BAGSD West Midlands IGP

If you would like any more info please let me know?

Please find below the important information for the Continued Helper Development weekend at Washington IPO on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th September.

Saturday 5th September - Training and Development Day

Sunday 6th September - Helper Licensing and Supertrophy 2026 Helper Selection

Any helper intending to license must attend both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday is a training and development day only, with licensing assessments taking place on Sunday. Sunday will also include the assessment and selection of licensed helpers wishing to be considered for the BAGSD Supertrophy 2026.

For all those decoys & helpers, you’ve got to be glad the hyena isn’t in the IGP world!

A comparison between the jaws of a gray wolf and a spotted hyena

Both predators possess powerful jaws, but the spotted hyena's is specially adapted for crushing and consuming bone, giving it one of the strongest bites among land mammals

Today we met the extremely enthusiastic Bella and her handler Anastasiia Konchukova
Bella is only 8 months old and the team said a joy to watch for her first IGP taster.
Thank you to Anastasiia & her partner, we hope today has encouraged you to join the club 😊

Welcome to Maikel Jansen or Mike and Zeke the Cane Corso who is nearly two years old.

Dogs have always been a big part of Mike’s life. He is the Secretary and Treasurer for the Italian Cane Corso club of Great Britain, where he is actively involved in supporting the breed and helping promote responsible ownership, structure, and proper representation.

Mike is currently working towards Zeke’s BH and starting their IGP journey with West Midlands IGP. They are off to a great start and he’s looking forward to learning, developing as a handler, and seeing where the sport takes them both 😊

Argo took a short hiatus due to his handler selfishly going on holiday! Good to have you back in all your Giant Schnauzer glory today with Stuart Owen

Gill Raddings lovely piece in the Daily Mail today about beloved Tervuren Wellard 😊

All dogs go to heaven: Famous four-legged friends that have died

All dogs go to heaven: Famous four-legged friends that have died The Patterdale Terrier mix had passed away at the age of 13, having cemented himself as a key part of BBC 's Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing.

Thank you to our guest trainer/helper Katy Howard for putting David Russell and Narla through her paces today to get her trial ready.
For those who know Katy, you know how good she is and for those that don’t Katy owns the incredible Hella Blessed (100 points on tracking!) and Bea, who has scored 3 IGP 3’s.
Bea is sister to our clubs Narla and comes from the Argonne/Kathago line ☺️
Few photos of Hella, Bea & Katy in action.

Meet Saxon …… and Jackie Jeanneret for our member intro 😊. It’s always interesting on how people get into the sport and like most of us Jackie story is just by chance …..

The chance meeting in a local park saw Jackie take Saxon to BAGSD West Midlands for an assessment with the view to joining. The club took a shine to Saxon who was then 18 months old and with the help on offer Jackie’s fate was sealed - having no idea how if would become such a massive new past time.

Saxon thrived, even with, as Jackie says - ‘the old girl lagging behind him but I was very encouraged by my new friends and we went on to get our BH in June 23 followed by our IGP1 in Aug 24’

The latest competition for IGP2 in January this year was a disappointment but a good learning curve. Snow was heavy and Jackie felt she let Saxon down by calling him back to do a restart … but the encouragement from other members, sharing their failed attempts and mishaps made her realise the support on offer is such a valued thing to have within the club.

Jackie said ‘meeting my dog’s genetic traits is so rewarding and I’m happy to be the proud owner of a well balanced, well behaved German shepherd who will continue to thrive in the sport’

We’re proud of you two as well and you’re a great asset to our club 🥰

Something we all have in common. Is it the first training ball of choice? No idea, but have to say they get all our dogs excited.
Just remember to hold the right end, a mistake you only make once at that speed 🖐️ 😂
Courtesy of Saxon, Argo & Max

Sun was out yesterday, along with the hail 🤔 nethertheless who doesn’t like a good action send away - our dogs seem to!