Sun 19th Jan 2020, Mere

Level 1: Judge - Shelley Stubbington
T&C - A/FT&C - HT&C - TES - A/FES - HES - TVS - A/FVS - HVS - TB&L - A/FB&L - HB&L - TMarksTime
A/F = Alert FindH = HandlingT = Time (seconds)
Tables & ChairsExterior SearchVehicle SearchBoxes & LuggageTotals
Level 1A/FHTA/FHTA/FHTA/FHTMarksTime
1Tony Hollis - Io204.93720563520135201699.9129
2Penny Varnes - Ludo20522205424.5201462051299.5222
3Ann Whitaker - Luna204.7518204.5884.520232051198.75140
4Liz Hollis - Taff20559202.75964.7520924.5209497341
5Susan Lever - Tally2052420585201905188069
6Carolione Mather - Zorro05222052352013205278085
7Jennie Watts - Percy05222051952019520308090
8Philip Watts - Trixie204.756505614.7520845207479.5284
9Kelly Steel - Sequel204.556204.758952027051379.25185

Trial Manager and Judges Reports

Thank you to Faye Sparkes for asking me to trials manager her first trial at Dogwise in Mere, it was a pleasure to work with Faye and Tina. Shelley as always did a brilliant job judging and with Kay scribing everything ran very smoothly. The weather was amazingly, cold but dry with beautiful sunshine all day. A good venue and well done to everyone who took part.

I would like to say thank you Pippa for being today’s Trial Manager, Shelley for being Judge and Kay for Scribing
The weather this morning was frosty and icy underfoot to which we did the Exterior Search first, followed by the Tables & Chairs, Vehicle and Container Search. All teams worked well with the conditions.
I would like to say congratulations to Taff and Io for coming first with a Clean Sweep as well. Along with everyone else that took part.
As the first trial that I have organised I would like to say it went really well. The paperwork side of it was easier than I had thought, so thank you Marianna and this new website for simplicity of it with the new registration numbers. I gave everyone lanyards to make it easier for the running order and for everyone to get to know each other.
Pippa’s Becky was a fantastic White Dog.

Shelley Stubbington

Judge’s Report – Mere, Level One, 19th Jan. 2020

Many thanks to Faye Sparkes for inviting me to judge the first Level One trial to be held at Dogwise, and to Pippa Bentham for Trial Managing, and to my mum Kay Jennings for scribing for me. The day ran smoothly, and whilst being a little cold, the glorious sunshine was a welcome sight (if a little blinding at times!). We had 10 teams taking part today, and 9 qualified, with the top 4 gaining clean sweeps.

We started with the Exterior Items to take advantage of the heavy frost that had frozen some of the inevitable mud you get at this time of year. There were some lovely searches here, with a number of dogs achieving full marks. Of particular note here were Susan & Tally, Callie & Zorro, and Jennie & Percy, whose dogs all worked quickly, with great focus, and did a fabulous job of pinpointing the location of the scented article. Then on to the Tables & Chairs. The interior space at this venue was small, but actually I feel this worked to the dogs’ advantage at this level, reducing the opportunity for off-task sniffing. There were a few sourcing issues with this search, with a couple of the dogs indicating on the wrong chair where the scent was being drawn through the space towards the door, and a couple of handlers calling too soon before the dogs had finished sourcing, but overall most teams were successful. Then back outside for the vehicle search, and here all but one team were successful, with some notable searches from Tony & Io, Callie & Zorro, Susan & Tally, Kelly & Sequel, and Jennie & Percy, all of whom worked with great focus and speed. Last up was the Containers and Luggage search. Sadly 2 dogs threw in a false alert on incorrect items, but again the majority worked this search well, with Penny & Ludo putting in a particularly impressive performance in this element. The trial was won by Tony & Io, who were the most consistent performers all day, and I greatly enjoyed seeing how much this team have come on since I last saw them working. Second place went to Penny & Ludo who had again put in another consistent performance. Third to Ann and Luna, a beautiful and enthusiastic little Cocker Spaniel, and Fourth to Liz & Taff who achieved their first Clean Sweep thanks to very patient and gentle handling from Liz.

I enjoyed watching the dogs and handlers work today, although some teams need to make sure they communicate clearly to the judge when calling an alert!! All in all though, a good day’s work from everyone.

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