Untitled Page

Pre-Novice Class

1^st (97 points) - Entry No. 29: Venus (Miniature Schnauzer) owned by Poon Sow Fun

A worthy winner, this team exemplified the spirit of the heel exercise of working as a team with the handler giving quiet encouragement. I liked in particular their left turns which were sharp and smart. However, they should work on the figure-of-eight where there was lagging, with the handler pacing to cover the weakness. Perfect score for Stand Stay. Lost one point for a slightly crooked sit in front, but the finish was smart and brisk. Sailed through both stay exercises. Well done!

2^nd (95 points) - Entry No. 10: Great Growkenn Agnes (Golden Retriever) owned by Helena Hon

I was impressed by how motivated the dog was, happily going about its work with tail wagging all the time. Again I see weakness in the figure-of-eight. Lagging in the right loop and crowding in the left loop. The about turns were, however, smart and crisp. Lost one point in the Recall for a crooked finish. Scored full marks for the rest of the exercises.

3^rd (94 points) - Entry No. 17: Halamac Finn (Golden Retriever) owned by Max LeeTiong Huat

This team showed what precision heelwork is all about. They have perfected the art. However, they lost too many precious points in the figure-of-eight, wide heeling in the right loop and crowding in the left loop. The sit at the end was a bit too slow for my liking. The Stand Stay exercise was confidently executed with the dog watching the handler all the time. Lost two points in the Recall with a poor finish. Scored full marks for the rest of the exercises.

4^th (93 points) - Entry No. 9: Reinken Twinkle (Dalmatian) owned by Helena How

I liked the good smart pace with which this team performed the heel exercise. Once again, I see weakness in the figure-of-eight, with lagging in the right loop and crowding in the left loop. The dog lost a bit of concentration and lagged towards the end. Lost points in the Recall for a poor sit in front. Scored full marks for the other exercises.

Passed (92 points) - Entry No. 2: Little Kingdom Striker (Golden Retriever) owned by Leong Vit Cheng

I liked the smart about turns done by this team. But I did not like the way the handler continuously adjusted himself to compensate for the dog’s imperfect stands (which cost them points). Slight lagging in the figure-of-eight. Lost one point in the Stand Stay when the dog moved a leg. Lost another point for a crooked sit in front in the Recall. Scored full marks in both the stay exercises.

Passed (91 points) - Entry No.33: Dormin Bessy (Border Collie) owned by David Lim Seng Loke

This team scored full marks in all the exercises except for Heel On Lead. Was particularly impressed by the Recall which was so smartly executed. However, more work needs to be done for the heelwork. I got the impression that the beginning of the heelwork was too fast resulting in the handler having to tag the dog for the first sit as well as the first about turn (of course this cost them points). After that, they settled into a more comfortable pace but was let down in the figure-of-eight lagging in the right loop and crowding in the left loop. Sit at the end was a bit slow.

Passed (90 points) - Entry No. 6: Cravia Loves Cameroon (Australian Silky Terrier) owned by Lim Aik Ming

Overall, this team did a good Heel on Lead except that the stands were weak, with the dog standing wide, crooked or too far forward. There was a hint of lagging which the handler tried to cover up by pacing. Again they lost good points in the Stand Stay because of a wide and crooked stand. In the Recall, the sit in front was a bit one sided. Scored full marks in both stay exercises.

Passes (88 points) - Entry No. 24: Galbadia Kennel Crystal (Border Collie) owned by Low Khai Shin

This team needs to work on perfecting the sits and the stands (the sits were crooked and wide and the stands were crooked). There was also obvious lagging in the right turn, about turn and at the figure-of-eight. Again, the stand was crooked in the Stand Stay exercise. And again, the sit was wide and crooked in the Recall. Scored full marks in both the stay exercises.

Passed (87 points) - Entry No. 27: Sukran Pearlflakes Jollie (Jack Russel) owned by Surenthiran

This team would have shared the top spot if not for fouling the ring and incurring a penalty of 10 points. They did an almost perfect heel routine and lost only one point for a bit of crowding at the figure-of-eight. I was particularly impressed by the smart right turns. Scored full marks for the other exercises except for Recall where they lost one point for a slightly crooked sit in front.

Passed (87 points) - Entry No. 11: Loaching Kiwi Reber (Golden Retriever) owned by Helena Hon

Lost most of the points in the heel exercise because of lagging, particularly when executing the right turn and the figure-of-eight. Handler should also be careful about touching the dog at the figure-of-eight. Lost points in the Stand Stay for imperfect positioning. Some points lost for a crooked sit in front as well as for an untidy finish when the handler dropped the lead in the Recall exercise. Scored full marks for both the stay exercises.

Passed (83 points) - Entry No. 31: Garvenmal First Maple (Miniature Schnauzer) owned by Cherie Chooi

Lost quite a bit of points in the heel exercise because of imperfect sits and lagging. The sits were either crooked or the dog was sitting behind. The lagging took place at the about turn, right turn as well as at the figure-of-eight. Lost many points for missing a sit in the middle of the figure-of-eight. The stand was wide at the Stand Stay. In the Recall, the sit in front was too far away and the finish was wide and out of position.

Passed (78 points) - Entry No. 26: Dash (Border Collie) owned by Jimmy J M Lim

The dog required too much of tagging to get it into position, to get it to sit, at the left turn and twice at the figure-of-eight. The sits were crooked and required additional body language by the handler. Careful correction is required to prevent the dog from being too exuberant when it has the tendency to jump on the handler. Again, too much tagging was applied during the Stand Stay. The Recall was good and brisk and the finish was neatly done, however, the sit in the beginning was a bit slow. Scored full marks for both the stay exercises.

Passed (77 points) - Entry No. 14: Levinhow Athena (Miniature Schnauzer) owned by Samantha How Keng Huet

Just managed to scrape through the heel exercise with 20 points to qualify. Most of the points were lost for missing two sits. Apart from that, the dog was heeling very wide at the figure-of-eight as well as at the left turn. Handler also has to be careful about the tight lead. The sit in front was crooked in the Recall. Scored full marks in the other exercises.

Failed (78 points) - Entry No. 30: Yatch (Boston Terrier) owned by Wong Swee Kay

The overall score of 78 points is a qualifying score. However, this team failed because they scored only 8 points in the Recall during which the dog did not complete the sit in front as well as the finish. In the heelwork, the handler needs to be a bit careful about giving additional signal with his footwork when doing a halt. Precision training for the sits and stands is necessary as the dog tends to sit and stand out of position. There was lagging at the figure-of-eight. Apart from that, full marks scored for Stand Stay and both the stay exercises.

Failed (73 points) - Entry No. 35: Roy (Non-Pedigree) owned by Ti-Ratana Orphanage

This dog was handled by young Ambalagan from the orphanage. The total score of 73 points is a credible passing score, but I could not pass this team as they only scored 17 points for heelwork due to a missed stand and a missed sit, apart from unnecessary tagging and some lagging. The heelwork should have been done at a faster pace. The sit in front was out of position in the Recall. Scored full marks for Stand Stay and both the stay exercises. Still, it was a very good try.

Failed (68 points) - Entry No. 21: Pearlite Clover Leave Guiletta (Dobermann) owned by Dominic Hong

Need to do some precision training for the sits and stands as they were out of position during heelwork. There was also lagging and crowding in the figure-of-eight. The stand in the Stand Stay was also out of position. Similarly, the sit in front in the Recall was also out of position. Broke the Sit Stay and lost some points in the Down Stay because the dog did not go down together with the others.

Failed (66 points) - Entry No. 8: Toffee (Poodle) owned by Yong Chee Hoong

At times the dog appeared distracted and kept smelling the ground. The handler had to tag to regain control at the about turn and also to get the dog to sit. Again, tagging was applied when the dog lagged at the figure-of-eight. Tagging was also applied during Stand Stay. In the Recall, the dog broke the stay and also missed the sit in front.

Failed (65 points) - Entry No. 4: Rabgon Jessrina Of X’mas (Chihuahua) owned by Lee Kong Hoong

Just managed to scrape through the heel exercise with 20 points because of two missed stands (dog sat instead) and a missed sit (handler had to give the sit command three times). No points were deducted when the dog was distracted by the two stewards walking across. Scored full marks for Stand Stay, Recall and Sit Stay, but broke the Down Stay.

Failed (57 points) - Entry No. 5: Rabgon Jessera Jessca (Chihuahua) owned by Lee Kong Hoong

Most of the points lost in the heel exercise were for repeated commands given by the handler for the dog to sit on four occasions. Apart from that, the stands were out of position and there was some lagging. In the Recall, the handler had to give the command to sit, and still the sit was slow and out of position. Broke the Down Stay upon handler’s return. Full marks for Stand Stay and Sit Stay.

Failed (50 points) - Entry No. 34: Knight (Non-Pedigree) owned by Ti-Ratana Orphanage

Another young handler from the orphanage by the name of Chiew Chee Hoo. This team did not do too well as they only managed to scrape through the heel exercise with 20 points, but failed in the Stand Stay and Recall because the dog would not respond to the stand and come command respectively. However, they scored full marks for the Sit Stay and Down Stay.

Failed (31 points) - Entry No. 32: Floraview Brunored (Shih Tzu) owned by Jessie Lim Punn Eng

This team did not do well in the heel exercise. Missed three sits and a stand. Another two sits were achieved with additional guidance by the handler. Required tagging for the about turn. There was lagging at the figure-of-eight. The Stand Stay was out of position. Broke the stay in the Recall and Down Stay but was OK for the Sit Stay.