A big Thankyou to Kate for inviting me along to Slitting Mill to judge the level 1 and 3 trials.Also a Thankyou to the runners and scribes on the day,you did a wonderful job.My first visit here,a beautiful setting amongst trees and a fishing lake.
It was a lovely day,the sun was shining and the birds were singing.
A white dog was used prior to all searches in level 3.The first dog running was used as the white dog in level 1,we encountered no problems.

Tables/Chairs
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2 tables were laid out in a square pattern with the regulation 8 chairs.The scent was concealed under the furthest away chair to the right of the start.
11 teams took part and glad to say all found the scent with ease.An excellent display by Emma and Oswald in some 9 seconds,closely followed home by Pauline and Hope in 17 seconds.All round good handling/ teamwork,well done Nicola for being patient with Cara.
Exterior
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This search was laid out in a fenced area to the rear of the hall.We chose to set up on concrete as opposed to the grass.
13 items were laid out,the 3 in question being,a watering can,a caravan extension mirror and a plant pot.The scent was hidden in the caravan mirror and placed centrally.
9 of the teams correctly identifying the hidden scent.Several of the dogs found the call of the birds in the surrounding trees to much to cope with.
Again some lovely searching by Emma and Oswald,in 9 seconds.Excellent handling shown by Pauline and Hope,Judith and Jazz and Jo and Ruby.
Boxes/Luggage
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12 items of bags/boxes were laid out,the scent being placed in the handle of a large bag,to the front right of the start.
8 teams successfully found the scent with ease.
Excellent searching/handling shown by Sara and Billie,9 seconds.Closely followed home by,Wendy and Zeus.
Car
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This was sited at the side of the building,the teams approaching towards the front of the vehicle.The scent was hidden in the rear drivers side wheel.
7 teams finding the hidden scent easily.A couple of the dogs were oblivious to the car and task in hand,catching birds were more the order of the day.Good display by Judith and Jazz in 11 seconds,also of note were,Nicola and Cara and Sara and Billie.

Overall, a good display by the majority of teams on the day.Lovely to watch.
We had 8 qualifiers.
My congratulations go to the eventual rosette winners…1…Judith and Jazz….2…Sara and Billie…3…Jo and Ruby….4.Gail and Molly.
I look forward to meeting up with some,if not all of you at some in the future.Good luck to you all in your future trials.

Following a short lunch break,we moved onto the level 3 trial.8 teams competing.
A Thankyou to Linda who brought her level 3 dog,Izzie along to act as white dog,also my scribe for the trial.You both performed admirably.

Boxes/Luggage/Perimeter
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The cloves and gun oil scents were hidden in 2 bags,1 in the handle the other in a zip compartment.These were placed out,1 to the left and 1 to the rear of the search area.
6 of the 8 teams correctly finding both with the other 2,finding 1.
Excellent display by several teams,they were,Haley and Seb in 34 seconds.Pauline and Tessa,Jo and Brock and Reba and Pixie.

Exterior
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14 items were placed out on the concrete patio at the rear of the building.
The scents being hidden in a water jug,placed to the far right and in the head of a squeeze mop sited front left of start.
Some good searching all round with 6 teams finding both fairly easily.Good understanding and patience shown by Helen and Marcus and Rebecca and Freddy,holding their nerve and being rewarded by making the correct calls.Also giving a good display were,Jo and Brock,Pauline and Tessa and Fiona and Sage.

Tables/ chairs/perimeter
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The 2 tables were placed end to end with 8 chairs surrounding same.
The cloves scent was placed on the perimeter,tucked into the skirting board,to the right of a door.
The gun oil was secreted under one of the table legs,the tables being placed in the centre of the room.
This was to prove difficult for all of the teams excepting one.
All teams found the perimeter scent with ease,but only 1 team identifying both
It was plain to see that the handlers were not expecting the scent to be under a table leg,with 7 of the teams not finding it.
They went around the tables/ chairs numerous times ,tasking their dogs to the chairs ,where,let’s face it, they had become accustomed to searching throughout levels 1 and 2,as had the dogs.None of these handlers tasked their dogs to search low,there were a total of 40 legs on offer….
A lesson learned I hope,always expect the unexpected.
On a final note,we’ll done Jo and Brock…

Car/wall
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Moving back out into the sunshine.This search was sited to the left of the building on the car parking area.2 vehicles were placed side by side and a section of wall wax incorporated.This included some steps,a double doorway and drain pipe.
Gun oil scent was hidden in the front offside wheel of the left hand vehicle,the cloves scent was hidden in a crevice in the brickwork,in a corner to the left of the steps and doorway.
It was plain to see that some of the dogs were beginning to tire a little,however 6 of the teams were successful in finding both scents,the remaining 2 not finding the scent on the vehicle.
Excellent searching/handling by Pauline and Tessa,Rebecca and Pixie, in some 50 and 75 seconds respectively.Also worthy of note in this search were,Jo and Brock,Fiona and Sage and finally,Helen and Marcus.

Some excellent handling and searching all round,it was a pleasure to judge this level 3,the sunshine was an added bonus.
Good luck to you all in your future trials.
My congratulations go to the eventual rosette winners on the day…1…Jo and Brock….2…Pauline and Tessa….Fiona and Sage….4 Helen and Marcus…

Boxes and luggage.
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