Thanks to Sue for the invitation to judge and to Tracey for scribing for me and keeping me on track (and getting me there and home!). Level 5 was in the afternoon of a very hot day. I kept things relatively simple, with 4/4/4, half cloves, half gun oil. We had a very small elderly dog entered so placement of odours was restricted to 6″ max height. All the bigger dogs had no problem with low finds in the interior sections. 1st Interior and 2nd Interior only two dogs found all the odours. No dog found all four during the exterior. Handling was good in all the teams, most of the indications were clear and well read by the handlers. Unfortunately the exterior had to be worked in an area in full sun and all the dogs seemed affected to some extent by the heat. The only thing I’d comment on was that none of the handlers really made good use of the fact that there was a small, elderly dog in the mix – and I think that cost some of them the extra exterior odour. Overall, great working relationships for all the teams and a pleasure to judge. Thank you.
Thanks to Sue for the invitation to judge and to Tracey for scribing for me. As always perfect TM and scribing performances! I judged the Vehicle and Tables and Chairs. Competitors ranged from very good, experienced handlers to complete newbies. Although some of the dogs weren’t quite ready, all handling was sympathetic and most handlers had a good working relationship with their dogs. For the main part, the difference between the top placings and the rest was the quality of the dogs indications and the handlers reading of it. Well done everyone and thanks for contributing towards a great day.
Thanks to Sue for the invitation to judge and to Tracey for scribing for me and keeping me on track (and getting me there and home!). Level 5 was in the afternoon of a very hot day. I kept things relatively simple, with 4/4/4, half cloves, half gun oil. We had a very small elderly dog entered so placement of odours was restricted to 6″ max height. All the bigger dogs had no problem with low finds in the interior sections. 1st Interior and 2nd Interior only two dogs found all the odours. No dog found all four during the exterior. Handling was good in all the teams, most of the indications were clear and well read by the handlers. Unfortunately the exterior had to be worked in an area in full sun and all the dogs seemed affected to some extent by the heat. The only thing I’d comment on was that none of the handlers really made good use of the fact that there was a small, elderly dog in the mix – and I think that cost some of them the extra exterior odour. Overall, great working relationships for all the teams and a pleasure to judge. Thank you.
Thanks to Sue for the invitation to judge and to Tracey for scribing for me. As always perfect TM and scribing performances! I judged the Vehicle and Tables and Chairs. Competitors ranged from very good, experienced handlers to complete newbies. Although some of the dogs weren’t quite ready, all handling was sympathetic and most handlers had a good working relationship with their dogs. For the main part, the difference between the top placings and the rest was the quality of the dogs indications and the handlers reading of it. Well done everyone and thanks for contributing towards a great day.