January newsletter - K9 Training Centre

Newsletter
Test Results
K9 Training Centre
Last Quarter 2014
Message from Chris
The following dog and handler teams tested to move up
a level
Nobody complained
at our suggestion
that we change the
newsletter to every
second month or
quarterly. It seems a
practical thing to do,
particularly as a lot of
what is going on is
recorded on Whats-
September 2014
Basic Test (moves up to Novice )
Graeme Mellis with Baxter
Irmela Holle with Bebee
Mandy Shaw with Riley
Marilyn Fraser with Rex
Novice Test (moves up to Advanced)
No passers
October 2014
Basic Test (moves up to Novice )
Candi Smith with Monty
Sara Scanlon with Duke
Cheryl Theron with Django
Robyn Bovens with Danny
Novice Test (moves up to Advanced)
No passers
November 2014
Basic Test (moves up to Novice )
Mike Marshall with Grazie
Novice Test (moves up to Advanced)
Chris Waldron with Gundi
Robyn Theron with Mescha
Michaela Newey with Nova
Irmela Holle with Bebee
Well done to all!
And remember, if you tested and did not pass we are
still proud of you!
Poop Patrol — there is no
Poop Fairy!
Because of the sheer volume of these piles around the
school, we have introduced a new system. Please pick
up your dog’s poop, put it in a plastic bag (provided)
and deposit the bag in the special bin on the border between A and B fields. Dogs’ poo, in its plastic bag, ONLY in this bin, nothing else! This is a safer option, bearing in mind the age of the babies in the Puppy School
and the risks of dogs contracting Spirocerca lupi, a
worm that is increasingly found in SA.
sapp and Facebook.
Elsewhere in this newsletter you will find details about
our end-of-year function and prizegiving.
I am very pleased to welcome on board Michaela who
will be the new Newsletter Compiler. The Newsletter
had a very rocky time in 2014, with a number of different
Editors, it most often being late, some editions being
missed completely, and so on. The reason, I’m afraid,
was entirely my fault. I am not good at writing Newsletters, and even worse at trying to put them together. I do
not use Word, do not know it, and, quite frankly, I hate
it. So even with Nicky writing the articles for us, there
was still a bottleneck when it was sent to me for compilation. I am happy to say this is now behind us as
Michaela has volunteered to do this. So, from now on,
Nicky will write the articles, and send them to Michaela
for compilation. This should ensure that newsletters are
sent out regularly, and on time, as I am no longer involved except for giving Nicky the information, which I
am quite able to do. As I was with Nicky when she volunteered to become the Editor, I am extremely grateful
to Michaela for volunteering to be the Complier. I find it
amazing that there is always someone at this school that
will put their hand up to plug a hole when needed. Many
thanks to both of you. Apologies for any inconvenience
the erratic distribution of the Newsletter may have
caused last year, and thank you for your understanding. You may continue to send any articles to either myself, Nicky or Michaela.
So bag it and bin it!
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Newsletter
K9 Training Centre
Last Quarter 2014
Weekend away - by Sue Goodman
The last weekend in August produced sudden, and unexpected, freezing conditions; the coldest time of the winter so
far. Nonetheless, the intrepid K9 families and their dogs who had booked for this landmark 25th anniversary event
were undaunted and arrived at Lavender Hills, near Parys, in time for the evening get-together.
Socially it was all great fun. Peter’s brew, in particular, could have had something to do with the convivial atmosphere.
The accommodation was great, and we were relieved that the owners had the foresight to remove the blankets from
the beds, in case the cold meant that people needed to cuddle up with their dogs!
Comments on What’s App later were complimentary. Fabienne did express surprise that Lola had not won the bestbehaved dog award, and Thembelani is to be congratulated on the way he coped with the fractious Bully.
Parys itself is quaint and full of lovely antique shops. What about holding this weekend more frequently, say once a
year, or once every two years? It seems a shame to wait another 25 years. A million thanks to the K9 organisers
(Committee: Fabienne, Chris, Davin, Nicky & Tasha), as this was quite a task to arrange – there were … people and
… dogs to cater for. A special thank you to Charles, who drove all the way down from Jozie for the day to take the
Introduction to Manwork class.
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Newsletter
End of year bash
K9 Training Centre
Last Quarter 2014
Awards 2014
The party and prize giving was held on Sunday 30 Nov
at Chef and The Fatman. A good time was had by all.
Remember, suggestions for the year end function are
always welcome.
Debbie with Ringo
Debbie with Ringo
Debbie with Ringo
Melissa with Shay
Candi with Monty
Pat with Karla
Fees 2015
R400.00
R360.00
R240.00
R240.00
R320.00
R240.00
Admission fee per dog (Once off payment).
Monthly tuition fee for the first dog (Either
Saturday or Wednesday).
Monthly tuition fee for an additional family
dog (Either Saturday or Wednesday).
Extra per month for training the same dog
twice a week (For Saturday and Wednes
day).
Manwork fee per month for the first dog
(Advanced Class & by invitation only).
Manwork fee per month for each additional
family dog (Advanced Class & by invitation
only).
Yellow Ribbon
No, you don’t have to tie it around the old oak tree, but
don’t forget the club rule that any unpredictable/
aggressive dog must wear a yellow ribbon to alert other
handlers to watch out for themselves and for their dogs.
K9 has an enviable record for minimal incidents involving dog fights of any kind, and we plan to keep it that
way. The ribbons are available at the training field, just
ask if you want one.
Tracy with Venus
Adi with Baloo
Peter Schmitz (Beer on Away Weekend, Rescue package on cold weekend), Chris Badman & Nicky de Bene
& Fabienne Martin (25th Sub Committee), Betsy Gast
(organising the Regalia), Tracy Brough (sharing ice water & spray), Gideon du Plessis (Good Manwork participation), Thembelani Mvalase (Commitment with Lola),
Facebook
The official school Facebook page is
www.facebook.com/K9TrainingJHB.
This page has formal announcements,
training tips and the odd funny.
There is also a group for more fun posts. It is a lot easier
for you all to share your images etc on the group. The
group is called K9 Training Fun and it is a closed group,
so you have to request to join. Every member, past and
present, is welcome.
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Newsletter
K9 Training Centre
Last Quarter 2014
Sad news
K9 Library
Philippe, a longstanding member of the club, had to put
Jenny down last month. Jenny was getting on in years,
but showed no symptoms of ill-health at all until the day
it was discovered that she was riddled with cancer.
Philippe and Martha had absolutely no choice and our
sympathies go to them.
We have a small collection of books on dog training that
may be borrowed by members, speak to Debbie.
Jenny joined the school in 2003, being trained by Martha. Philippe later took over. The dog was nominated for
Most Determined Handler in 2006 and for a Merit award
in 2012. She was actually booked to do the Dog of the
Year test , which would have been a few days after her
death. The resilience and bravery of dogs that show no
signs of illness until it’s too late is always quite amazing.
Flyball
We are considering starting a flyball class if there is
enough interest. At the moment we are just trying to see
if there is enough interest to warrant a class, so at this
time we don't have anything pinned down in terms of
when. It would probably be one evening in the week,
other than Wednesday. The class would be taken by
Melissa Wilson, who has been very successful in the
sport with her dogs.
“But what is flyball?” I hear you ask! It is a relay sport
with 4 dogs in a team where the dog races down a
course, jumps over 4 hurdles, jumps on a box that releases a tennis ball, turns around, runs back over the 4
jumps to the handler and then the next dog goes. The
sport is played with two teams racing against each other
and the team with the fastest time wins. It is very fast
and exciting and the dogs love it. There is a short video
on our Facebook page explaining the sport.
Any dog with a high toy drive can play —small medium
or large.
So if you would be keen on this fun activity please
speak to Chris!
Tracey Landers dog Jenga gets the
ball!
Wheee! Small dogs too!
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