ADDITIONAL ACCREDITED TRAINERS FOR RALLY NEEDED FOR JUDGES’ TRAINING PROGRAMME

The Kennel Club is calling for anyone interested in becoming a Rally 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 Rally Accredited Trainer. Any candidates interested in applying need to meet the following criteria:

  • Three or more years of regular judging experience
  • Be eligible to judge Level 6
  • Good presentation and teaching skills are essential
  • Have attended and passed the exam for the Rally Regulations and Judging Procedure seminar and attended the Practical Seminar
  • A willingness to travel to deliver seminars

Those interested should send their applications to the Working Dog Activities team via email to rally@thekennelclub.org.uk by Friday 18 February.

Assessments for all applicants will take place once applications have been reviewed. More information will be sent to those who apply.

KENNEL CLUB SPECIMEN SCHEDULES REVISED FOR 2022

Although events continue to be subject to change due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, 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, in order to assist societies with planning.

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

Continue reading KENNEL CLUB SPECIMEN SCHEDULES REVISED FOR 2022

CRUFTS 2022 – ENTRIES CLOSING SOON

Exhibitors are reminded that online entries for Crufts 2022 close on Monday 24 January, for dogs which have qualified for the show. Those exhibitors who prefer to send their entry by post must have done so by Monday 10 January (postmark).

The Working and Pastoral groups will be shown on Thursday 10 March; Terriers and Hounds on Friday 11; Utility and Toys on Saturday 12; and Gundogs on Sunday 13.

Best in Show will be judged on Sunday evening by Stuart Plane, breeder of the well-known Stuane Scottish Terriers.

Three breeds will be creating history at the 2022 show. Hungarian Pumis will have their own classes for the first time, Smooth Faced Pyrenean Sheepdogs will make their debut in the Imported Breed Register classes, and Harriers will be making their first appearance in the Crufts breed ring since 1898.

The Obedience Championships for dogs are on Saturday, with bitches on Sunday. In Agility, the Small and Medium Championships are on the Thursday, with the Intermediate and Large Championships on the Sunday.

Continue reading CRUFTS 2022 – ENTRIES CLOSING SOON

KENNEL CLUB INVITES APPLICATIONS FOR CHAMPIONSHIP OBEDIENCE STATUS

The Kennel Club wishes to advise obedience competitors that Waldridge Fell Dog Training Society has relinquished their championship obedience status with immediate effect.

Any society which would be interested in applying for future championship obedience status should submit a presentation for consideration. Please note that it will be necessary to select a date that does not coincide with another championship obedience show. An application from a club which already holds a championship obedience show will also be considered.

Applications should include details of the society’s committee structure and show management team, as well as information on the proposed show venue and its facilities available for judges, competitors, dogs and spectators.

Presentations should be submitted to the Working Dog Activities team at the Kennel Club via email obedience@thekennelclub.org.uk by 31 January 2022.

THE KENNEL CLUB WELCOMES NEW CRIMINAL OFFENCE TO TACKLE DOG THEFT

The Kennel Club, the UK’s biggest organisation dedicated to dog health and welfare, has welcomed Government plans announced today (18 November) to introduce a specific criminal offence for those who steal dogs.  

Set out to be included within the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, the new law will see dog theft criminals face up to five years in prison. This follows a successful campaign from the organisation lobbying for stronger sentencing and better data collection on the devastating crime.

Currently, sentencing places undue weighting on the monetary value of a dog rather than giving sufficient weight to the emotional impact of the crime, meaning it is often treated in the same way as the theft of a laptop or mobile phone.

The Kennel Club has long campaigned on the issue of pet theft, lobbying for sentencing to recognise the emotional value of a dog and for better reporting and recording from officials so that underlying causes of dog theft can be tackled, and provided evidence as such to the Government’s Pet Theft Taskforce, formed in May this year. The Kennel Club’s Paw and Order campaign, launched last summer to urge action from the Taskforce, subsequently illustrated the need for reform and spurred thousands of dog lovers across the UK to write to their MP. Statistics gathered as part of the campaign showed the failure to tackle a crime that is devastating 196 families every month, as just two per cent of dog theft cases in 2020 resulted in a criminal charge.  

Mark Beazley, Chief Executive at The Kennel Club, commented: “We wholeheartedly welcome this next step from the Government, introducing a new and specific offence to tackle pet theft, and highly commend the hard and persistent work of every organisation who has been raising awareness of this issue and calling for action for many years. This is a win that can help to deliver justice to both the poor dogs and families victim to this devastating crime, and we hope that this amendment moves swiftly through parliament, to protect the nation’s much-loved pets.”

Further information about the campaign and current laws around pet theft, and advice on keeping dogs safe, is available on The Kennel Club’s website: thekennelclub.org.uk/dogtheft

ACTIVITY DISCIPLINES: REGULATIONS SUSPENDED DUE TO COVID-19

In order to allow events in the Activity disciplines to run again during the Covid-19 pandemic, it had previously been agreed that certain regulations would be suspended.

At its recent meeting, the Activities Committee reviewed the list of suspended regulations for each discipline and considered whether they should be reinstated.

It was felt that with most government restrictions eased, a lot of the provisions that the suspended regulations allowed were no longer necessary and as such it was agreed that all regulations would be reinstated with effect from 1 January 2022, with the exception of the following:

Regulations G7 & H5  – all licences to be applied for 6 weeks prior to the show (not 6 months). The Committee was of the view that the revised timeframe of 6 weeks was beneficial to show organisers and as such approved a permanent change to the regulations as follows:

Regulation G7

TO:

7. Application

The application for a licence to hold an Obedience Show must be made to the Secretary of the Kennel Club at least six months weeks before the proposed date of the show together with the appropriate licence fee.

(Deletion struck through. Insertion in bold.)

(Effective 1 January 2022)

Regulation H5

TO:

The application for a licence to hold and agility show must be made to the Secretary of the Kennel Club, Clarges Street, London W1J 8AB on the official form which must be properly completed and sent, together with the appropriate licence fee, at least 6 calendar months weeks before the proposed date of the competition (42 days before the proposed date in the case of limited agility shows).

(Deletion struck through. Insertion in bold)

(Effective 1 January 2022)

Obedience

An announcement relating to the removal of stays from the list of exercises in obedience was previously issued.

Heelwork to Music

The following regulation has been amended to allow for the fact that judges may not have had the opportunity to attend a relevant seminar and undertake the exam.

Regulation L14.b.(iv) 

TO:

All Judges must have attended a Regulations and Judging Procedure seminar every four years since passing the Regulations and Judging Procedure examination. From 1 January 2022 2023 all Judges must have attended a Regulations and Judging Procedure seminar, either classroom based or online, and must have passed the examination, every five years since passing the Regulations and Judging Procedure examination.   

(Deletion struck through. Insertion in bold)

(Effective 1 January 2022)

Attention All Crufts Championships Qualifiers

Dog Championships Saturday 12th March 2022 – 18 competitors

Bitch Championships Sunday 13th March 2022 – 18 competitors

Judge: Pat Watson

Firstly, congratulations to everyone who has qualified for the 2022 championships.

Once again the entry forms and schedules will be sent by email.

Could all qualifiers please let me have their email address as soon as possible so that the office can start work on next year’s show. If you can do this either by Facebook Messenger or email to richkebble@gmail.com that would be great.

If you were at Crufts 2020 I have your email address so you do not need to tell me unless you have changed your email address. Please don’t reply to this post as it may slip off the bottom and I’ll miss it, thanks.

If you know of anyone who is not on Facebook or ObedienceUK.net can you please pass on the message.I look forward to hearing from you all and to a great show in 2022.

Richard Kebble