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

Following a recent proposal made by the Show Executive Committee (SEC), the Kennel Club Board has agreed that, in line with its child protection policy, the following wording be added to all dog show schedules and entry forms, with effect from 1^st January 2018:

‘Children under the age of 11 are the responsibility of and must be accompanied at all times by a parent or guardian’.

In introducing this new measure, the SEC was of the opinion that, by adding the above statement to the entry form and schedule, it will be clear that the parent or guardian would be responsible if the child was unable to control the dog being exhibited. However, the SEC was also of the view that it would remain the responsibility of the show society to ensure that it provided a safe environment for all people attending its show.

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: “The Kennel Club is keen that people attending any events run under its jurisdiction have a good time and feel safe. In relation to young handlers, it is very important that their parent or guardian takes responsibility for ensuring that any child under the age of 11 is in full control of any dog they are entrusted to handle. This new wording makes it abundantly clear that parents and guardians have their role to play when attending such events.”

The Kennel Club would like to remind societies running obedience shows that a judge’s first three appointments must be restricted to novice classes held at Kennel Club licensed shows. The Kennel Club has been made aware of some instances where overseas judges have been appointed to judge classes higher than novice but have not fulfilled the first three appointment regulation.  It would also like to reiterate that a judge who is already qualified to judge in the UK, remains qualified to do so.

Kennel Club Regulation G32.e states: “A Judge's first three appointments for shows must be restricted to Novice.”

Qualifications gained by competitors resident in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany at the Dutch Obedience Society (DOS) may count towards entry for UK obedience shows. However, DOS judging appointments will only be considered as lower level appointments (as described in Regulation G32d.1) for any persons working to become a Kennel Club obedience judge for open and championship shows.

In order to find out more information about the requirements to judge at UK licensed obedience shows, please visit the Kennel Club website: www.thekennelclub.org.uk/activities/obedience/obedience-judges-section/.

The Kennel Club has announced the five finalists hoping to win the KCAI Trainer of the Year title. The public vote is now open to decide the winner, who will be announced at Crufts in 2018.

Returning for the fourth year, the KCAI Trainer of the Year award recognises the outstanding talents of Kennel Club Accredited Instructors (KCAI) Scheme members who go that extra mile to make a positive difference to the lives of dogs and their owners.

Dog owners were invited to nominate a dog training instructor or canine behaviourist who they felt was most deserving of the award. Over 400 nominations were received, shared between 39 individual scheme members from across the UK.

The nominees were shortlisted to five finalists by a panel of judges consisting of representatives from the Kennel Club and City & Guilds. The judges based their decision on the following criteria: making a positive difference to the behaviour of dogs, changing the lives of dogs and/or people, helpfulness and dedication, and making a positive contribution to their wider community.

The five finalists have been announced, and voting is open for the public to decide which trainer they think should win the award.

The finalists are:

• Kay Attwood, Camberley, Surrey
• Barry Harris, Wirral, Merseyside
• Denise Hubbard, Middlewich, Cheshire
• Hilary Mears, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire
• Corrine Kennedy, Perth, Perthshire

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary said “This award provides the public with a fantastic opportunity to recognise the hard work and achievements of KCAI Scheme dog training instructors, who are going the extra mile to make a difference for dogs and their owners. Their dedication to dog training makes the finalists all deserving winners. We wish them all the very best of luck.”

The finalists have been invited to attend a ceremony to be held at the world’s greatest dog show, Crufts, on Saturday 10 March 2018. Here, their contribution to dog training will be recognised and the winner of the KCAI Trainer of the Year award will be announced. As well as receiving the title of KCAI Trainer of the Year, the winner will also receive a trophy, certificate and a £500 voucher for a dog-friendly holiday, courtesy of the KCAI Trainer of the Year sponsor, Hiscox UK, (Kennel Club Trainer Insurance provider).

The public vote will close at 4pm on Friday 26 January 2018 – to find out more about this year’s finalists, please visit

www.thekennelclub.org.uk/kcaitraineroftheyear.  

To find out more about joining the Kennel Club Accredited Instructors Scheme, please visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk/kcai.