Breckenhill 9th Feb

Judge: Lesley Clements

1st Amanada Lattimer and Thelma 77

2nd Anna Pickering and Finn 75.5

3rd Andrea Neuhold and Silver 75

4th Sandra Haveron and Woody 74

5th Carrie Haveron and Buzz 74

6th Joanne Maybin and Daisy 73

The search area was in the upstairs of a barn conversion.

The end of the room was sectioned off to create a smaller area at the end, It contained some tables and chairs, PA equipment and electric heaters (unplugged). This end also included an emergency exit door and two floor level windows.

The hide was wedged in beside two heating pipes coming out of the wall (the heating was off). Those teams that chose to go anticlockwise around the area should have encountered odour quite quickly however a number of dogs searched over the odour or their handlers did not recognise/believe the dog’s indication because it came relatively soon into the search.

Most chose to go clockwise which meant their dogs got into odour around one of the windows but had to work around a table to get to source (with the exception of one little dog who chose to go under and nearly caught his handler out!). There were some lovely examples of dogs solving the puzzle.

Some teams got a bit hung up around the PA equipment and ran out of time but by and large all teams displayed some lovely searching.

Bronze 1 (interior) 9th February 2025 at Breckenhill

Judge: Tania Carron

1st Jillian Marshall & Humphrey 88.5

2nd Lesley Clements & Gavita 87.5

3rd Eileen Toye & Buddy 84.5

4th Susan Anderson & Kuro 81.5

5th Joanne Maybin & Callie 81

6th Debbie Goligher & Stella 80

A busy day in Breckenhill! A cool, dry day with a lot of searching! Congratulations to all the teams who worked really well on the day.

The search area was a large function room. Upon entry to a larger area which included a games table, tables and seating to the back of the hall and few areas of folded chairs. To the left included a busy area of a closed bar, bench and further seating.

The 1st hide was placed in a gap under the leg of a large wooden bench, located after the bar counter with a walkway between the wall and the bench. All dogs completed the bar area initially following on to continue a perimeter wall search past the wooden bench. Most dogs picked up on the scent pooled along the wall, continued the perimeter search into the seating area and back in again towards the source at the leg of the bench.

The 2nd hide was placed at the far end of the search area under the hinge of a wooden door panel lying on the floor. All dogs approached the far end of the search area hitting the scent pool in the corner and working back towards the panels on the floor.

Most teams chose the option of on lead for the first part of the search and then off lead in the larger area. Three dogs worked hard once hitting the scent pool against the wall to get to source on the first hide opting for wall and chairs before working it in.

Special thank you to Lynda Crozier for timing all the teams.

Bronze 2 (exterior) 9 Feb 2025 pm at Breckenhill

Judge : Jillian Marshall

1st Lesley Clements and Tejo 89.5

2nd Debbie Goligher and Holly 87

3rd Antoinette Traynor and Tiggie 85

4th Ronnie McAleese and Flora 84.5

5th Mandy Ring and Diva 76.5

6th Andrea Neuhold and Silver 73

This Bronze trial took place outdoors, taking advantage of the kinder weather conditions, (dry, bright, moderate breeze, and cold), presented to us on the day - no snow, ice, rain or storms!

The search area consisted of a stone wall, including drain pipes, water taps, and a small alcove with a double door. Then across to a paved seating area with some picnic tables and plants in large containers, a mixture of ceramic and terracotta style. There was also a narrow opening consisting of 2 steps with a tall hedge on either side of them, running along 1 side of this paved area. Also included was a small perimeter hedge, with 2 rows of stone wall at the base, this hedge also had a small opening with a paving stone step leading through to a grassy area.

Both hides were accessible to all dogs. The first hide was hidden in a small hole on the seat area of 1 of the picnic tables, beside the tall hedge. The dogs needed to work right around the table to pick up the odour. Most teams found this hide. Those who missed it worked the other 3 sides of table, and either didn't work the 4th side at all, narrow walkway, or showed interest in the adjacent plant pots, but didn't work it back to the bench.

The second hide was a low hide, located at the stone wall at the base of the hedge, to the left of the small opening. Most teams found this hide, some dogs give brief indications then looked up to handler before indicating again. Those teams that missed this hide just lacked a little confidence in their dogs, and mistook brief indications as environmental interest, and moved the dog on. All the dogs winded this odour from quite a distance away and worked across, some lovely examples of wilful disobedience on this one!

It was lovely to see that all teams had a clear search plan, and a couple took advantage of the space available at the start to use for an overlap. Most teams worked the whole search online, with a few opting to work the paved area offline.

Most of the teams who only found 1 hide, got 'trapped' in an area with no odour, (the wall), searching and searching until they ran out of time.

It was lovely to watch the teams working outdoors, it definitely put some of the handlers a little beyond their comfort zone! All the dogs worked really well and this was reflected in the dogs scores.

Thank you to Lynda Crozier for helping with timing duties.