Many thanks to Susanne for inviting me to co-judge the level 1 trial with Stacey Robinson at Weedon. Special thanks to my scribe Jan who was great company and did an excellent job, and to John for making sure we had everyone in the right place at the right time. Thanks also to Stacey and Susanne for the provision of the ‘white’ dogs. We had 17 teams competing and the standard considering this was a level 1 was very high with some excellent teamwork demonstrated.

I took the exterior searches and we started with the vehicle search. This certainly wasn’t the smoothest of searches with several challenges along the way (last minute car relocation, drunken dog walker, and a builder’s truck requiring access nearby). The clove scent was placed low on the front passenger wheel trim and the wind direction meant several of the dogs started to pick this up as they worked round the front of the car. Out of the 17 teams competing, 9 managed to identify the correct location of the scent. Some teams unfortunately called too early whilst their dogs were working to source (this can easily happen in a competition environment when nerves are running high), and some of the dogs were a little distracted by the environment or the ducks etc. they had encountered prior to the search. Sophie and Teddy, Verity and Hermione, Marion and Kelsea, Joleen and Nero, Lynsey and Lottie , Laura and Kuki, Hayley and Buddy, and Jenna and Daisy all received full handling marks for some fantastic searches and clear indications in quite a blustery location. A special mention to Leanne who had a great search with Jasper only losing some minor handling marks for initially not believing the indication – but by delaying the call until and making sure Jasper went confidently back to source managed to avoid any incorrect call.

The exterior search was far less eventful in terms of external distractions and we had 16 teams here find the correct item with full handling marks. There were some lovely searches and Tracey and Ariana were unfortunate that time ran out before Ariana could clearly indicate on the boxing glove. It was great to see so many of the handlers listen to their dogs and allow them to guide them towards the scented article – you could see several of the dogs pick up the scent prior to even crossing the start line. Some great line handling in what was quite a tight search area and thorough searching of all the items – well done everyone.

This was a really enjoyable trial to judge with fantastic competitors and as Susanne said, it was great to see everyone cope with the challenges that the venue provided. I hope you all enjoyed it.

Congratulations to:

Laura and Kuki – 1st Place. What a team. Super calm handling and a dog that was focused on their handlers requests whilst clearly understanding what they were being asked to do, and providing some lovely indications. I look forward to seeing this team progress even further.
Lynsey and Lottie – 2nd Place. Great searching from this team and some lovely control when working off-lead. Congratulations.
Joleen and Nero – 3rd Place. A great partnership and some lovely searches that you should be proud of. It was lovely to be able to watch you work together.
Leanne and Jasper – 4th Place. A great team and some lovely thorough searching by Jasper. Well done.

Well done to each and every one of you and I look forward to seeing you all continue to progress on your Scentwork journey

A special mention too to Liz and Mist who gained their excellent title – congratulations