Mondioring
9th Annual International
MONDIORING Championships
Lyss, Switzerland
October 10, 11, 12 2003
Click
here for championship Web site
| The American Working Dog Federation (AWDF) Mondioring
Team competed in Lyss at this year’s International Championship of Mondioring.
Team members this year were Augusta Farley, with (Jesse) Julia des Teutones,
FR I, MR I, and Kathy O’Brien with Dynamite OT Vitosha, FR I, MR I. This
was an ‘all girl’ team from California, and both teams did quite well,
scoring within the top ten dogs in Mondioring I. Dyna was the highest scoring
bitch in MR I, followed closely by Jesse. |
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A Portugese handler watches as his Rottweiler does
the Jump over the Hurdle with the Swiss cow in the background. |
The theme of this year’s Championship event was "EXPO,"as
Lyss was the site of an international exposition in the recent past. The
‘props,’ or environmental challenges, included a wide variety of interesting
scenarios. A larger-than-life-sized Swiss milk cow statue resided on one
area of the field, and provided a backdrop for several exercises.
The obstacle in the "Attack over an Obstacle" exercise was a wide,
above ground trough of water filled with brightly colored beach balls.
This proved to be a challenge for several dogs who tried to ‘foot’ the
obstacle on their way over and ended up planting their faces in the water.
None was deterred, but some did get wet! |
Attack over Obstacle |
For the Send Away line, a collection of dozens of large,
brightly colored ‘pool noodles’ were planted in the ground. This added
a bright spot of color and visual interest to that end of the field.
The ‘find blind’ for the Mondioring II Search and Bark exercise was
a large rubber raft, shielded by a semi circle of tarp. The decoy was seated
in the raft, facing IN, toward the back of the ‘blind.’ Dogs had to actually
enter the enclosure to face the seated decoy.
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This exercise proved to be difficult for many of the dogs, who were
not quite sure that this was really the ‘bad guy.'
An unusual variation of the search and bark, but typical of Mondioring
at the Championship level.
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The Change of Positions exercise setup is in background.
The decoy and dog are doing the Face Attack with Accessories. The dog is
a Terveren from France. |
On one end of the field, a ‘village’ of 10-12 brightly colored Schutzhund-style
blinds were gathered in a random pattern. An evergreen hedge was set up
within this ‘village.’ For the exercise Change of Positions, dogs were
left facing the area and handlers were seated behind the greenery, but
still somewhat visible. This was a difficult scenario that combined the
distraction of the blinds with the partial obstruction of the seated handler.
During the Absence exercise, dogs were left in a sit under the head
of the large Swiss cow. An authentic, costumed, Swiss horn player provided
the distraction by playing an eerie melody on his 15-foot horn. |
It was interesting to watch the reaction of many of the dogs to the
large cow. The first exercise that any had to deal with the cow in was
the Search for the Little Wood, or Scent Discrimination. The pieces of
wood were placed just in front of the cow, and many dogs had difficulty
approaching her to select the correct article of wood. The next day, when
the Absence was conducted in her presence, some dogs were quite uneasy
of that big girl!
The handshake in Defense of Handler in Mondioring
2. Note that the decoy shaking hand in BEHIND the handler, and a second
decoy is seated next to her. A very difficult scenario, as many dogs are
accustomed to the decoy HITTING the handler from behind. |
The Defense of Handler in MR II found the handler seated
at the side of the cow on a milking stool after several encounters with
different decoys. Ultimately, the decoy making the hit came up quietly
from behind just after another had raced off out of sight in front of the
dog and handler. The cow played a role in the Defense of Handler for MR
I, also. Handlers were led around the cow by the decoy and instructed to
put both hands on her horns and to stand there. The decoy then circled,
and came back for the hit. Both Jesse and Dyna completed this exercise
successfully.
This is the strike, where the dog is allowed to
bite to defend the handler. Note that handler is seated facing the cow,
milking her. Handler is not allowed to speak to the dog after the departure
line at the beginning of the exercise. |
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This is Daniel Berneuil and his GSD Obelisk, winner
of the French Mondioring Championship this year. This dog is titled in
French Ring, Campagne and Mondioring. Daniel is a GSD breeder, and judge
in all of the above sports. Obelisk is clearing the Pallisade in this photo. |
The Swiss organizers of this event are to
be commended for their efforts and organization. It was very well run,
and set the standard for future events. Our team this year was led by Team
Captain Ann Putegnat, and supported by a number of Americans who traveled
to Europe to be a part of this event. Special thanks are in order for the
European support teams that worked so hard to help prepare our ‘girls’.
Rene Sagarra and his crew in Switzerland helped Kathy and Dyna prepare,
and Margaret McKenna and crew in Belguim assisted Augusta and Jesse. Uniforms
were provided by the AWDF, and supplied by Rott. Bros. |
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