Angus and Kaz are busy and I'm on holiday

It’s been a busy week or so for my little brother Angus as well as for Kaz.

After the bank holiday Kaz went up to Scotland for a couple of days to Police HQ to a course for PolSA’s (Police Search Advisors).  She said it was very interesting learning all about how missing people behave and how different things can influence you when you make decisions about searching for people whether it’s in the town or in the country or hills.  I don’t know – it’s pretty simple for us searchdogs – we just run about like lunatics until we smell someone – we don’t fill out forms or ‘hypothesise’ (Kaz has just told me off – she says that the Police do really important stuff so we searchdogs can go out and do our thing – sorry).

Kaz was tired when she got back but me and Angus still got her up early for a run on the fell – Kaz dropped a hat when she was running (crafty) and on the way back she told me to find it – I did (Angus was too busy eating sheep poo) and I ran backwards and forwards barking very loudly at her.  She gave me a big hug and a play with the tennis ball.  She also told me afterwards that I would need to understand that her and Angus are getting ready to do assessments for the trailing thing and so she might be a bit busy with him but to not worry as she still thinks I’m the best (err, Dottie I’m not sure I actually said that…..).

On Thursday Kaz and Angus went down to Bowland Pennine MRT base for his trailing course.  I stayed at home with Grandpa and Grandma getting lots of fuss and playing with the tennis ball in their garden (and of course supervising what they were doing),  As I didn’t actually go I will let Angus tell you all about it. But before I do Kaz has had some sad news from Dave Benson who was one of the Lakes dog handlers with his search dog Moudy – he also had another lurcher called Mia – sadly Mia died last week and Benny and Moudy miss her very much.  She wasn’t a searchdog but she was as feisty as me and very very fast at running.  Benny’s new dog Brock seems to be making up for Mia.

Gosh, I’m allowed to write in Dottie’s blog – I’m honoured cos normally she just wont let me touch the keyboard (Yep that’s coz you are useless and your paws are too big for the keys).

Shut up Dot, whose story is it?  Anyway me and Kaz went down in the van and she left me in it all on my own like a proper grown up dog until we were ready to train.  Then we all met up together at a country park called Beacon Fell.  They split us into 2 groups – one was the baby dogs who are just starting to learn how to train and they went into the classroom while me and Kaz, Kathy and Tally, Maria and Scarlet and Jamie and Diesel went outside to do some tests.

The first test we all had to do was go to a field and there was 4 markers in a big square about 50x50ft – in this square had been placed a scent of a person on a tiny piece of fabric (they get the scent by rubbing the fabric on the person’s neck).  Kaz had to give me the scent to smell (it was in a little plastic bag which I sniffed) and I had to search the area and when I smelt it I had to show Kaz I found it by lying down.  I wandered around the area and eventually I thought I could smell it but it wasn’t very strong, so I got as close as I could to it (inside some reeds).  Kaz was very pleased.  At the end of the session me and Kaz and Kathy and Tally had found the right scent.

The second test was me and Kaz being shown a line of 3 people in the field and Kaz had to give me the scent in the bag again and then I had to walk along the line a lie down by the correct person which I did.  (We were the only ones that got that test right).

After that we all went inside and were told that Maria and Scarlet, Kathy and Tally and me and Kaz would be doing a proper search.  Kaz was given the hat of a person which she had to keep warm so the smell grows strong (she puts it down her top!) then she was given a scenario that said a man called Brian had been seen in the carpark 4 hours ago and was now missing.  Kaz took me to the carpark and we searched all the way round it after she gave me the scent in the bag and me and her wandered round.  Suddenly I could smell the scent of Brian on the ground by an exit to the carpark so I laid down for Kaz.  She clipped my lead on to the harness and we were off.  We went up a hill for about 100m and the scent had drifted into a wall so I followed it til we got to a crossroads in the woods.  I thought kaz had seen me look to the left as if I was going to walk up there, but she stopped me and told me to walk all the way round the crossroads and tell her which direction he’d walked.  Now, this sounds easy but it’s not – the wind had been behind us and it had blown the scent of Brian across the crossroads and all the way down the other side of the hill. So I followed that for some time until I couldn’t smell it any more.  Kaz eventually realised that I was trying to tell her I couldn’t smell it and so she took me back up to the crossroads and we tried the path to the left side (which was where I originally thought we should have gone).  Sure enough the smell was there and I continued up the hill with Kaz puffing behind me.  We got to the top and another junction – this time Kaz and I went right and eventually we came to a small path on the right.  The wind was on my back again and the scent had been blown straight on.  Kaz realised very quickly that I’d lost the smell so went back to the little path and tried me there – yes I could smell Brian and we worked along that path for a fair while until I suddenly could smell him on the wind and not on the floor.  I dragged Kaz a long way through the Heather and trees and eventually there was Brian sitting on a bench – I laid down and Kaz made a big fuss of me and gave me lots of sausage!  She was very pleased and so was I – the sausage was excellent!

Maria and Scarlet also did a trail which went really well, but Tally had cut her foot and was limping badly and she couldn’t really do it very well so stopped.

Yesterday me and Kaz and Maria and Scarlet did another trail which was 1.4km long with lots of twists and turns and I did ok.  The start was very hard as it was on a busy road with about 5 different exits plus ducks swimming in the river.

Here are Maria and Scarlet at the beginning of theirs. By the way don't be fooled - Maria is a Captain in the US Airforce - she is tiny and Iain is very tall!!

 

Me and Kaz have just got home and we are very tired.  Dottie however, is not and has just chased me round the lounge wanting the laptop back.  Anyway the good news is that me and Kaz will be doing our assessment exams in August – apparently Kaz has a lot of work to do – I’m very good though!

Huh Angus is clearly getting a big head so I’m back in control of the Laptop.  Kaz has told me she wants to do some emails now so I will have to go now.  This week the kitchen is being painted so me and Angus plan to assist in some small way and then hopefully we will be picking up the little caravan at the weekend and be able to disappear away on holidays very soon :-)