Instead of one day of testing on Interior, Vehicle, Exterior, and Container searches, an Element Specialty Trial is a half day of one type of search. Often a hosting club will offer two element trials and a dog must enter for each and be randomly drawn to participate. For this weekend, Niven, Torch, and Tarot were wait listed for the Container Element Trial, but only Tarot got selected for the Interior Search Trial.
I was not sure what to expect because this type of trial is still new and I have not had the opportunity to enter any. Interiors were scheduled to start at noon, so it was weird to sleep in and get a late start. I did not stop anywhere for a walk because I was not sure how Tarot would handle a second day and wanted energy. In hindsight I should have because the walk really does help when the trial parking lot is restricted.
The briefing was held in the parking lot to minimize the number of times we all needed to walk up the hill. By now, everyone was exhausted so it was welcomed. There was to be no walk through of the search areas, so it was a challenge to remember everything about the search area from working it. There was also no debriefing to gain insight into hide placements and outcomes, but it was nice to finish the last round of searches and leave.
We were running 18th in order and there were two rounds of searches. Rooms 1 and 2 ran first with an immediate start of Rooms 3 and 4.
Room 1 Search
It took a while to hop through the staging areas until finally we were hidden behind one of the buildings. The first search was being held in a lower level room we had been passed a few times the day before. While approaching the doorway I had to make the fast decision to work on or off lead by simply looking through metal wire meshed windows. From what I could tell, the room was about 20 x 10, had large Coke Bottles in each corner and a table in the center. Tarot could cover more ground without a lead.
We walked to the threshold, waited while her nose twitched, and I released her into the room. Immediately, she went to the Coke bottle in the upper left corner and nose trailed to the floor underneath. I figured this was the hide and was about to call it when Tarot pulled off and started to circle that side of the room. Eventually she went back to the spot, backed up and turned to me with the silliest look on her face as if to say, "hey look what I found way over there". I could not make the call with from three feet away and put my hands up while asking her to "do better than that". Still pleased with herself, but seemingly annoyed, she went back to the spot and stuck her nose to the spot. I called the alert and got a laughing "yes" from the judge.
Room 2 Search
We had one staging area to wait in before being lead into the Ladies Room of the trial's main building. The entry way was a walled corridor without a door so this search was to be conducted on lead. We walked down the bricked hallway to the end where the threshold line was marked on the floor.
Tarot was drawn toward the sink area, where she started to work the plumbing underneath. I thought it was a strong possibility it could be there and when the nose stopped for a second, I almost called the alert. Instead, I kept my mouth shut and was relieved when Tarot pulled away and stuck her head in a short trash can placed against the wall. Not sticking to anything in indication, she moved around the area, but tight to the open area. We went back the sink area, beneath and above and suddenly the trash can became the focus.
Once again, Tarot stuck her head in the trashcan and backed up to stick her nose on the left side rim. I called the alert and got a "yes".
Back at the van, both of us comfortable, I looked up. Tarot was content in her crate, front legs stretched out and her head laying on top, totally asleep.
All I could think was, "it is recharging".
Room 3 Search
I had to wait for the door to open to make the decision to go off lead. Smaller than the first room, I elected to let Tarot go and stay close to the doorway to not crowd the room. Standing there for an extra minute or two, Tarot's nose twitched and when released, was off to the back of the small room where she took interest under the bunk bed on the left.
Breaking away, she quickly sniffed around the other bed and circled around to air trail to the computer chair set between the two beds. When she paused, it dawned on me this was the hide and I called alert for another "yes".
Room 4 Search
Identical to Room 3, I decided to repeat my handling. We stood outside in what was the previous day's Exterior Search area, which seemed less ominous and cluttered. When the judge was set for us to start, we moved to the threshold, paused a second or two, and I let Tarot go.
To be expected, she moved straight to the table placed in the same spot as the computer chair in the previous room. She figured out pretty quickly this was not the same search and began to focus on the bunk bed on the right side of the room. There was a lot of sniffing along the frame until finally her nose dropped to floor level and stopped on the bunk foot.
After two days of searching and countless times of walking up the hill, I was fried. Trying to watch Tarot's nose as her body covered two rooms did me in. I hoped that what I was about to do was right and called the alert. I was more than relieved to hear the "yes".
I enjoyed the Interior Element trial, especially for the challenge. These trials are more intense and need quick decisions not required for the 'standard' trial. Also, there are no pronounce designations or placements awarded in specialty trials, so the results from the day were pulled from the NACSW's website when they were later posted. We did fairly well.
Level 1 Interiors
Tarot was awarded her L1I Title
Placed 4th in Overall Searches
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| Tarot's Level 1 Interior Trial - May 8, 2016 |
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