Fire and Ice the Malinois

I’ve been a bit slow posting lately! So here is a round up of what Fire has been up to recently.

On 3rd August I took Fire for a level 1 scentwork trial with Competition Scent Dogs. I’m very pleased to say we won! We also got a clean sweep (found all the hides). We just need to pass one more trial consisting of a building and area search, then we will be able to move up to level 2. We then went on to a photoshoot, I wanted one with powder shots, but Fire had other ideas, so we ended up with some nice plain shots instead!

We finished the people scanning scentwork course too, were Fire gets to scan people and luggage. We had a few volunteers on the final day, so we could pretend we were in an airport scanning passengers, which was great fun!

Then on the 11th Sept our club ran a mock frisbee championship. It was a fun day, but boy was the weather challenging. I think we got all 4 seasons in one day, including hail, thunder and heavy rain. I’m chuffed to say Fire won our handler division and then went on to win the whole comp.

On Friday 13th Sept I took Fire to Darlington Champ show. We walked away with a first and best veteran in breed. We did stay for the veteran group but sadly didn’t get placed. Annoyingly we were announced as a Belgian Shepherd Tervuren, not Malinois 🤦🏻‍♀️

And on finally Saturday 14th Sept was the UK leg of the K9 Frisbee Toss and Fetch World Championships, were we get to compete against other qualifying frisbee dogs across the world. Fire came out top in the handle division here in the UK!

On top of all this we have started canicrossing again, only this time we are being accompanied by Dora the Bouvier, so Fire is busy showing Dora the ropes!

Fire is such a multi talented dog, she will have a go at whatever I wish to try. Such a special little girl.

Well we’ve had a good couple of weekends recently.

On the 28th July I took Fire to Leeds championship show, followed by the Northern Belgian Shepherd Dog open show (Norbel). We were placed second in the veteran classed at Leeds. Fire did even better at Norbel. She won her class, was awarded best veteran bitch, then best veteran in breed. We went in to challenge for best bitch and she won reserve Best Bitch. We were then called back in to challenge for reserve Best of Breed, because Best of Breed was won by the female that won Best Bitch. Fire only went and won Reserve Best of Breed. Unfortunately we couldn’t challenge for best veteran in show, because the dog which won best in show (a groenendael) was also a veteran, so it automatically won best veteran in show too. Still not a bad haul! Who’d have thought at 7 years old she’d finally be okay with being shown!

Then on 3rd August we entered a level 1 scentwork trial with Competition Scent Dogs, and won that as well! We only lost 1 point too, and that was my fault. We also got a clean sweep, meaning Fire found all the hides, plus she ignored the decoys. We just need to win one more level 1 trial, which will be an area and building search, then we can enter Level 2.

So very proud of my little princess.

I took Fire to the National Working and Pastoral Breeds Championship Show on 13th July.

She behaved beautifully both in the ring and outside, including not tripping me up when running round the ring, lol. I’m pleased to say she walked away with a first place and best veteran in breed. Unfortunately I forgot about the pastoral veteran group, so she didn’t get her moment to shine again. Hopefully we will get another chance to represent the breed in a veteran group 🤞🏻

Fire really seems to be coming into her own these days. She really is a special girl.

I took Fire to do the Chief Inspector assessment from The College Of Scent Dogs Ltd on Saturday 20th July. I’m really pleased to say she passed.

It was quite a large search area consisting of 2 separate areas and 2 route searches. There were 7 hides out in total, with potential for the odours to be one of the following, Cloves, Gun oil, CBD oil, Truffle oil, Ammo or SIM card. In the end it was a combination of CBD, Clove and Gun oil. It was also quite warm, but thankfully not as hot as it’s been. There was a bit of a breeze pushing the odour around a bit too.

Fire was ace! In fact she was one of only 2 (I think) dogs that found all 7 hides. She really blows me away, some of the things she searches without a prompt from me, she amazes me. There are only a handful of dog and handler teams which have passed this assessment.

I took Fire to Birtley & District Canine Society’s open show yesterday. I’m happy to say she won her class and then went on to win best of breed. We’ve had a gap of about 6 years in her showing career because she wasn’t happy to be handled by a judge. I think she has decided it’s ok now!

Last Sunday I took Fire to a Competition Scent Dog trial. We had to search a vehicle (my rather grotty, rusty van) and do something called a route search. The type of search we do is based on operational searching, so we use the same system they do to search a vehicle/building/ area/route.

I’m really pleased to say not only did we find all the hides, so gaining a clean sweep, but we also came first. In fact we only dropped one point, and that was my fault not hers.

Thank you to Jenny Dyer from Selby Sniffers K9 Scentwork for organising and judging the trial.

Ice has had a bit of a rough time this last week. I noticed his muzzle was swollen on one side. When I took him to the vets, I spotted some blood coming from his mouth. When the vet checked she spotted on tooth was broken off right at the base and suggested I had it removed. However when she X-rayed his jaw she saw the other 3 front teeth on his upper jaw had also been impacted by whatever he has done. So they had to come out too. Plus he had developed an infection, hence the swollen muzzle.

He came home Saturday evening with missing teeth and a stitched up gum. Loads more meds to add to his arthritis meds, so he now rattles when he walks.

I’m happy to report his muzzle is back to where it should be, with the swelling all gone. The loss of his teeth doesn’t seem to be worrying him, although I am currently hand feeding him just so he doesn’t damage his top gum. He goes for a check up this afternoon. So fingers crossed everything is healing as it should be.

Fire got Mail on Saturday. I took her to Darlington Champ show back in September where she won the reserve challenge certificate. This means she has gained her stud book number. Not bad for her first show in over 5 years!

I was asked to run Fire as the white dog at a recent scentwork trial. This means Fire finds the hides before the trail starts, it helps us check that hide placements are good. We also can see if and how any wind is effecting odour movement, so where a dog might pick up the odour and where it might indicate the source of that odour is. Here are a few photos from the search. Fire did a great job.

On the 17th September I took Fire to Darlington Champ show. This is the first time in over 5 years that she has been shown, mainly because she wasn’t keen on judges touching her - something they have to do! Anyway, I think maturity and canine massages have helped, because she stood like a rock when the judge went over her. We actually walked away with the Reserve Challenge certificate. This means if the dog that won the challenge certificate is disqualified for some reason (rarely happens) the challenge certificate would then go to Fire. You need 3 challenge certificates under 3 different judges to become a champion.

I’m so pleased with Fire, she did actually show her little socks off.

I’ll let the stewards off for spelling my name wrong, lol

Ice has retired from scentwork and Mantrailing, because he has been diagnosed with arthritis of the spine. So we just do bits and bobs at home, including trick training and wag-it smart dog.

Fire still does frisbee toss and fetch, scentwork, trick training, wag-it shadow skills and smart dog, plus we are learning hoopers. Although we didn’t do that well in the latest season of toss and fetch, only scoring a final total of 100 points. Mainly because I am still struggling to throw into the 2 point zone and it was a 90/5 season, which means we have 90 seconds to throw and our best 5 catches count. Hopefully next season we will score better