I would like to say a big thank you to Kate for asking me to judge at her Level 2 trial, Slitting Mill 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 Olga for scribing and to Ceris for keeping things running smoothly, as always.
The weather was kind to us; it was a beautiful sunny autumn day with just a light intermittent breeze – a perfect day for scenting!
9 teams entered the trial and there was a mixture of teams that had competed in Level 2 trials before but there were also some less experienced competitors who had to take some deep breaths before starting. A white dog was used to check the scents before each exercise began.
We started with the exterior search, which was situated on a patio area to the rear of the hall. One scent was placed on a small white portable step and the other was put on the handle of a dustpan and brush. Many of the dogs were really distracted by the grass and trees that surrounded the search area, even though it was fenced off, and handlers had to work hard to keep them focused. 5 teams managed to find both of the scents; Sharon and Breeze making it look easy in a time of 24 seconds. Lynda and Izzy were lovely to watch with really calm handling, just letting the dog get on with the job and reading her well.
After this we moved on to the tables and chairs and the perimeter searches. The perimeter scent was placed in a plastic hair diffuser in the nook of a pillar on the left hand wall. Another scent was placed on a chair situated at the top right hand corner of the table arrangement. Most teams found both of these scents accurately, Milo and Luther really enjoyed this one, bounding round the room, whilst searching, Jo and Clare did well to keep them both under control. Charlotte and Bailey were quick in 35 seconds for both finds on this one.
We did an external wall search next. Two scents were placed on the wall, one, which was fairly close to the start, was low down in a hole in the brick and the other was further on, in a little nook, at nose height for many of the dogs. The majority of handlers were successful with this search, although it was the search that took the longest time for most, with the exception of Lynda and izzy, who found both scents in 35 seconds. A shout out to Clare and Luther on this one, perseverance paid off and he got the find by the skin of his teeth with about 10 seconds to go. Many of the dogs took a longer time as they repeatedly searched at nose height throughout the search, working on searching at different levels will help the dogs to find scents more easily.
Boxes and bags was the final search and one scent was placed on a grey shoe box near to the start and the other was on the handle of a flowery bag, which was placed in the middle of the search area. All dogs found this search problematic and none found both scents. All dogs falsely indicated on one of the scents but their false indications were on different articles, which was really strange. Some dogs gave a strong indication on articles, but some dogs showed interest rather than an indication, especially on the bags and rucksacks.

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, really calm and steady handling from Lynda she let’s Izzy get on with it, trusts her dog and reads her well.
2nd Place – Sharon and Breeze – another calm and steady partnership that were lovely to watch.
3rd Place –Jane and Hector – Great team work, a nice steady dog who enjoyed his searching.
4th Place –Nicola and Cara– I have seen you both work a few times now and your confidence and handling skills get better every time – well done!

I really enjoyed judging all of you and your beautiful dogs and I hope that our paths cross again in the near future. Happy training!

Julie