidden in a long candlestick holder,or at least,I think that’s what it was,this was placed on the left hand side of the room,adjacent to the wall.
Lovely searching by the majority of teams,with 11 of the 13 finding both and the remaining two finding 1.Good methodical searching and times shown by,Rob and Bella,41 secs.Anita and Meadow,46 secs and Helen and Marcus in 46 secs.A good display of handling all round.

Boxes and Luggage

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I placed out some 14 articles,hiding the 1st scent,in the zip of a blue haversack type bag,placing this to the front right of the search area.The second scent was hidden in a medium sized box and placed to the front left of the start line.No problems for 9 of the 13 teams,finding both with ease.Excellent handling shown by most.There was some lovely systematic searching and quick times shown by,Laura and Jess,Jackie and Jessie,Deb and Belle and Paula and Ludo,in some 12,23,25 and 40 seconds respectively.

L3 Again thank you Ellen Lindley for inviting me to judge, the runners & helpers, the lovely handlers for making me welcome and finally my scribe Julia Reeves. Boxes & Luggage. Scent was in two bags. Most handlers worked well and allowed their dogs to do their job and found both scents, there were a few wrong calls on various items. Tables & Perimeter. This proved difficult for some, although it was a fairly easy perimeter find, unfortunately some handlers did not cover the full area missing the find. Well done those who found both scents. 1st Louise Grant & Bo. Congratulations, it was a pleasure to watch a good team cover the area on Tables & Perimeter 2 finds. Placing well deserved. 2nd Rachel Fox & Logonberry Lovely to watch this dog work, Luggage, covered area well 2 finds, didn’t fully cover area for perimeter 1 find. 3rd Julie Bytheway & Jess. Great Perimeter search both finds. Unfortunately slightly distracted on boxes & luggage 1 find. 4th Paula Davis & Bonnie Jazz. 5th Kath Seddon & Reaper. Well done everyone, things to work on, but that applies to us all.

Firstly, thank you Ellen Lindley for inviting me to judge L2 & L3 today, also thanks to the handlers for making my day enjoyable, the runners and helpers and finally my Scribe Julia Reeves. L2. Outside Search. The area was quite blustery so the scent was being blown around. Well done those who found both scents. Vehicle. There were some really good searches with handlers allowing their dogs to work. 1st Laura Williams & Jess. Worked well as a team, well Congratulations well deserved. 2nd Rachel Richards & Chip, this dog does not allow his disability stop his fun, great fines, well done. 3rd Denise Pile & Oddbod Indicated well once he settled down to find scent. 4th Anita Scott & Meadow. 5th Jackie Powell & Jessie. Those not in the Rosettes today, your turn will come. L3 Report to follow.

If there’s one thing I cherish above all else in the world of scentwork it is the sense of camaraderie and team spirit that exists. Yes, there is also healthy competition, but when needed, everyone who can muck in, mucks in. Your help is more gratefully received than you know!

So before I get into the main body of my report, I must thank Adam for taking on tea duties and Jess for helping with running in the morning, Molly for being an amazing general dog’s body in the morning, and for doing a great job of being a runner in the afternoon, and Bruce for helping with the ushering and shielding of dogs with challenges in the afternoon. Your willingness to just pick up and take on jobs helped everyone’s experience. Thank you.

Killock is a lovely venue, however it is not without its challenges. Sadly we have nowhere discreet to run external searches at the moment (though hopefully we will once the ground has dried out) so shuffling teams in and out is often tricky. I’m grateful to everyone for being so tolerant of this, especially when it came to managing dogs with reactivity issues.

Harry Latusek and Gloria Bonnell did a wonderful job of judging and putting everyone at their ease, with Vicki Martin, Julia Reeves and Collette Guy providing a fantastic scribing service (Collette having been an amazing runner in the morning too!).

We did have a slight glitch with the table and chairs search in the morning after I handed Harry the gun oil swatches and neither of us thought to sniff the jar. Unfortunately the white dog was an experienced level 6 dog, meaning she had no problem finding the hides, but the contestants who followed her did. We corrected the error and all those who had run were given the chance to run again with much greater success. This has made me realise how important it is to have a significant difference between my jars of odour. Thank you everyone for your tolerance on this.

Congratulations to all our competitors: to those who won, those who achieved excellence, those who qualified, and those who took home new areas to work on.

We look forward to seeing you again.

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