Brindle + Black

As mentioned in the earlier post on 23/01, assessment D Day for young Tama has been looming.
Sunday 10th was the big day and we were up bright and early at the site, ready for the day's challenges. Passing is mandatory inorder to join the national training programme and begin the process to follow in big brother's footsteps. The assessment includes a number of different test elements to gauge the different drive levels in the candidates - these being Retrieve, Hunt, Prey, Object and Game drives. High drive intensity is crucial for what these dogs will be asked to do, throughout their working lives.
Happily Tama and his mate Lace both performed on cue, so the NZUSAR Search Dog programme now has 2 new entrants !!

The journey to become qualified can take up to 18 months dependent upon a number of factors, as both handler and K9 must qualify together as a team. Progression through the 6 progress check stages prior to Operational assessment, is different for each dog as their individual strengths and weaknesses are identified and worked through. Tama being from strong bird dog stock ( his sire , a purebred Hungarian Vizsla is used to hunt deer and waterfowl ), has a natural tendency to use his eyes and ears to pin point subjects, so will need to be taught to air scent as the default. All USAR dogs airscent to find buried and hidden subjects, constantly working the scent cone to hone in and eventually alert on the most concentrated point. The process is incredible to watch and allows an operational dog to reliably cover a huge area in a very short time frame. I'm looking forward to working with young Tama and seeing how he develops - an exciting future for both of us!

Bryn the seasoned pro, like a fine wine just becomes better with age ! He's a joy to work with and a great mentor for the young lad. Karl Bevin, the master behind the lens, has again captured a brilliant shot of Bryn during a training run over the agility course - just magic !!
Karl has finally got a webpage up and running , so please have a look and contact him if you are interested in getting some work done. Check him out at https://karlbevin.myportfolio.com as he's creating a great collection of work. Till next time .......