Thank you Stacey for asking me to judge your L1 this evening at Haynes.

We started with the vehicle search in order to make the most of the fading light. The scent was in the drivers side front wheel nut. Most dogs worked the odour really nicely around that side of the vehicle. Richard and Lyra and Samantha and Cerberus worked beautifully in this area gaining a quick time.
The second search was the exterior items. The scented item was in the middle, tucked inside a steel door wedge with a lovely open section. I was really impressed with the lovely calm handling from all of the handlers. Everyone covered the area well, particular well done to Jessica and Merlin for a super time in this area. Lovely searching by Bev and Doro, Olivia and Millie, Richard and Kiera and Gemma and Oscar.
Some handlers chose to know which of the three items it could have been (a red dustpan, the wedge or a badminton racket) those that didn’t risked calling a WA on a different item; another ran out of time. It’s a shame not to take advantage of this when it’s available in level 1. It gives each competitor the same chance when taken; it doesn’t stop the whole area being worked.
Next we moved indoors and worked on the table and chair search. The scent was on the right hand chair right in front of the dogs as they started. There was some fabulous work from the dogs here. Some dogs worked the odour from the start and indicated straight away; some dogs doing some brilliant problem solving as they picked up odour from the far side of the table and working it back under the table to the correct chair. Most of the handlers did well, waiting for the dog to settle on the correct chair before calling it. Really well done, it was a pleasure to see the dogs work this so well. Dogs to note here…Adam and Buzz, Bev and Doro, Richard and Kiera, Richard and Lyra, Samatha and Cerberus, Bernice and Twist, Jessica and Merlin. Oscar had a great indication here Gemma, well done.
Finally we finished with the bags and boxes. The odour was on the handle of a dark blue bag on the far left of the search area. Mixed results here. Some handlers were quick to call any interest, especially in the boxes; take your time and be sure. Deborah and Jonesy worked this beautifully, as did Olivia and Millie, Linda and Zara, Samantha and Cerberus, Jessica and Merlin and Gemma and Oscar.
Really lovely to see some new teams working so well together. Always trickier when you add the pressure of a trial. The dogs searched really well throughout, a great standard of searching, you should be really proud of yourselves! Some handlers just need to work on that solid indication so that it’s 100% obvious that the dog has recognised the odour. Well done all of you, it was a pleasure to see you all working this evening.