21/05 Aldermaston School Trial Silver Shelia Rodger and Nico 83.5 Ann Douglas and Kenzie 83 Lyn Saunders and Gayl 81 Eleanor Hogan and Tilly 80.5 Richard Purnell and Ziggy 80 Sharon Miller and Axl 79 Bronze Nicky Sherman and Bubbles 81 Shelia Rodger and Taylor 79.5 Sharon Miller and Rush 78 Anne Francis and Dilly 77 Eleanor Hogan and Tilly 76 Lyn Saunders and Kai 75.5 Club Sharon Miller and Vana 78 Sam Hayward and Crazy Eights 76 Anne Francis and Dilly 72 Nicky Sherman and Bubbles 66 Linda Bowden and Elsa 58 Karen Thompson and Twix 58 Diamond league club winner Jan Martin and Amber 73 Judges report will be in comments Thanks you all for coming and supporting the trial, some lovely searches and very close scores Silver.
The search area was a school hall and an exterior building search. One hide was under a window ledge with a bench in front, presenting dogs with a challenge of how to approach the odour and get to source/indicate. All dogs who located this odour really problem solved and worked to source. One dog was particularly impressive and clearly picked up their odour from inside the hall.
The second hide was towards the end of the area in a wood pile. Those who managed their time well made it to this hide, however some handlers got stuck for a long time in the hall, despite dogs clearing the area. A great example today of ‘trust your dog’ and not to assume where the judges may be placing hides, that’s the dog’s job Some very tight scores with only half a mark between 1st and 2nd place. Lovely teamwork throughout with great odour recognition and commitment.
Bronze This was all outdoors. An outdoor corridor flanked by the building one one side and the playground fence on the other and then an adjacent area of the school playground with wooden fencing on two sides, building on one side and a small wall marking the last boundary, quite a few items in this area along side one wall. The hides were in the front of a grit bin in the corridor area and on the bottom door frame in the playground. All handlers searched the corridor area first, a few dogs shot down the alley and missed the hide on first pass but all handlers worked the areas well and took their dogs back here after they found in the other area and cleared that. All dogs found both hides, handlers worked the areas well with clear plans and the scores were very tight
Judges report club. Club is a 3 minute search with one hide where dogs can get to source. It is a confidence building level and dogs should be able to recognise their odour.
The area was a school hall with benches, adjoins (closed) rooms and some gym equipment. The hide was under the edge of a bucket just out from one of the top corners of the room. Those who worked anti-clockwise mostly passed over this first time, skipping the corner, with some dogs putting their head in the bucket and losing their odour pool before continuing around the room. Those dogs who settled in to searching immediately found much easier. All handlers had good plans on how to work the room and there were some really good, solid indications from a lot of dogs at this level.
Comments