Tracey Alker

Firstly, a huge thank you to Marianne for asking me to judge her trial and also to her lovely team for everything they do. Sue, Geof and Nicky allgive a lot of time, support (and lovely food!) and are truly appreciated. Thanks also to Patty for taking the outdoor searches and giving me the luxury of being in the warm!

We started the day with our Level 4 teams. The boxes & luggage search was first indoors and in total we only had 2 wrong alerts. Lucy, handled by Donna, demonstrated 2 fabulous ‘knocks’, completely changing direction after passing the scent to indicate where it was. Kate was very calm while Paddy spent time investigating an unscented bag but then moved on to the correct find proving it pays to be sure. No dogs were fooled by the distraction scents hiding in 2 boxes and all dismissed them quickly.

Next was the tables, chairs and perimeter search. Overall this was a high scoring round but we did have 2 wrong alerts on the distraction scent of shampoo placed underneath the bottom step of the taller step ladder. This also attracted little Gem’s attention and she climbed the ladder to double check but then moved on, correctly indicating on the table in the corner. Disney did a lovely indication standing on his back paws holding his nose on the correct chair scent and Betty found her first scent in 4 seconds! Whoosh. Rick did very well trying to encourage Max to work and was very patient with him, but sadly,
Max wasn’t in the mood for working this search today.

Time to move swiftly on as the Level 3 teams were due to arrive shortly. Marianne & Sue quickly added up the scores and the presentation took place. It was a tough job marking the table, chairs & perimeter search in level 3 as they were all so good. Very well handled everyone – especially Kathy as her dog Portia was clearly onto the scent from quite a distance away. We were aware that the sun was going down now and things outside were beginning to turn chilly so on with boxes & luggage. Once again, some fantastic handling and very good searching with high marks. Rowan, handled by Melanie, did a fast sit indication which was lovely, and as Fyodor left I realised he hadn’t left the scent behind. He’d stolen the article which was secured with tape underneath a box flap!

Finally it was time to invite everyone inside to warm up while the scores were added up. Congratulations to everyone on a very successful day and special congratulations to our winners and those gaining their Excellent Titles. I hope to meet you all again somewhere on the Scentwork UK journey and look forward to being a competitor next weekend with my own dog.

Patty Goriainoff

Level 4

It was a beautiful sunny, autumnal day with a slight breeze, which made for perfect scenting conditions on the exterior searches, which I was kindly asked to judge.

The exterior search was held on grass, with the two distractions scents being coffee and shampoo. Some dogs found the grass a bit of a distraction, but with the help of their handlers they soon got unto task. Once on task, the dogs found the hides without a problem. Gun oil was hidden between two cones and the clove scent was hidden within the folds of an umbrella. It was lovely to see those dogs go into work mode immediately and those were the ones at an advantage in this environment. One little whizzy spaniel was having great fun searching at speed, which put her at a slight disadvantage due to whizzing past the scent. However, Rob Harris did a great job of handling her and slowing her down to get her focused. Once this happened, she found the scent straight away. Now, that is what I call team work! It was also great to see a couple of competitors put their dogs back on lead, if the dog was too distracted by other scents in the area. At this level it’s not just about the dog, it’s about working together as a team and helping each other.

The car search involved 3 cars placed in line with a path on the right and a grassy area on the left. Again, some dogs took a while to get into work mode. Both scents were placed in the same car at the end of the line, by the time the dogs got to the third (target) car , they were concentrating a bit more, which helped them find the scents. Gun oil was placed behind the back car door on the left and cloves was placed on the wheel nut on the front right. The dogs where the handler ensured they were scenting with their heads up , covering the search area well and going back to the areas when the dogs were scenting the ground were at an advantage, as they easily found the scent. Again, it was great to see good team work with David and Nikan, as David ensured he took Nikan back to the area he missed due to sniffing the ground. As a result, Nikan found the scent straight again. Great team work!

Another highlight was seeing 11 year old, one-eyed, Disney the Pappillion do such great and enthusiastic work in both the exterior searches. It goes to show that any dog, regardless of age or limitations can and loves to do scentwork.

Level 3

As with level 4, I was judging the external searches. The weather remained mild with a slight breeze, which helped the dogs easily find the scents.

I was very impressed with the standard of the level 3 competitors, with most of them gaining full handling marks from me. It was a joy seeing the dogs get on task straight away, nice quiet handling, loose leads and lovely team work. It made a great end to the day seeing such a high standard, which showed in the results, as every competitor qualified.

The external search had cloves hidden in a cat garden ornament and the gun oil was hidden in an upside down cutlery holder. I particularly enjoyed watching Rowan the cocker spaniel work so methodically and purposefully. To my delight, he received first place in the trial.

The car search involved 3 cars in a line, with gun oil being placed behind the driver’s door of the first car and the cloves placed on the front license plate of the second car. This was an easy search for the dogs, and as long as they went on task straight away, they found the scents easily. I was particularly impressed with Fyodor, the long-haired Weimaraner at the speed he found the scents. He made it look easy!

At the end of each trial I always think to myself the dog I would love to take home, and for me, it was Chase the pointer.

It was great seeing him going on task straight away and working so methodically with a very decisive indication. So, I was gutted to see when he falsely indicated on the car search. I am not sure why he did, but once this is sorted, then he is the one to put your money on!

So, all in all a great day out with some lovely people and their dogs having fun. Not forgetting the catering team who deserve a star; sarnies and cake were fab! My scribe was not only great at his job, but also a fantastic cook!