Title

with style.-Photo by Ginger Rex

We should have known this trial would be difficult when the sun crept over the Chugach Mountains at 4AM in a blaze of glory.  Or we should have suspected all would not be well at 5AM when mist covered the tracking field in a spooky blanket.  But the day was beautiful!  Hardly a breath of wind, sunny skies, and the rich smell of summer greeted us for our first trial of the season.  Then it started, the mist burned off and the mosquitoes waked from their short nap hungry and in great numbers.  Our tracklayer, Hans, hollered for Bug Dope (DEET), but he had already laid three tracks and had bites on his arms and neck.  The rest of us slathered ourselves with bug dope and then the fun began.

 

This was a small trial with only four dogs participating in tracking, one for SchH 1 and three for SchH 3 titles.  Lex Vom Erlenbusch and Jim were first on their SchH 1 track.  Lex and Jim had been working together only three weeks, but Lex had been showing promise.  This day however, Lex decided a romp in the field would be much more fun than tracking.  The dogs obvious joy when in the field with Jim helped temper the disappointment of the 12 points earned for the track.  Harry Von Den Jungen Hansen (Ivan) and Liv drew the first SchH 3 track.  Ivan started the track with a deep nose and purposeful gait.  He showed a great tracking picture even as he missed the first turn and marched straight down the field, head down, sniffing the whole way.  Ivan did not pick up the track properly, even after several tries and was dismissed.  Hans found two of the three articles and Liv opted for a second track. 

 

Kayoz Vom Diener (Oz) and Jim were next on the tracking field.  Oz missed the second turn several times and was dismissed.  Again Hans was unable to find one article and Jim opted for a second track.  Kasina Vom Haus Grossen Hund and Kelly entered the tracking field with Kelly understandably nervous.  Kassina saved the day though by earning a 95 on her track, loosing points only for lifting her head slightly and two crooked article indications.

 

Jan, an experienced tracklayer who was visiting Alaska and one of the spectators at the trial, laid the two new SchH 3 tracks.  Dog stories were exchanged during the hour wait for the two tracks to age, but on the field neither team was able to finish their track.  Ivan and Liv scored 6 and Oz and Jim scored 26.

 

After breakfast and a 55-mile drive to the Hundeplatz field in Anchorages Kincaid Park, the obedience and protection phase began.  In addition to the four dogs working on SchH titles, one BH and one Obedience 1 team were added to the line up. 

 

As the thermometer edged past 75 degrees some of the dogs started to show the added stress of the hot weather.  Although the mid-to-high seventies may not be hot temperatures in some locations, in Anchorage those temperatures are seen so seldom that a day over 75 degrees is often described as blistering.  Reicher Vom Hausreid and Vincent started their BH on the long down, but just as Vince was stepping away, Reicher decided joining his family's picnic would be a lot more fun than platzing in the sun so off the field he ran.  In an instant he was at the picnic table, gave each of the family members a kiss and flopped down in the shade ignoring each of the calls from his handler.  Although disqualified, Reicher and Vince played dummy dog on leash for Lex and Jim's SchH 1 obedience.  Lex turned in a less than stellar performance, only earning 52 points. 

 

The next team on the field was Kassina and Kelly for their SchH 3 obedience and Midnight Sun's Badger and Jeanine for their Obedience 1.  Kassina and Kelly earned a very respectable 86 and were a joy to watch.  Badger and Jeanine, however, showed a very different picture.  Although Badger did a perfect long down, performance deteriorated swiftly after the gunshots on the off-leash portion of the exercises.  Although never actually leaving the field, Badger was neither enthusiastic nor precise in his work and the team only managed to accrue 48 points. 

 

The next group of Obedience routines included the last two SchH 3 teams.  Oz and Jim were up first and received a very good score of 92 while Ivan stirred restlessly on the long down.  Finally, tired of basking in the sun, Ivan decided to sit and wait for his handler to return and take him through the more active part of the obedience routine.  Unfortunately, the warm weather definitely took its toll on Ivan as he and Liv were only able to earn 74 points.