Club and Bronze at The Dog Nose 11/09

Judge Kirsty

1st Emma and Molly. 77

2nd Alison and Herbie. 75

Club level

Indoor room with a large collection of interesting sensory items including a sand pit and a play house. This was a challenging test for handlers and dogs as the dogs had to concentrate in a very stimulating environment and handlers had to really trust in their ability to read their dogs body language to identify the difference between working odour and exploring. The hide was in the hollow foot of a desk, this was chosen to contain the odour so as to ensure a fair test between the stronger and weaker odours. Several dogs bounced over the hide so didn’t pick up the odour on the first pass, it was great to watch them problem solving as they worked it in. Lovely teams and some fabulous searches

Bronze level

Judges Lucy and Emma

1st Lynda and Poppy. 94

2nd Kirsten and Isla 88

The search area was outside, at the back of an industrial estate. There were discarded tyres and signs and other features in the triangle shaped-area, which was enclosed at one end.

The weather was cloudy to begin with, with sunshine later on, making the temperature rise slightly. There was a slight breeze for a section of the trial.

One hide was placed on the floor underneath a sign, below a small hole for the odour to escape from.

This proved challenging for many of the teams, especially the handlers. Dogs could get to source from one side, but if they approached it from the other side they had to walk over the metal surface. Whilst most dogs walked confidently over it, the handlers were less keen for them to do so! However all dogs that found this particular hide worked it out well.

The second hide was placed in a gap in the brick wall on the opposite side of the search area, next to a bench to provide a large feature. The judges thought that most handlers would skip over the wall and focus on the bench, but they did not. There was some lovely problem solving from both dogs and handlers on this hide, with some dogs working it from all sides and even above to get to source.

Overall, all teams showed great potential and we saw some really beautiful partnerships on display.