A big thank you to Jennie for trusting me to judge Level One at this well organised trial alongside Chas Robert, and for looking after me and my dogs so well all day. Thank you also to my excellent scribe, Anne, who was good company as well as doing the job really well. A white dog was run on all four of the searches.
The weather was kind to the Level One teams, for several of whom this was a first experience of a trial. I judged the Tables and Chairs and Exterior searches. Tables and Chairs proved challenging enough for the teams to demonstrate their skills, but only one team called the alert/find incorrectly. I placed the Velcro hide under the seat of the second chair along the right hand side of a pair of tables. Several dogs knocked the odour on the right hand chair at the front and took a scenic route to the correct chair via the first one on the right, inspecting it very thoroughly, one or two even offering behaviour on this chair that could have been taken for indication. It was a real lesson in how scent moves, watching them work to source. I was very impressed by the quality of team work which was of a very high standard for Level One. The teams all worked in different ways, handlers adapting to the style of their canine partners’ work.
We moved on to the Exterior search. Jennie provided an interesting and varied range of items. Most competitors opted to know the three items that might have the hide on them. These were an electric kettle, a weave pole base and a plastic workbench. The Velcro hide was placed under the lower shelf of the workbench. The search proved testing of the teams’ confidence, patience, and handling skills. There were some distracting areas around the search area itself which pulled some teams out of the area, some handlers making the appropriate decision to work their dogs on the long line, although line handling skills varied. The dogs were challenged by the location of the hide, many knocking odour high on the workbench but not working to source on the first
attempt and testing the nerves of their handlers. Once again I was impressed by the handlers’ abilities to read their dogs and their calm persistence in maintaining the search until the dog worked out where the hide was.
Congratulations to Michelle and Minx whose work was outstanding in both searches – calm, confident, keen and fast. Your win was very well deserved. Enjoy climbing the levels!