Level 3
1 Collette Guy – Lola – 99.4
2 Harold Latusek – Rosie – 89.9
3 Liz Beaumont – Cash – 89.65
4 Sandra Hartwell – Archie – 80
5 Jean Tomkinson – Neah – 79.7
6 Diane Weston – Megan – 79.5
Level 5
1 Helen Byrne – Nellie – 150
2 Kathy Killick – Rowan – 150
3 Zoe Ashman – Beth – 150
4 Jill Harper – Herbie – 150
5 Denise Pile – Butty – 130
6 Chris Clements – QueevaDiva – 130
7 Georgina Lucas – Nelson – 129.95
8 Wendy Coulson – River – 110
9 Julie Russon – Poppy – 110
10 Peter Jeffries – Dolly – 109.95
We were blessed with the weather on the 25th May as nobody really wants to do exterior searches in the wet, least of all the judges.
Our Level 3 trial started with boxes and luggage and exterior item searches, kindly judged by Susan Benson and Janet Wykes. The scribes for the morning were Jane Page and James Lindley and Lisa Finney was our runner. The location of the venue can prove challenging for some of the dogs due to proximity to the road and flight paths however it was lovely to see so many dogs manage finds despite this. Camaraderie amongst competitors was lovely to see, everyone seemed to have a lovely time and I really enjoyed hearing the feedback. Good to know that a few packs of Jaffa Cakes seemed to make all the difference.
The afternoon trial was Level 5, judged by Susan Benson, Liz Beaumont was our scribe and Janet Wykes was our runner. It was absolutely fantastic to see everyone qualify, the mood amongst the contestants was superb and they were a joy to host.
Many thanks to Janet for also bringing Jess along as our ‘white dog’ and to Brenda Ward for being our tea lady for the day.
Congratulations to all those who qualified especially Harry with Rosie and Helen for obtaining their excellence rosettes. I look forward to see you all progress and hopefully having you back in either Erdington or Sutton Coldfield in the near future.
Susan Benson
Ellen asked me to judge level 3 alongside Janet Wyke, and level 5. I was very pleased to accept and what a lovely fun filled day we had.
Level 3 I started off with boxes and luggage. The gun oil and clove scented articles were put onto 2 separate bags. Several dogs called on lots of different bags, but there was some lovely handling. Jean, Diane, Colette and Liz found them both in good times.
We then moved onto the tables and chairs. One article on a chair and the second on the wheel of a sack barrow. Harry, Rachael, Liz, Sandra, Jean and Collette found them both. It was a pleasure to watch the teams working together and it was a well deserved win for Collette and lovely Lola. Thank you to my scribe James during this level.
Level 5. We started with 3 searches in a small room. It was interesting to see how everyone worked in level 5, with 5 teams getting full marks, after this search I gave, what I hoped was useful feedback.
The next search was 5 searches in a large room, and I am delighted to say all 10 got full marks.
Last search was outside in a small space with 4 items to find. It was a bit tricky due to the size but must dogs just got on with it, with 8 getting full marks. Eventually they all qualified with a very deserving winner, Helen and Nellie. Many thanks to my scribe, Liz.
It was a lovely, friendly day and everyone seemed in good spirits. Thank you to Ellen for inviting me.
Janet Wykes
Many thanks to Ellen Lindley for inviting me to co-judge the level 3 trial with Susan Ann Benson at Erdington URC Church. A special thanks to Jane Page who was my brilliant scribe for the morning and Lisa Finney our runner who made sure everything ran smoothly.
I took the 2 outside searches and started off with the exterior. There was a scent hidden in the handle of a dustpan and brush, and another under the handle of a plastic storage container.Out of the 11 teams, 7 teams found both scents and my first team set the standard very high with Sandra displaying some lovely handling with her dog Archie who offered a great down indication. Another great round of handling was displayed by Harry and Rosie, with Harry effectively blocking the first article where the scent had been found to encourage Rosie to move on and find the other scent It can sometimes be a challenge for competitors moving up to level 3 as the first scent is no longer removed, but Harry’s approach worked really well for Rosie. Keith and Monty also had a great exterior search and it was lovely to see Keith hold out for the correct article when Monty decided to investigate quite thoroughly one of the unscented items. Collette and Lola displayed some great teamwork. Lola was a little distracted at first, but she soon got into the search and after knocking the scent in the storage container early on, she later led Collette back to the article and provided a lovely clear indication. Chris and Santi also put on a great display in this search, and with Chris’s encouragement Santi had the confidence to find both articles. Liz and Cash were another lovely team to watch, Liz gave Cash plenty of space to work and was rewarded with a great down indication. Dianne was also rewarded with two finds and Megan gave her a really positive indication. With the venue being located close to roads, this exterior search has plenty of distractions and it was so nice to see Julie giving Daisy lots of support and trying to re-focus her in this challenging environment.
The vehicle search appeared to be a little more difficult for the teams and only two managed to find both scents. One scent was hidden in a nut on the rear wheel of one car, and the other was low down on the car sill behind a closed door. Collette and Lola put on a great display and a very focused Lola worked her way along the door sill to reach the source. Rosie also tracked down the source of this second scent beautifully and despite initially knocking the scent near the front wheel, Harry let her have her head and she moved beautifully down the car to the source of the odour. Several of the other teams had also knocked the odour in the correct area but didn’t quite manage to track to the source of it. A lot of the dogs focused heavily on the bumpers and wheels, but would lose a little focus as they worked along the side of the car and as a result just didn’t manage to focus in on the scent location accurately. There were however some lovely partnerships in this search and again, due to the level of activity around the area, some of you had to work extra hard to try to maintain your dog’s focus.
Throughout both searches, Jean and Neah showed some lovely teamwork and covered the areas very well. Rachel and Logan also displayed some lovely searching. This boy has come on in leaps and bounds from when I first saw him over 12 months ago. He is a credit to Rachel and always tries so hard for her.
Overall, in first place were Collette and Lola. A very well deserved win for this team and it was great to see how Collette’s confidence in Lola had grown.
In second place, we had Harry and Rosie. Again, a lovely partnership that also culminated in them gaining their Excellent rosette for level 3. A great day for this team.
In third place was Liz and Cash. I enjoyed watching how Liz and Cash work together and was not at all surprised to see them in the rosettes
Fourth place went to Sandra and Archie. I just loved watching this pair work, well done.
There were so many great teams and I look forward to seeing you all continue to progress on your Scentwork journey.
| T&C - A/F | T&C - H | T&C - T | ES - A/F | ES - H | ES - T | VS - A/F | VS - H | VS - T | B&L - A/F | B&L - H | B&L - T | Marks | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A/F = Alert Find | H = Handling | T = Time (seconds) | |||||||||||||
| Tables & Chairs | Exterior Search | Vehicle Search | Boxes & Luggage | Totals | |||||||||||
| Level 3 | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | A/F | H | T | Marks | Time | |
| 1 | Collette Guy – Lola | 20 | 5 | 91 | 20 | 4.5 | 159 | 20 | 4.9 | 231 | 20 | 5 | 47 | 99.4 | 528 |
| 2 | Harold Latusek – Rosie | 20 | 4.9 | 154 | 20 | 5 | 38 | 20 | 5 | 130 | 10 | 5 | 74 | 89.9 | 396 |
| 3 | Liz Beaumont – Cash | 20 | 5 | 49 | 20 | 5 | 125 | 10 | 4.9 | 158 | 20 | 4.75 | 138 | 89.65 | 470 |
| 4 | Sandra Hartwell – Archie | 20 | 5 | 106 | 20 | 5 | 42 | 10 | 5 | 60 | 10 | 5 | 22 | 80 | 230 |
| 5 | Jean Tomkinson – Neah | 20 | 4.9 | 111 | 10 | 4.9 | 43 | 10 | 4.9 | 102 | 20 | 5 | 55 | 79.7 | 311 |
| 6 | Diane Weston – Megan | 10 | 4.75 | 103 | 20 | 5 | 77 | 10 | 5 | 300 | 20 | 4.75 | 265 | 79.5 | 745 |
| WA | P | B | D | T | WA | P | B | D | T | WA | P | B | D | T | WA | P | B | D | P+B+D | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WA = Wrong Alerts ( 4 = elimination ) | P = Points (articles found X 10) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| B = Bonus (10 if all items found) | D = Deductions | T = time (seconds) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Interior Search 1 | Interior Search 2 | Exterior Search | Totals | |||||||||||||||||||
| No of items | Time allowed | No of items | Time allowed | No of items | Time allowed | P+B-D = Points + Bonus - Deductions | ||||||||||||||||
| WA | P | B | D | T | WA | P | B | D | T | WA | P | B | D | T | WA | P | B | D | P+B-D | Time | ||
| 1 | Helen Byrne – Nellie | 0 | 30 | 10 | 0 | 104 | 0 | 50 | 10 | 0 | 86 | 1 | 40 | 10 | 0 | 52 | 1 | 120 | 30 | 0 | 150 | 242 |
| 2 | Kathy Killick – Rowan | 0 | 30 | 10 | 0 | 127 | 0 | 50 | 10 | 0 | 159 | 0 | 40 | 10 | 0 | 75 | 0 | 120 | 30 | 0 | 150 | 361 |
| 3 | Zoe Ashman – Beth | 0 | 30 | 10 | 0 | 175 | 1 | 50 | 10 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 40 | 10 | 0 | 94 | 1 | 120 | 30 | 0 | 150 | 369 |
| 4 | Jill Harper – Herbie | 0 | 30 | 10 | 0 | 144 | 0 | 50 | 10 | 0 | 136 | 0 | 40 | 10 | 0 | 106 | 0 | 120 | 30 | 0 | 150 | 386 |
| 5 | Denise Pile – Butty | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 180 | 0 | 50 | 10 | 0 | 152 | 0 | 40 | 10 | 0 | 121 | 1 | 110 | 20 | 0 | 130 | 453 |
| 6 | Chris Clements – QueevaDiva | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 180 | 0 | 50 | 10 | 0 | 160 | 0 | 40 | 10 | 0 | 171 | 1 | 110 | 20 | 0 | 130 | 511 |
| 7 | Georgina Lucas – Nelson | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0.05 | 180 | 0 | 50 | 10 | 0 | 132 | 0 | 40 | 10 | 0 | 143 | 1 | 110 | 20 | 0.05 | 129.95 | 455 |
| 8 | Wendy Coulson – River | 2 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 180 | 0 | 50 | 10 | 0 | 171 | 1 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 240 | 3 | 100 | 10 | 0 | 110 | 591 |
| 9 | Julie Russon – Poppy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 180 | 0 | 50 | 10 | 0 | 209 | 1 | 40 | 10 | 0 | 204 | 1 | 90 | 20 | 0 | 110 | 593 |
| 10 | Peter Jeffries – Dolly | 0 | 30 | 10 | 0 | 122 | 2 | 50 | 10 | 0.05 | 298 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 240 | 2 | 90 | 20 | 0.05 | 109.95 | 660 |