Level 2

Tables and Chairs = Find 1, left side of room in-between two chairs stacked on top of each other. Find 2, Last chair on right against the right table.

Vehicle Search = 3 vehicles, 1st vehicle- Peugeot estate, find 1- O/s/f wheel trim 2nd vehicle- Peugeot Van – clear, 3rd vehicle- Landrover Discovery N/S/R upper bumper trim.

Both finds left with lots of air space.

Luggage Search = Find 1, wrapped in newspaper in a black cycle luggage bag closest to cones. Find 2, in a cardboard box in a bigger cardboard box, middle read of the search layout.

Exterior =Into the wind. Find 1,in the tube of an axle stand, laid on its side to allow blow through. 3Rd obstacle on the right. Find 2, under a roof tile back left right of the search area, facing into wind to allow for blow through.

Val & Indy (w/cocker)

Really nice dog and handled well by the owner. Good indoor and outside searches. To get the best out of the dog, focused searching would really help slow her search down. Handler should trust the indication and watch for body language changes
Tables and chairs = Lovely search by the dog, nice drive. Handler lacked confidence in the indication.
Vehicle search = Very nice search – needs a bit more focus on the vehicle as mainly air scenting
Luggage / Box search = off lead search, dog panting which was inhibiting ability.
Exterior Rummage search = Off lead, left alone o work. Very nice quartering by the dog. Good finds, may have a proximity issue to be explored as didn’t seem confident indicating at a distance. Best search

Karen & Charlie ( Terrier)

Handler is patient with Charlie but he quickly becomes frustrated resulting in vocalization and break down of the search. The more the handler
tries to task him by voice the worst he becomes. He would benefit from smaller searches with quick multiple finds and being worked off lead to gain independence in the search.
Tables and chairs = good first find then became frustrated and started to bark
Vehicle search = Landy – good indication, lost focus on the search after a couple of minutes and started barking.
Luggage / Box search = 1st alert was a false, started barking. Needs small focused searches.
Exterior Rummage search = Lots of vocal commanding to search, again quiet a bit of barking. Gave a false triggered by the handler, then found the axle stand find straight after

Jennie & Mischief (Cairn T)

Nice dog, he does become distracted quite easily. Dog worked on the lead and can be triggered by the vocal commands. Mischief would benefit from smaller searches whilst off lead to build confidence in the handler to observe body language changes and the dog to work independently in his decision.
Tables and chairs = handler called the dog away from the first find, 2nd better, the handler needs to watch the body language
Vehicle search = Long search – False alert and then withdrew
Luggage / Box search = 1st alert was a false, good 2nd alert
Exterior Rummage search = Found axle stand find, ran out of time for the 2nd find

Ann & Maisie ( Springer x)

Nice searches across each area, needs work on the indication to make it easier for the handler to read and allow to call the find faster.
Tables and chairs = nice independent search. Good check pace.
Vehicle search = knocked the Peugeot hide first time round but didn’t stick with it. Lacking a little bit of system of search
Luggage / Box search = Dog worked away off lead, steady search, knocked but moved off and came back around to it. Did retrieve the article
Exterior Rummage search = Very nice search and well handled

Katheryne & Pepper ( Lab)

Very nice dog and great odor Id. Inside searches were good. Handler needs more experience to assess area to work on or off lead. Looking forward to watching this partnership develop.
Tables and chairs = handler drawn into the area by the dog. Good finds – quick
Vehicle search = very nice search, great use of the wind
Luggage / Box search = Good search, will need to steady up when the odor size starts to reduce
Exterior Rummage search = Worked off lead, dogs obs need improving for this type of search. Was good once on lead

Nigel & Breezer (GSD)

Breezer showed nice calm searches and handler worked well. Some system of search improvement will help this partnership.
Tables and chairs = nice steady searching- handler drawn deep into area by dog
Vehicle search = nice steady search by the handler, the dog needs focusing on the search. Could Breezer be tasked to follow the bottom of the walking stick like a pointer??
Luggage / Box search = Rushed into the search and pushed the dog passed the first search
Exterior Rummage search = Good search, dog did managed to get at the article to retrieve it from under the roof tile

Ali & Chase (boxer x)

Really nice partnership unfortunately had one false indication. Nice solid response to the odor and good confident calls from the handler.
Tables and chairs = Handler very confident in the dog, good search and confident indication and call by the handler. Again drawn into area
Vehicle search = Good search, system around vehicle needs work to get the best out of the dog
Luggage / Box search = Found black bag well but 2nd indication was a false
Exterior Rummage search = Dragged into the search area and past the 1st find. Did successfully find both tho.

Annika & Rena (x breed)

Nice dog, steady search. Handler would benefit from working the dog on a longer line or preferably off lead. Rena seemed to trigger on Annika’s voice encouragement.
Tables and chairs = nice steady search, worked on lead – would benefit from being independent. False Indication triggered by handler
Vehicle search = 1 false alert which was possibly caused by blocking the dogs movement dogs was within 2 ft of the hide but too high to allow (frontof Peugeot bumper
Luggage / Box search = On lead, False indication triggered by handler questioning
Exterior Rummage search = Off lead nice search, Handler needs confidence to let the dog work away and on own.

Overview of L2

Some Nice searches exhibited by the dogs.

Majority of handlers using lots of commands to task the dog even tho it is already searching well, when dog indicated verbally questioning the indication, most were dragged into the middle of the search area missing a number of articles at the beginning of the search. All handlers need to watch the small changes in the body language which dictate that the dogs have located odor and are tracking source. Most would benefit from working the dogs on a longer leash

On the vehicle exercise a lack of a system of search resulted in some of the teams requiring a longer search than was anticipated. Once a passive indication is formalized then a seam search of vehicles will provide a more consistent focused search allowing for the detection of the smaller scent pools before the team are drawn into the easy finds.

Level 2 winner performed consistently through-out the competition.

Level 1

Tables and Chairs = Find 1, Last chair on right against the end table.

Vehicle search = White Peugeot van Find @ N/S/F/ wheel arch on top on strut.

Luggage Search = Find 1, in the bottom flap of an open box, far left middle of the search area

Exterior = Participants were shown three articles before the search, one of which would include the target, a bicycle helmet. These articles were placed out amongst 10 other articles

Susan & Lyla (Black Lab)

Nice dog. Handler relaxed and improved as the day went on. Tables and Chairs = Very nice search by the dog. Handler over questioned the
indication almost calling the dog away – possibly nerves
Vehicle search = Best vehicle search. Skimmed the edges of the vehicle and located the hides really well
Luggage / Box search = Good search, missed 1 box as drawn through the area by the dog. Quiet handling
Exterior Rummage search = Good search and nicely handled

Jennie & Tinker (Cairn)

Tinka lacked focus in some of the exercises, on the first find he reacted with slight aversion possibly due to its strength. The handler needs to gain confidence in her dogs ability and reduce her number of vocal re-tasks. The team would benefit from small, quick rummage searches of lead to increase focus and confidence.
Tables and Chairs = slight aversion to the odor, possibly backed away at its strength, indicated at the third rotation
Vehicle search = Good call by handler and indication wasn’t clear to the judge
Luggage / Box search = Nice search, dog needed second search to indicate
Exterior Rummage search = Lost confidence in the dog as he searched

Lisa & Gibbs (Rotty)

Very nice to see a Rottweiler working in this discipline. Nice quite handling in most exercises. The lack of focus and handling support in the vehicle search impacted the end result for this team. Confidence in the call of an indication will help with future results
Tables and Chairs = Handler quite vocal on the search, very nice search by the dog, steady.
Vehicle search = Lacked focus on the vehicle and got slightly distracted
Luggage / Box search = nice quiet handling, good search and initial indication, handler questioned and dog moved on. Came back and handler called faster
Exterior Rummage search = Nice search by the dog, needed the dog to reconfirm the indication before handler called it

Michelle & Maya (Springer)

1 false indication in the start of the day was unfortunate. This seemed to be triggered by the handler verbally questioning the search. This possibly affected the handlers call on a number of the other searches increasing the teams end time result.
Tables and Chairs = Nice search, dog works better if handler is quiet. Triggers on verbal challenge
Vehicle search = very good search and indication
Luggage / Box search = dog initially ignored target on 1st search but then came back to it confidently after searching a few more articles. Handler could have called quicker
Exterior Rummage search = Good search but lost confidence (time delay) in indication

Ali & Maya (Mali x)

Handler and dog would benefit from working on a longer leash / line. Quiet methodical searches by the dog. I look forward to seeing the future results of this team.
Tables and Chairs = On lead, dog would benefit from working on a longer leash for more independence and to build the handlers confidence in her dog
Vehicle search = Nice search, again longer lead will give improvement. Confident call by the handler
Luggage / Box search = Worked on lead, quite short lead. False alert from the dog possibly triggered by the handler.
Exterior Rummage search = nice search but the dog lost focus

Marianne & Merri (red merle B/C)

Very nice team, dog performed well through out the day. Handler needs to build her confidence in the dogs indication. Time delay and questioning of the indication was main affect to the results. Great team prospect
Tables and Chairs = Very nice, dog settled in the search, handler needs more confidence in her alert
Vehicle search = Landrover Discovery N/S/R upper bumper trim. Find left with lots of air space. Dog alerted almost instantly but Handler questioned. Dog completed full circuit and came back around to indicate. Good – Trust dog
Luggage / Box search = nice steady search by the handler, good indication but she questioned the dog quite a bit
Exterior Rummage search = Search articles changed as handler had already been over equipment with 1st dog in competition. Good search and indication but handler did question the dogs ability

Marianne & Kai (B/C)

Similar report to her other search dog Merri. Very nice team, dog performed well through out the day. Handler needs to build her confidence in the dogs indication. Time delay and questioning of the indication was main affect to the results. Great team prospect
Tables and Chairs = Good search and Id by the dog. Handler moved on and questioned dog, which unsettled him
Vehicle search = Dog alerted but Handler questioned. Dog completed full circuit and came back around to indicate. Good – Trust dog
Luggage / Box search = Handler rushed into search area, good initial alert but handler not sure and questioned the dog, he then worked on and came back to it. Exterior Rummage search = Good steady search, long delay in calling the search

Colin & Remus (The box eating GSD)

Remus’s enthusiasm for the day could not be questioned (some times to his detriment). Due to his other disciplines of work Remus does interfere with most of the articles in the scenarios. I would suggest working this dog on heavy non retrievable articles until we have a solid passive indication.
Tables and Chairs = odor was strong for the dog, blow out on first search, needed 2nd time around
Vehicle search = Off lead search around the vehicles dog was air scenting, tracked to the location well, handler nearly bumped the dog off the find
Luggage / Box search = Very difficult to critique as the dog was interfering with all the hides _ biting. Just before the indication was called the dog managed to get to the find and the handler saw it
Exterior Rummage search = As above Good search but did retrieve the article

Kate & Paddy (Weim)

Nice team to watch work. Handlers confidence in her dog and his indication should grow after this successful trial. One to watch for the future
Tables and Chairs = nice search, handling lacked a bit of confidence in her dogs ability. Good knock
Vehicle search = Good search and find, nicely handled
Luggage / Box search = Good search by the dog, handler waited to call the search for around 3 -4 secs. When dog pawed article she called?
Exterior Rummage search = Nice search and good call from handler

Rick & Max (Weim)

Another consistent performance from a nice team. Max needs to gain more experience in his role and the handler needs to focus on the natural working instincts of Paddy to bring out the best in him.
Tables and Chairs = Good alert, nice calm handling.
Vehicle search = Good search by handler and worked well. Dog looks like it is used to working smaller odor
Luggage / Box search = Good search by handler and the dog, handler could have called indication earlier
Exterior Rummage search = Good search

Chris & Marley (American Bulldog)

An unusual candidate for this work, this team partnership was the highlight of my day. Marley was a joy to watch work, his performance
matched that of more traditionally selected dogs. Once the handler gains more confidence in this work, the team will see higher places.
Tables and Chairs = Very nice dog, good id of the odor and confident indication
Vehicle search = Good search by the dog by unfortunately an indication was triggered by a handler verbal command.
Luggage / Box search = nice systematic search, handler took a while to call the indication
Exterior Rummage search = Good search

Nicki & Rags (Lab/doodle)

A consistent performance through-out the day this team deserved the top spot. Nice quiet handling and good confident calls.
Tables and Chairs = Nice search by the dog, quick find, good confident call of the indication by the handler
Vehicle search = Very good search and quick indication by the dog
Luggage / Box search = Off lead and very good search. Quick indication of find, quiet handling. Best search
Exterior Rummage search = Nice search

Overview of L1

Nice basic searches by the dogs. Majority of the handlers need to build a bit more confidence in their dogs ability. A number of the dogs found the odor very quickly but the handlers were unsure whether to call it. Some development in the handlers assessment of the conditions and search area along-with confidence in their team mates indication will improve performance.

Level 1 winner performed consistently through-out the competition. 2Nd place is a dog to
watch in the future

End report

LEVEL 1					A/F = Alert Find			H = Handling			T = Time (seconds)
Position	No	Handler	Dog	Breed	Tables & Chairs			Exterior Search			Vehicle Search			Boxes & Luggage			Totals
					A/F	H	T	A/F	H	T	A/F	H	T	A/F	H	T	Marks	Time
1st	4	Nicki	Rags	Labradoodle	20	4	20	20	4	37	20	5	17	20	5	14	98	88
2nd	6	Kate	Paddy	Weimerama	20	4	49	20	4	37	20	5	43	20	5	22	98	151
3rd	5	Marianne	Kai	BC	20	4	38	20	4	15	20	4	118	20	4	27	96	198
4th	12	Marianne	Merri	BC	20	4	45	20	4	22	20	4	137	20	4	20	96	224
5th	12	Rick	Max	Weimerama	20	4	59	20	4	54	20	4	156	20	4	19	96	288
6th	7	Susan	Lyla	Lab	20	1	129	20	5	37	20	4	38	20	4	32	94	236
7th	8	Colin	Remus	GSD	20	3	144	20	4	32	20	4	18	20	3	110	94	304
8th	9	Lisa	Gibbs	Rottie	20	4	147	20	4	44	20	2	300	20	4	47	94	538
9th	1	Jennie	Tinker	Cairn	20	3	210	20	3	242	20	4	48	20	4	319	94	819
10th	11	Chris	Marley	Am Bulldog	20	4	31	20	4	35	0	2	48	20	4	27	74	141
11th	2	Michelle	Myah	Springer	0	2	28	20	4	114	20	4	31	20	4	25	74	198
12th	3	Ali	Maya	Mali x	20	3	214	20	3	145	20	4	31	0	3	23	73	413
LEVEL 2					A/F = Alert Find			H = Handling			T = Time (seconds)
Position	No	Handler	Dog	Breed	Tables & Chairs			Exterior Search			Vehicle Search			Boxes & Luggage			Totals
					A/F	H	T	A/F	H	T	A/F	H	T	A/F	H	T	Marks	Time
1st	2	Katheryne	Pepper	Lab	20	4	22	20	3	151	20	5	41	20	4	103	96	317
2nd	5	Ann	Maisie	Springer	20	4	59	20	4	31	20	3	243	20	5	34	96	367
3rd	8	Val	Indie	W. Cocker	20	4	45	20	3	123	20	3	44	20	4	44	94	256
4th	3	Nigel	Breezer	GSD	20	4	46	20	4	107	20	2	431	20	4	28	94	612
5th	7	Ali	Chase	Cross	20	4	15	20	4	30	20	3	228	10	3	45	84	318
6th	1	Karen	Charlie	Terrier	20	3	224	10	2	110	20	3	230	10	3	146	71	710
7th	6	Annika	Rena	Cross	10	4	144	20	4	104	10	2	357	10	2	24	62	629
8th	4	Jennie	Mischief	Cairn	20	3	120	10	2	7	0	2	442	10	4	21	51	590