Colwich & Little Haywood Village Hall, Chilwell Avenue, Little Haywood, Staffordshire, ST18 0QZ
Start: Level 3 – 10 am Level 5 – pm
Entry Fees: £30 per dog.
Contact: Dolores Palmer dolorespalmer412@yahoo.com
Trial Manager and Judges Reports
Comments are closed.
I would like to say a big thank you to Dolores for asking me to judge at her Level 3 trial, Little Haywood is a great venue for trials and I always enjoy judging there. I would also like to say a very big thank you to Ceris for coming along and scribing and to Carol for organising all competitors and keeping things running smoothly.
The weather was kind to us, the sun kept trying to make an appearance, although it never quite succeeded, and there was a gentle but swirling breeze.
9 teams entered the trial and there were a mix of teams that had competed in a Level 3 trial before but there were also some less experienced competitors. We set searches that were straightforward, there were no tricks and we wanted to see how handlers and dogs worked together. A white dog was used to check the scents before each exercise began.
We started with the tables and chairs/perimeter search. One scent was placed just under the top edge of the table towards the top left hand corner, and the perimeter scent was placed on a small gap in a corner of the skirting board in a small nook just past the door frame. Most teams found the table scent easily and there were some great indications from dogs, which left handlers in no doubt as to where the scent was located. The perimeter search made dogs work a little harder and many initially raced past the location, although they later managed to work out where the scent was. There were a couple of false indications on articles placed around the perimeter.
After this we moved on to the exterior search where the scent was hidden on a red, plastic bridge quite close to the start line and a pink, toy cart in the top right hand corner of the search area. There were some environmental distractions throughout this search with trains going past and dogs in a field next to the search area running close to the fence but handlers worked their dogs well and most people found the scents successfully. Rebecca and Pixie did particularly well on this search, I think they faced every distraction possible but good handling saw that the dog wasn’t fazed at all and her tail never stopped wagging. Jo also did well to handle her sensitive dog Kite so well that he found both scents – great teamwork.
Boxes and bags were next and scents were placed on two different rucksacks. Many dogs struggled with this exercise and there were quite a few false indications on different articles, mostly boxes (but not the same ones). A big shout out to Lynda and Flo and Rachael and Esme on this one, both worked their dogs well and were rewarded with both finds.
We finished the trial with the vehicle/wall search where a swirling breeze made locating the scent, particularly on the car, quite tricky. It was a pleasure to watch Lynda and Flo working on this one – what a calm and thorough search and in a super quick 33 seconds too.
I would like to say a huge well done to all handlers and their beautiful dogs, but a particularly big well done to –
1st Place – Lynda and Flo – a great team, really calm and steady handling from Lynda she let’s Flo get on with it and reads her dog well.
2nd Place – Rachael and Esme – I loved watching this team work together, Esme loves her searching and is so happy when she finds.
3rd Place –Helen and Clay – Great team work, a keen dog who knows his job, even though he tries to trick his Mom sometimes – she knows him so well!
4th Place – Lucy and Milo – Slow, steady handling and reading your dog well.
I hope to see you all again somewhere along the way and good luck to you all on the next steps on your Scent Work journey.
Julie
A Thankyou to Dolores,whom I hadn’t met up with since way before covid,for inviting me along to judge this level 5 at Little Haywood.A Thankyou also to my friend Keith Clowes who came along to scribe for me.
The weather was kind,sunny with a little swirling breeze.
A white dog was used prior to all searches commencing.All handlers accompanied me in a walk through of all 3 search areas.
INTERIOR ONE
———————-
I blocked of approx a third of the large hall with tables laid on their side.This area contained several large trolleys,around the perimeter,which held a number of folded up tables,and countless stacked chairs.Also sited around perimeter on the wall,
was a wooden ledge,approx 18” from the floor.Add to this,radiators ,windows,cupboard and some central heating piping.
5 scents,cloves and gun oil were laid out.One on the foot brake pedal, and one on the bottom ledge of 2 of the large trolleys.A third was hidden under the wooden ledge,the fourth behind a down pipe to one of the radiators,and finally the last under one of the stacked chairs.Lots of little nooks and cranny’s for the dogs to investigate.
8 teams took part ,a few false calls came into play,but all were successful in finding all 5 hidden scents.
Some lovely handling all round with Little Boo Boo showing everyone the way home in 79 seconds.WOW…Most of the other teams being closer to the 3 minute mark.
EXTERIOR
—————
I chose the side of the building,a good 30 meters in length.This was made up of brick wall,in which were sited 6 down pipes and some cross ones to.Several covered drainage holes,a fire exit door,and an air conditioning unit .The wall itself contained numerous holes drilled into the brickwork,at varying heights.A coupe of other search items were also placed along the wall.
A nice little swirling breeze was also present,blowing away from the start line.
I decided to lay out 1 gun and 2 clove scents.These were placed as follows,number one,approx 10 meters from the start ,in a hole in the brickwork,some 18” from ground level and above a drain cover.3 minutes was allowed.
Number two, I pushed into a crevice in the brickwork,behind a down pipe,approx 5 meters further on and 12 “ from the ground.
Number three,was hidden at the bottom left of the fire exit,some 25 meters from the start.
Bearing the wind in mind,I though this would be a good test.How wrong could I be…
All 8 teams gave an excellent display in handling and searching techniques.
Julia and Spot coming to fore here,closely followed by Ruby and Boo Boo,Helen and Skylar and Rebecca and Marvel.In times of,52,65,71 and 77 seconds respectively.
INTERIOR 2
——————
The hall is blessed with quite a large catering kitchen,this was to be interior two search area.
This consisted obviously of general kitchen furniture,cupboards,sinks,fridge,cooker and shelving,bear in mind these were all much larger than one would find in a normal home.Numerous items,such as large pots/pans,trays and other cooking utensils were stored around,under the sinks and in cubby holes against cooker,fridge,dare I mention kitchen waste bins…This would be a good challenge for them….
I laid out 2 clove and 2 gun oil scents.Based on the white dogs timing I allocated 3 minutes to find the 4 hides.
One I placed behind the entrance door,set in a corner,in the top drawer of a cupboard..The second scent I hid under the left hand leg of the large sink unit,2” above ground.The third on the right hand leg of same sink,approx 18” high.Last scent was concealed under the bottom left hand side of the cooker,this adjoined a cubby hole, where a large number of trays were stored and were protruding into the general search area.
True to form,despite a couple of false alerts,7 of the 8 teams were successful in finding all 4 scents with the other finding 2.
Rebecca and Marvel flew round in 71 seconds,The remaining teams completing the task with some 30 seconds to spare,on average.
I can only admire all of the teams,as this was a rather compact area with lots of pokey corners and distractions.
I won’t single out any,suffice to say,an excellent display by all.
I knew 7 of the 8 teams competing in this level 5,having judged the majority at some stage in the past and competed against some to.
Their progression through the levels has been amazing.Excellent awards,and 7 clean sweeps on the day.I cannot recall having that many in one trial,in one day.
I certainly hope to meet up with some of you again,if not all at some time in the future.It was a privilege to judge this level 5.
My congratulations go to the eventual first placed on the day……Ruby and Boo Boo.
All results/placings will be posted in due course…..