Firstly, thank you Heather for asking me to judge today and Lynda for scribing

We started today with tables and chairs, the hide being under a chair on the left of the table. This search was super to watch; so many teams worked beautifully and methodically around the search area. I was very impressed to see such a high standard of handling and confidence from those who had their first trial today especially Elly who confidently waited for Otis to settle into his indication before correctly calling the find. Jennifer and Abi and Helen and Mabel had their first ever trial today and also handled this section of the trial beautifully. Marianne and Nutmeg worked really well in this search area, Nutmeg confidently recognising and indicating on the odour. Jennifer handled Abi beautifully for a super tables and chairs search, a very strong partnership.
A lot of dogs spent time investigating the chair on the corner here before working the odour to source on the chair next to it. It was only because of the expectation of a correct indication and the handlers allowing time for the dog to settle that this search went as well as it did for quite a few teams, so particularly well done for waiting for your dog to show they were at source and not rushing to call.

The second search was bags and boxes, most dogs searched confidently and moved around the search area well, picking up the clove scent in a bag on the right hand side. Jill and Bryce, Dawn and Paxo, Sue and Harley along with Lisa and Dottie were quick to find the scent in this section, all handled beautifully.

The third search was the vehicle. The scent was hidden in the front passenger side wheel. All of the dogs searched well here but working particularly methodically and quickly finding the odour were Lisa and Dottie and Liz and Groot. Today was Groot’s first ever trial and what a super, confident little dog he is. Beautifully handled by Liz they will be a really strong team to watch in the future! Super searching from Bryce too, Jill worked well to let him settle to his indication and not rush. Judith and Jazz worked really well on line here, another methodical search, super work. Ruth and Fudge worked beautifully together, another lovely partnership.

The final search was exterior items. Most dogs started really well in the outdoor search, confidently moving around the search area. Some handlers chose to know which three items it may have been hidden on: a folding chair, a foot pump or a pair of leaf collectors but everyone worked the search area really thoroughly and let the dogs work the scent well. Elly and Otis worked the area beautifully and found the scent in just 10 seconds.

Our well deserved winner was Lisa and Dottie who searched beautifully and with a calm confidence in every area. It may have only been their second trial but it was clear how hard they’ve worked and what a super bond and understanding they have.

Really well deserved qualifiers today; for several handlers it was their first ever trial and for some it was their young dogs first ever outing. My notes are full of lovely, positive comments about teamwork, positivity and super searching from the dogs. It was wonderful to see so many handlers let their dogs have time to settle on the odour without rushing, a really confident way of handling for the future. Calm, confident teams worked together with handlers giving their dog space to search and settle on the odour. There was some impressive handling on the long lines too which isn’t always easy.

Thanks to everyone for being so friendly and easy to judge this morning, I really enjoyed judging. I know that I’ll see lots of you at trials in the future, good luck!