Our club held a Scent Detection trial on the scenic grounds of St. Margaret’s school in Saanich. The facilities were exemplary, and the parking area provided plenty of shade to keep the dogs and handlers protected. The weather cooperated by being dry and at a pleasant temperature. Competitors from as far as Campbell River participated in the event.
There are so many people to thank I cannot possibly name them all here, but I specifically want to thank our two fantastic judges, Kathy Hansen, and Leslie Gardiner both of whom have a great depth of experience in setting thoughtful and challenging hides. I also appreciate the exceptional effort of the trial committee. This team pulled together well to make this trial happen!!! We were also grateful for all the wonderful volunteers, some of whom do not participate in nosework but in other dog sports such as agility, obedience, and rally. We also had a few of the NOSA board members volunteering which was outstanding!!! This was truly a team effort, and everyone’s contribution is greatly appreciated.
We also would like to thank our generous sponsors; 4 Paws Pet Boutique and Grocery, Sidney Pet Centre and Bosley’s at Royal Oak who provided NOSA with gift certificates and dog treats. These items were distributed by a draw to our very deserving volunteers. We greatly appreciate the community support from these sponsors and encourage you to check out their outlets.
To beat the heat of the day, we started the events early. This was accomplished by running containers to exteriors to complete the outdoor components first. As it turned out, we had Goldilocks weather, not too hot, not too cold but just right. Our early start helped us finish the day before 4 p.m. keeping us within the terms of the contract we had with St. Margaret’s School. The competitors provided much positive feedback about the trial. One staff member at St. Margaret’s school, who was on site at the time of the trial was impressed by how orderly and quietly the event proceeded!
Our NOSA Scent Detection members had many successes in this trial as listed below:
- Started :
- 1 new title – SP gold level
- 1 second title
- Started Placements:
- Amateur Started Containers – 1st place
- Amateur Started Interiors – 1st. place
- Amateur Started Exteriors – 1st. place
- Working Started Containers – 1st. place
- Advanced :
- 1 new Advanced title – SP gold level with perfect scores in all 3 components.
- 2nd Advanced title
- Advanced Placements:
- Amateur Advanced Containers 1st and 3rd
- Working Advanced Containers – 3rd
- Amateur Advanced Interiors – 2nd
- Amateur Advanced Exteriors – 3rd
- Working Advanced Exteriors – 1st
- Additional Advanced Q’s:
- Advanced Containers – 4
- Advanced Exteriors – 2
- Advanced Interiors – 1
- Excellent:
- No new titles
- Amateur Excellent Interiors – 2nd place
- Additional Excellent Q’s:
- Excellent Interiors – 2
- Games:
- No new titles
- Games Q’s
- Aerials – 2 Q’s
- Distance – 2 Q’s
Laurie Payten
Chair, Scent Detection Trials
