SNC WATER TESTS SECTIONS A - E

Congratulations to:

Johnson's Evanpark Gandolf The Grey among Piratebears "Merlin"
Johnson's Evanpark Gandolf Ghost among Piratebears "Minnie"
Constable's Culnor Be Cool "Daisy"
Constable's Hanningfield Shipwright "Bramble"
MacKillican's Dalmacaws Little Prince "Bruce"
MacKillican's Mileoak Whispered Secret "Daisy"
MacKillican's Sheenmarie Enchanted "Diesel"
Hartley's Baileys Boy "Jasper"
Hartley's "Alf"
Gordon's "Stanley"
Arnold's Newgraden Knight Of Templar "Arthur"

"A pleasure to be back at Grangewaters again this year for the second time as the venue is such a wonderful location for a water event. A total of 14 entries were received for this section today with three absent for the tests. Of the 11 dogs we judged it was a delight to be able to pass every one of them. The youngest dog who was just 6 months gave it his all and showed off the natural abilities of the breed at such an early age. We had one junior handler who worked 2 dogs at this level, both with exceptional flawless passes, and our eldest entrant over the age of 10 also performed a perfect pass.

Everyone worked really well but its just worth pointing out that for each element of this and all water tests you can enter the water to waist level and get your dog swimming - give the dog the best chance of passing and use its favourite toy or person in the water or the boat to encourage the dog to complete each element.

A huge thank you to the Test Manager, stewards and all at Muddy Paws for their hard work and hospitality during the weekend who worked hard to ensure the event ran smoothly and successfully."

Jude Moulsdale

-- Report to follow --

Liz Chambers

Congratulations to:

Roberts' Seashanty Jack Frost "Angus"
Johnson's Sparkybears Two Shoes among Piratebears "Cru'ella"
MacKillican's Mileoak Whispered Secret "Daisy"
MacKillican's Sheenmarie Enchanted "Diesel"
Hartley's Baileys Boy "Jasper"
Dodd's Sandbears Go With Flo "Flo"
Dobson's Ursanigra Ullswater for Noddstrickle "Boz"
Webber's Hanningfield Siesta Key "Nasa"

"It was great to be invited to this fabulous event to judge Section B water. Don and the Muddy Paws team have a great venue and everything was well organised and ran smoothly. Huge thank you to the most organised test manager and helpers, and also thanks to the stewards who worked with us on the day. Its definately worth the journey to Grangewaters and the log cabins make for an easy stop over rather than having to tow the caravan.

The section B tests were held on the opposite side of the lake to the main test area and my co judge and I even got a boat transfer to and from the site!

We had a total of 17 dogs entered for Section B and 8 passes. The main issues - as always - were with the underwater retrieve and the controlled swim. For these two elements it just takes time and practice so that the dog becomes comfortable with them. It may be worthwhile just taking a couple of training sessions during the season and only focusing on controlled swimming with your dog as sometimes it can be one of those things that never gets much time in training. With the underwater, this is something that you can work on each day at home in a bucket or bowl and make it fun for the dog to 'find it'.

We look forward to the next event at Grangewaters, despite a catalogue of injuries and ailments this year, we will be back!"

Les Moulsdale

-- Report to follow --

Sandra Constable

Congratulations to:

Baugh’s Quietstorm Solstice "Layla"
Haylock’s Shalowseas Splash Dance "Shea"

"We would like to thank the whole of Muddy Paws team for putting on such a great water test as usual.

It was a lovely sunny day with just a slight breeze. We had 5 entries with 2 passes. The failures were on different aspects of the test e.g. safe swim, rescuing the stranger and jumping from the boat. Well done to Layla Baugh and Shea Haylock.

Finally we would like to thank our stewards and Graham who was our drowning stranger. Here’s to the next time."

Dave Barnard & Peter Webber

Congratulations to:

Hill's Hanningfield Princess Leia "Ruby"
Bash's Darbydale Catch Me If You Can "Zilli"

"The sun shone all day with a light breeze on shore but a stronger force off shore, the water quality was superb. Five excellent entries with three passes. We were treated to some very good handling.

Thank you to Muddy Paws who looked after us with drinks and food. Not forgetting the Stewards, Test Manager and fellow Judge Keith Sargeant. A very enjoyable day."

Clive Haylock

"Grangewaters is a great venue made even better by the way that "Muddy Paws" managed the event, with the added benefit of very good weather and calm water. There was a breeze to contend with so the problem of drift was taken into account.

With 5 dogs entered we obtained 3 really excellent passes with good exercises coming from all entrants.

My thanks to my co-judge Clive Haylock, to the stewards who worked hard as always, to Tina Roberts on her first event as Test Manager and to all Muddy Paws members for their hospitality at this well run event."

Keith Sargeant

Congratulations to:

Hill’s Honeybears Funny Girl "Maisie"

-- Report to follow --

David Grove

"This was my first visit to Grangewaters, which is a superb venue with excellent facilities. It was a long day, given the number of entries, but well managed and very enjoyable.

There were three entries in Section E of which one passed, this being the first pass I have awarded at this level. The handler gave clear and concise commands when necessary to which the dog responded well especially during the directed rescue of one of two casualties. All too often handlers continue to shout commands even when the dog is proceeding in the right direction. I appreciate that training techniques vary and that dogs respond differently but I favour the minimal use of commands for corrective purposes only. One dog withdrew after the first exercise but the other two completed a near perfect boat retrieve. The strangers in exercise 3 were both noisy, which often proves more difficult but this proved to be no problem for the dog that passed. The last exercise is always quite difficult to set up given the positioning of the boats and the number of stewards involved but both dogs exited the boat and successfully took the rope to the other boat.

The dog that passed was a joy to watch losing a minimal number of points throughout the whole test. Many congratulations Graham & Maisie on a very well deserved pass.

Thank you to my fellow judge David Grove, the Test Manager Tina Roberts, stewards and members of Muddy Paws for all their hard work throughout the day."

Kevin Mercer