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Kayoz Vom Diener (Oz) and Jim drew the first SchH 3 track.  Oz began the track with a deep nose, and continued in this fashion until the last corner where she lost the scent for a moment before picking it up again.  Perhaps missing the corner caused her some confusion because she then went forward and continued tracking right past the last article.  The team scored  91 for their performance.  Next on the field were Harry Von Den Jungen Hansen (Ivan) and Liv.  Their work earned 81 points.  Last to track was Kasina Vom Haus Grossen Hund and Kelly.  Kassina lifted her head in response to commotion in the road nearby and was crooked when indicating a couple articles, but overall her performance was good for 93 points. 

By the time breakfast was finished and we had gathered at the Hundeplatz Field in Anchorage's Kincaid Park, the wind had kicked up considerably.  Although the sun was still shining, the air was cool, which was a welcome relief from the scorching 75 degree heat we had anticipated.  The two teams for the BH were on the field first.  Chrilo's Kona Nut Jones and Chris proceeded across the field for the long down while Prinzessin Zena Vom Schlacht and Jeanine began obedience.  Zena's enthusiasm for her work resulted in a performance that was less than perfect, but coupled with an excellent long down she passed.  Kona's flawless long down and respectable obedience performance also earned a passing score.  The two BH teams then waited for the others to complete their obedience before attempting the traffic and temperament portions of their test.  Both BH teams passed all phases without incident.

Next on the field for obedience were Brandy and Roy for their SchH 1 and Ike and Doug for their SchH 2.  Ike performed with excessive energy and enthusiasm.  Unfortunately, as Judge Hamilton pointed out, his obedience for this college level title was imprecise as a result and the team lost numerous points to end with a score of 76.  Brandy and Roy's performance was mostly correct, but lacked the overall attentive picture so important in the sport.  They earned 70 points. 

Kassina and Kelly were the first team up for SchH 3 obedience.  Although technically correct in most exercises, they lost points for lack of attention and minor infractions.  Overall, they placed high in obedience in this trial with a score of 84.  Next up were Ivan and Liv for obedience, while Oz and Jim took their positions for the long down.  Ivan and Liv had a good score accumulating 83 points, loosing points for imprecision during certain exercises.  Oz and Jim gave a very nice performance earning 93 points.  Most points were lost when Oz decided to take just a few more steps to follow Jim during the stand-in-motion exercises.

This is the first trial in which we have utilized front half and back half helpers.  While the dogs and handlers didn't have trouble with that, some helper and handler error resulted in disappointment for more than one team.  Brandy and Roy were up first and completed the blind search and bark-and-hold in fine form.  During the attack on the handler, Brandy gripped fully and hard, but when the helper stepped on her foot she, understandably, let go.  She regripped right away, but was more tentative in her work.  Immediately faced with a new helper for the courage test, Brandy was not able to recover, refused to engage and was dismissed from the field.

Again during the protection, Ike's enthusiasm impacted on his obedience so he and Doug lost points for a score of 82 and a designation of pronounced.   Kassina and Kelly began with an impressive blind search, and a slightly tentative bark-and-hold.  Kelly took her position behind the blind for the callout, and had to give two commands to get Kasina out of the blind.  An improper placement of the dog during the escape almost cost the team their title as Kassina held firmly after the platz command and wasn't sure if she should get up to chase the helper.  Finally, she did engage the helper, and the team finished all the protection exercises for 85 points and an overall high in trail score of 262.  Next up were Ivan and Liv.  The day had remained cool so Ivan was in good form for protection.  The blind search was without fault, although Ivan did tend to bother the helper during the bark-and-hold.  The crowd held their breath as Liv issued a second command to Aus after the escape, and was quite relieved when Ivan finally did release the sleeve.   Overall, Ivan presented a nice picture, losing most of his points for bothering the helper.  They finished high in protection, with a score of 86 points and an overall score of 250.

Oz and Jim took the field with confidence.  Oz's blind search was spectacular.  Her bark-and-hold was serious and energetic.  Knowing the next step was to return to Jim, Oz anticipated and performed that task without a command.  Since she had returned to Jim early he was out of position for the escape.  Oz platzed quickly on command and dug her nails into the ground, ready to leap up and chase the helper.  Jim completed his part of the exercise and took up his position in the blind, unfortunately in full view of Oz.  Not a dog to make the same mistake twice, Oz now waited expectantly for Jim to give her a command to engage the helper as he ran away.  Tragically, this exercise is one in which the dog must act independently of the handler so Oz and Jim were dismissed.  Later, Judge Mike Hamilton advised club members how to avoid this error in the future.

The Kenai Schutzhund Club would like to thank our trail secretary-Valerie, photographer-Ginger, front half helper-Roman, back half helper-Hans, SchH 2 & 3 tracklayer-Hans and dummy dog and handler-Junior Vom Haus Grossen Hund and Tom.  We also thank our judge Mike Hamilton for his insight and astute observations.