Following consultation with the Dog Health Group, the Kennel Club has confirmed that, from 1^st August 2018, any DNA health test result submitted for inclusion on its database must have at least two forms of identification on the result certificate.   

It will be mandatory to include the dog’s microchip or tattoo number along with either the dog’s registered name or registered number. Any test results that do not carry these identifying features will not be accepted.

This brings the recording of DNA test results in line with those health tests carried out by the British Veterinary Association.

The Kennel Club is calling for anyone interested in becoming an Obedience Accredited Trainer for the judges’ training programme to get in touch.

This judges’ training programme has been developed over a period of time and follows the requirements already in place for those involved in judging other canine activities. It underlines the Kennel Club’s commitment to maintaining and improving the standard of judges and judging at official Kennel Club licensed events and, in so doing, ensures the quality of dogs and the value of awards they receive at these events.

As part of the training programme, the Kennel Club has a number of Accredited Trainers for each discipline, who are responsible for delivering each seminar and conducting the examination. All of the Accredited Trainers are established judges of long standing and have attended training and assessment sessions prior to their appointment in order to prove their own knowledge and competence in delivering the seminar syllabus. There is a good geographical spread of trainers to ensure that each area of the country is covered to minimise distances for those attending seminars.

The Kennel Club is now inviting applications from interested parties who would like to be considered for the position of Obedience Accredited Trainer. Any candidates interested in applying need to meet the following criteria:

• Five or more years of regular judging experience.
• Be eligible to judge Championship Class C.
• Good presentation and teaching skills are essential.
• Have attended and passed the exam for the Obedience Regulations and Judging Procedure seminar and attended the Test Design and Practice of Judging Seminar.
• A willingness to travel to deliver seminars.

Those interested should send their applications to the Working Dog Activities Team, The Kennel Club, Clarges Street, London W1J 8AB or via email to obedience@thekennelclub.org.uk by Friday 22^nd June 2018.

Assessments for all applicants will take place on 10^th July 2018 at the Kennel Club Building, Stoneleigh. More information will be sent to those who apply.

The Kennel Club has recently approved changes to the regulations for obedience, agility, working trials, heelwork to music, rally and flyball.

With effect from 1^st January 2019, the following regulations have been amended to encourage clubs to give careful consideration to circumstances before withdrawing a judging contract, and to ensure that they had a clear rationale for doing so.

Amendment to Regulation G34.b

TO:

…You should note that we reserve the right to cancel the contract before the date of the appointment if there is a change in your circumstances, which in our reasonable opinion would adversely affect your ability to fulfil the appointment. Clubs may cancel a judging appointment where there is clear evidence that the judge’s ability to fulfil the appointment has been adversely affected, or in consultation with the judge.

(Insertion underlined.)

Amendment to Regulation H18.b

TO:

…You should note that we reserve the right to cancel the contract before the date of the appointment if there is a change in your circumstances, which in our reasonable opinion would adversely affect your ability to fulfil the appointment. Clubs may cancel a judging appointment where there is clear evidence that the judge’s ability to fulfil the appointment has been adversely affected, or in consultation with the judge.

(Insertion underlined.)

Amendment to Regulation I27.a

TO:

…You should note that we reserve the right to cancel the contract before the date of the appointment if there is a change in your circumstances, which in our reasonable opinion would adversely affect your ability to fulfil the appointment. Clubs may cancel a judging appointment where there is clear evidence that the judge’s ability to fulfil the appointment has been adversely affected, or in consultation with the judge.

(Insertion underlined.)

Amendment to Regulation L17.b

TO:

…You should note that we reserve the right to cancel the contract before the date of the appointment if there is a change in your circumstances, which in our reasonable opinion would adversely affect your ability to fulfil the appointment. Clubs may cancel a judging appointment where there is clear evidence that the judge’s ability to fulfil the appointment has been adversely affected, or in consultation with the judge.

(Insertion underlined.)

Amendment to Regulation S20.b

TO:

…You should note that we reserve the right to cancel the contract before the date of the appointment if there is a change in your circumstances, which in our reasonable opinion would adversely affect your ability to fulfil the appointment. Clubs may cancel a judging appointment where there is clear evidence that the judge’s ability to fulfil the appointment has been adversely affected, or in consultation with the judge.

(Insertion underlined.)

Amendment to Regulation V18.b

TO:

…You should note that we reserve the right to cancel the contract before the date of the appointment if there is a change in your circumstances, which in our reasonable opinion would adversely affect your ability to fulfil the appointment. Clubs may cancel a judging appointment where there is clear evidence that the judge’s ability to fulfil the appointment has been adversely affected, or in consultation with the judge.

(Insertion underlined.)

The next meeting of the Kennel Club Obedience Liaison Council will be held at the Kennel Club in London on Thursday 19^th July 2018. Proposals for inclusion on the agenda should reach the Obedience Liaison Council Secretary by Friday 20^th April.

Each eligible society or an individual may submit items for the agenda, through a council representative. Proposals must be concise and, if an amendment or an additional regulation is proposed, the regulation number must be given. All submissions must be signed by the society/individual and the representative.

All items for inclusion on the agenda should be sent to Working Dog Activities Team, The Kennel Club, Clarges Street, London W1J 8AB or by email to obedience@thekennelclub.org.uk.

A full list of Obedience Liaison Council representatives can be found at www.thekennelclub.org.uk/activities/obedience/obedience-liaison-council.

Dog lovers can look forward to a record-breaking 14 hours of television coverage when Crufts returns to Channel 4 and More4 this March to celebrate the world’s largest dog show. This is two and a half hours more than the 2017 show which was then a record in itself.

With Clare Balding at the helm, Channel 4 and More4 will broadcast all the action from the show, leading up to the grand finale on Sunday when Best in Show will be crowned.

This year Channel 4 will be broadcasting an extra one-hour programme from the show in the afternoon on all four days, including a new show on the Wednesday before Crufts begins.

WEDNESDAY 7^th MARCH

1500-1600 – Channel 4 Crufts Daily Show

THURSDAY 8^th MARCH

1500-1600 – Channel 4 Crufts Daily Show

1830-2000 – More4 Crufts

2000-2100 – Channel 4 Crufts

FRIDAY 9^th MARCH

1500-1600 – Channel 4 Crufts Daily Show

1830-1930 – More4 Crufts

1930-2100 – Channel 4 Crufts

SATURDAY 10^th MARCH

1630-1730 – Channel 4 Crufts Daily Show

1900-2100 – Channel 4 Crufts

SUNDAY 11^th MARCH

1630-1730 – Channel 4 Crufts Daily Show

1900-2100 – Channel 4 Crufts Best In Show

Clare will host daily highlights of the world's biggest dog event live from the NEC and will be joined by Alan Carr, who will be presenting the afternoon show with Clare, and Channel 4’s ‘Supervet’, Professor Noel Fitzpatrick. The presenters will be supported by vet, health and welfare expert Nick Blayney, as well as dog reporters and breed experts, Jessica Holm and Frank Kane.

All of the Arena action from the show will also be shown every day live on the Crufts YouTube channel which can be found at www.youtube.com/crufts.

Caroline Kisko, Secretary of the Kennel Club, which runs Crufts, said: “We are delighted that Channel 4 and More4 will be offering viewers at home the opportunity to enjoy even more of this year’s Crufts. The event holds such a special place in dog lovers’ hearts because it celebrates everything that we love most about dogs, and the programmes will reflect on the benefits dogs bring to our lives and the many fascinating aspects of Crufts.

“The enhanced TV coverage will not only bring exciting sports such as agility and flyball into people’s homes, but will enable people to see the diverse range of wonderful dog breeds, including some of the more unusual breeds that are not often seen in the streets and parks across the country, through the dog show aspect of Crufts. It will also cover topics about choosing, caring for and enjoying life with dogs, as well as different issues affecting dog owners in the UK.”  

Channel 4 and More4’s coverage of Crufts will be produced by Sunset + Vine.

The minutes of the Kennel Club Obedience Liaison Council meeting, held on 11 January 2018, have been released and can be found on the Kennel Club website at the following link:

www.thekennelclub.org.uk/activities/obedience/obedience-liaison-council/.

The Kennel Club has issued a Code of Conduct addressed to all Kennel Club members, committee members and volunteers.

The code will sit alongside the already-established Kennel Club Code of Ethics for breeders who register litters, Code of Best Practice for Kennel Club Judges, Codes of Conduct for participants at Kennel Club licensed events, as well as codes in respect of the welfare and safety of dogs.

The new code can be viewed on the Kennel Club website at www.thekennelclub.org.uk/our-resources/kennel-club-code/.

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary said: “The Kennel Club appreciates that Kennel Club members, committee members and volunteers do sterling work on behalf of the club, and overwhelmingly uphold the principles enshrined in the code’s various clauses. However, we felt that it was important to encapsulate these principles formally for the benefit of everyone who chooses to take on these vital roles in the future.”

GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG

CLUB OF WALES

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

To be held at

Whitchurch Rugby Club

Samuels Crescent, Cardiff

On Monday 19^th   February 2018

Commencing 8:00pm

Nominations for Committee

and items for the Agenda

must be made in writing

to the Hon. Secretary

and received by

Friday 2^nd February 2018

Mrs S Evans

64 Severn Grove

Pontcanna

Cardiff

CF11 9EP

Tel:  029 2021 9253

Email:  sue.gsdclubwales@sky.com

Updated versions of the specimen schedules for breed shows, agility, obedience, working trials, bloodhound trials, heelwork to music and rally can now be downloaded from the Kennel Club website.

Organisers of Kennel Club licensed events in these disciplines are reminded that all competition schedules must conform to the current Kennel Club specimen schedules, and that no changes may be made to a show/trial schedule once issued, except with the permission of the Kennel Club.

The updated specimen schedules can be found at the following links:

Breed shows: 

www.thekennelclub.org.uk/activities/dog-showing/already-involved-in-dog-showing/registered-clubs-and-societies/show-administration/.

Agility: 

www.thekennelclub.org.uk/activities/agility/agility-show-administration/agility-show-specimen-schedules/.

Obedience: 

www.thekennelclub.org.uk/activities/obedience/obedience-show-administration/obedience-show-specimen-schedules/.

Working Trials: 

www.thekennelclub.org.uk/activities/working-trials/working-trials-administration/working-trial-specimen-schedules/.

Bloodhound Trials:

www.thekennelclub.org.uk/activities/bloodhound-trials/bloodhound-trials-administration/.

Heelwork to Music: 

www.thekennelclub.org.uk/activities/heelwork-to-music/heelwork-to-music-competition-administration/.

Rally:

www.thekennelclub.org.uk/activities/rally/rally-show-administration/.

The downloads are in PDF format; Microsoft Word versions may be requested either from the Working Dog Activities team by emailing WDA@thekennelclub.org.uk.or Breed Shows team by emailing breedshows@thekennelclub.org.uk