April 2017 £5 00 £5.00
In conversation with Lesley Crawley – Ragus Norwich Terriers The official publication of the Kennel Club 1 KC Apr JH.indd 1
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Contents Opinion On my mind
4
Bill Moores reviews the progress of the revised Kennel Gazette
6Viewpoint
Simon Parsons reflects on the efforts to revitalise the show scene
7News and comment
News and updates on some of the recent stories featured in the Kennel Gazette
Special features A family affair
8
The Pickett family have given the Kennel Club incredible support for generations
10
Protecting your dog walks
The Kennel Club’s Access and Countryside Adviser, Stephen Jenkinson, explains what his work entails
Contents
April 2017
22By popular demand!
Rugby Dog Training Club are a great example of how to run a successful dog training club
12
A dog deserves a stress-free life — but is that what your dog is getting?
Judges’ choice Chinese Crested
24
The breed standard, breed club news and the breed competing in obedience and rally, plus breed experts pick their three favourite show dogs
Art & culture Book corner
34
Bill Moores and Young Kennel Club member Orlagh review two of the latest additions to the Kennel Club library
14
16
The fun starts here!
Chinese Chin Chi nese Crested
Health matters Could you do better?
Making a difference
A look at more of the incredible causes which are benefitting from the support of the Kennel Club Charitable Trust
24
4
18
Crufts was our goal!
Crufts 2017 highlights
Local dog shows can be great fun and help worthy causes
14
18Crufts was our goal!
The heelwork to music community were busy in the build up to Crufts
Making a difference
20Breeding success
A Q&A with Lesley Crawley of the famous Ragus Norwich Terrier kennel
The Kennel Club, Clarges Street, London W1J 8AB www.thekennelclub.org.uk Chairman: Simon Luxmoore Vice Chairman: Steve Croxford Chief Executive: Rosemary Smart Secretary: Caroline Kisko Customer services: 01296 318540 Petlog Main Number: 01296 336579 Petlog Lost & Found: 01296 737600 Library/Gallery: 020 7518 1009 Insurance Enquiries: 0800 369 9445
The Kennel Club @Kclovesdogs
@Kclovesdogs
Editor: Carrie Thomas Editorial Co-ordinator: Sara Wilde Editorial Panel: Bill Moores (Chairman), Ian Gabriel, Philippa Gilbert, Robert Greaves, Revd Bill King, Gay Robertson Editorial enquiries: kennel.gazette@thekennelclub.org.uk The Kennel Club, Clarges Street, London W1J 8AB Subscriptions: 020 7518 1016 subs@kennelgazette.org.uk Kennel Gazette is published monthly on behalf of the Kennel Club by BPG Media www.bpgmedia.co.uk To advertise contact Andrea Walters a.walters@bpgmedia.co.uk Printed by Warners Midlands Plc
Kennel Gazette is the monthly publication of the Kennel Club. Views and opinions expressed within the Kennel Gazette are the personal opinions of the original authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Kennel Club. Cover photograph: Ch Ragus Now You’re Talking, black and tan Norwich Terrier bitch Photographer: ©Michael Mawson Michael has an interest in the Norwich Terrier as he has been breeding the Norfolk Terrier for 22 years in his own kennel which is called Osito Norfolk Terriers. He started photographing in hair magazines, then fashion and now he finds great joy in photographing pets. He also breeds Norwegian Forest Cats
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On my mind
On my mind Recording the present and acknowledging the past, with an eye on the future By Bill Moores, Chairman of the Kennel Gazette Editorial Panel
W
hen the Kennel Gazette was revived almost two years ago it was ably steered by an enthusiastic panel which has gradually evolved and continues to bring its readers an informative and entertaining monthly publication. Founding this journal in 1880, Mr Shirley the Kennel Club founder and the original owner and publisher of the Kennel Gazette, was insistent that not only was it a monthly journal of record, but also that it was prompt and up to date with information. In those far off days the exhibitors, most of whom were businessmen and merchants of the day, hung on its every word. It is a matter of record that he then donated the Kennel Gazette to the club and that it and the Kennel Club Stud Book were acknowledged as essential tools for the regulation of pedigree dogs. I think we can safely say that his vision has stood the test of time. Within the last few years the Kennel Club decided to place most of its regulatory information online in the form of the monthly Kennel Club Journal. Over recent years, it has become clear that this is an acceptable and cost effective medium for all. What better way is there to promulgate so much detailed information so quickly? There is little doubt that if the internet had been available a century ago the same succession
“It also does its best to allocate equal space to the various disciplines which form the complex world of dogs”
of events would probably have occurred! But where does all that leave the Kennel Gazette of today? Some would say it is handily placed with a foot in both camps — one in that of the printed word and one in that of the online world, as each month on the Kennel Club website it offers a brief insight into each issue published. Advertisers too enjoy these previews and they also benefit from the fact that they remain online for some time. Others may wish that the Kennel Club would just accept new technologies and publish an online-only version of the Kennel Gazette. This would reverse the majority of members’ wishes as they stand at the moment. Things may change as the club embraces its new status and only time will tell. Your Kennel Gazette has a panel of members whose experience within the world of dogs exceeds more years than they care to recall; the expertise and guidance of Kennel Club staff and an enthusiastic young editor who liaises well with a professional production team; two former editors of canine weekly newspapers who are now ‘poachers turned gamekeepers’ and a team of specialist writers, members of which produce thought-provoking articles each month. It also does its best to allocate equal al space to the various disciplines which form the complex world of dogs. All this his is done within the framework of a lead-time ime of six weeks. It also innovates and is proactive active rather than reactive. This year for the first time the Kennel Gazette brought you the ten page online ‘Crufts Extra’ which was supported by Eukanuba. That the principal sponsor of Crufts also chose to align its World Challenge event with Crufts was great news and the Kennel Gazette panel was pleased that it was able to bring you coverage of all this within just two weeks of the show. The year 2017, so far, has already been a busy year and future issues of the Kennel
March 2017
£ £5.00
This month’s judges’ choice: the elegant yet active Dalmatian
The official publication of
the Kennel Club 01/02/2017 16:49
Gazette will feature coverage of the third International Dog Health Workshop, to be held in Paris later this month, and the prestigious World Conference of Kennel Clubs which the Kennel Club is to host in June. Also in June, the Kennel Club Gundog Working Workin Tests take place at Chatsworth House Hous and once more the Kennel Gazette will have coverage of this by Gaz its reporters and representatives on r the spot. We W will continue to record the present presen and acknowledge the past, with an eye on the future. The editor and the whole team strive to bring you an entertaining, informative and ente appealing publication. Thank you for your p continued support. ●
BILL MOORES Bill Moores is the former Editor of Our Dogs. Since early retirement he runs a media services and photography consultancy, dividing his time between the show scene here and that of continental Europe
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On my mind
Queenie, from the East Anglian Staffordshire Bull Terrier Display Team helps launch Crufts 2017
A packed audience waiting to be seated in the Genting Arena
Watching the displays being carried out in the Dog Activities ring
Photos: ŠonEdition
Don’t miss the Crufts special May edition of the Kennel Gazette
Crufts Best in Show 2017 winner Jason Lynn with American Cocker Spaniel Sh Ch Afterglow Miami Ink co-owned by Mr Rui da Silva (not in the photo) with Best in Show judge Mr Jeff Horswell
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Viewpoint
By Simon Parsons
O
ver the past few years many people within and outside the Kennel Club have put in a great deal of effort to come up with ideas to revitalise the show scene after a period of worrying decline in entries at shows big and small. Thankfully this trend seems to have been halted at the general championship shows at least, but there is still concern for the smaller shows — and indeed many once popular open show societies have ceased to exist. One has to bear in mind that the entries come from far more breeds than was once the case, and in many cases the average per breed is far below the peak of 20 or 30 years ago. Some of the debate has concentrated on the role of the breed clubs and their relationship with the all-breed and group show societies. This was always going to be a sensitive subject but sadly it did bring about a degree of ill feeling which seems to be very regrettable. It even got to the stage where committee places were lost, which seems a pity if the person concerned has a lot to offer. The problem seemed to be that some breed clubs feel their existence or status is under threat and no amount of denying that this is the case convinces them otherwise. As so often one can understand where both ‘sides’ are coming from and at the same time wish that they could come
Viewpoint together amicably to find a way forward. Undoubtedly, some breeds have rather more clubs than makes sense given their current level of support. Usually these are breeds which were once the height of fashion but today have a more modest following. The obvious example is the Pekingese, the toy dog of choice in the early 20th century, but much further down the rankings today. Here the Kennel Club took a firm line and after some ‘gentle’ persuasion several pairs of clubs (though not all) have amalgamated. This means they get CC status more often than they otherwise would, and one hopes they will flourish in the future. So far, no other breed has been targeted but any hint that they might be, leads to vocal protest. It’s a difficult situation — the stalwarts who keep the clubs going (in some cases effectively a single person or a small group) would prefer to soldier on even if it does mean that they can hold a championship show only every few years. One can understand it — these clubs, often with a proud heritage, are their ‘baby’ and sometimes there is a long history of rivalry between neighbouring clubs, which would make amalgamation uncomfortable. Yet, realistically, if the club’s only activity is running one show a year, might you think their existence rather superfluous? When breed clubs do run a championship
show, the entries are usually higher than general championship shows in the same area, thanks to lower entry and parking fees, a less hectic atmosphere, and sometimes a more inspired choice of judges, and a great many specialists would never get approved for CC status or invited for subsequent appointments if it were not for the breed clubs. There has been a move to encourage breed clubs to hold their shows, open or championship, with or near to the general or group shows. Quite a number have done so and in many cases the feedback is good especially where the two shows can comfortably fit into the same day without any clashing or hassle. But there still seems to be a perception that it’s the interests of the big shows which come first, with the breed clubs a bit of an afterthought. Whether there is any basis of truth in this is another matter, but perceptions count for a lot and it seems to me that a bit of tactful bridge-building would be a very good idea.
SIMON PARSONS Simon Parsons has owned a variety of breeds but his first loves are the Corgis. He is associate editor of Dog World and awards Challenge Certificates in 13 breeds. In 2014 he instigated the revival of the Kennel Gazette
Photo: ©Rebecca Goutorbe
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Kennel Club Charitable Trust
Making a difference More charities benefit from the Kennel Club Charitable Trust’s generosity By the Kennel Club Charitable Trust
based on an existing study of Entlebucher Mountain Dogs in Switzerland, which has led to a pre-breeding screening test. One healthy Golden Retriever flying the flag for the KCCT is Maxwell, an assistance dog trained by a charity called Woofability, which trains assistance dogs for disabled children and adults, and also children with autism and Down’s syndrome. Maxwell was paired with Emma, aged nine, who has autism, severe anxiety, and used to experience up to 40 epileptic absences each day. Emma was introduced to Maxwell, and, on the first visit, they went to a local supermarket, something Emma had not
Photo: ©Woofability
L
Doreen and Caddy Photo: ©Woofability
ast year the Kennel Club Charitable Trust (KCCT) gave grants of over £800,000 to help make a difference for dogs, with almost two thirds of this money given to help fund scientific research to improve pedigree dog health. One popular breed set to benefit from this is Golden Retrievers, after the trustees of the KCCT agreed a grant of over £7,500 at their most recent meeting in December, to help the University of Cambridge conduct a preliminary assessment of an ultrasonographic screening method to identify the location of the ureteric openings in clinically normal Golden Retrievers. The study will use a non-invasive technique, with the aim of developing a pre-breeding test to reduce the incidence of ureteral ectopia, or ‘wet puppies’, in this and other affected breeds. The study will be
Emma and Maxwell
been able to do for some time due to her anxiety. Having coped much better with Maxwell by her side, the following day the pair visited Emma’s school together. Since being formally paired, Emma’s parents can’t believe the difference that Maxwell has made to her life, and the family has now arranged to go on holiday for the first time in years. Another partnership bearing fruit, thanks to Woofability, is that of Doreen and Caddy. Doreen lives in a Synergy Housing Assisted Living complex in a specially adapted ground-floor flat. When the charity first met Doreen, she felt lonely as the residents at the complex rarely socialised. Since being paired with Caddy, Doreen has got to know many of her neighbours and the communal areas of the complex are now used by many more residents. Doreen also visits the park twice a day to meet a new social circle of doggy friends. To help Woofability bring together more great pairings, the KCCT agreed a grant of just under £23,000 at its December meeting, to fund two further part-time dog trainers to complement the current team. The charity operates across Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Surrey and Berkshire but has plans to become national in the next five years, due to the overwhelming demand for all types of assistance dogs. Woofability was founded in 2010, and placed its first assistance
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Photo: ©Rotherham Dog Rescue
Photo: ©Rotherham Dog Rescue
Kennel Club Charitable Trust
Photo: ©Rotherham Dog Rescue
Otto arrived at Rotherham Dog Rescue in 2007 with severe behavioural issues
Rotherham Dog Rescue’s psychologist Lisa, doing stimulative agility with one of the charity’s dogs
Mushroom, one of the dogs helped by Rotherham Dog Rescue. She had been starved by her previous owners but is now a lot happier and loved unconditionally
The trustees agreed a grant of £2,000 for Rotherham Dog Rescue at their December meeting, to help continue to renovate the charity’s new kennel facilities, with more secure fencing, roof repairs, and agility equipment for the dogs. ●
Photo: ©Rotherham Dog Rescue
dog in 2013. To date, 38 partnerships have been established and a further 37 dogs are currently in training. Finding the right home for a dog goes much further than assistance dogs of course, and is the difficult job faced by dog rescue charities across the country. One dog which faced a long wait for the right home was
Otto, a dog which came to Rotherham Dog Rescue in South Yorkshire back in 2007, via the local dog warden. Otto was a 10-month-old puppy which had been used as a bait dog, and therefore had severe behavioural issues. Luckily the charity has a dog psychologist, Lisa, working with them, and with Lisa’s dedication, Otto began to settle down. Otto struggled to find a new home and was with the charity for seven years, becoming its mascot. Eventually Otto’s tale had a happy ending though, as he found a permanent home with his new owners, Richard and Julie. Another dog helped by Rotherham Dog Rescue was Baxter, a Border Collie which had trust issues and was stressed in the charity’s former kennels before it was able to move to new premises in 2015, with larger paddocks to exercise and play with the dogs. Thanks to Lisa’s work and the greater space offered to him, Baxter flourished in the new surroundings and has recently gone to a new home of his own.
As mentioned in the KCCT article which appeared in January’s issue of the Kennel Gazette, there is a network of trust ambassadors who support the trustees by visiting first-time applicants, usually dog rescues, if the trustees deem it necessary, to speak to those involved to garner further information and check that the premises are suitable for the purpose intended. To help the KCCT assess the suitability of previously unknown applicants, the trustees are renewing their call for anyone who would be interested in becoming a trust ambassador to contact them. The role usually involves carrying out no more than three visits to applicants per year and ambassadors are paid expenses for their travel accordingly. Interest from all areas would be welcomed. Anyone wishing to find out more about the role or express interest is encouraged to contact the KCCT Administrator, Richard Fairlamb by email kcct@thekennelclub.org.uk or by telephone on 020 7518 6874.
Baxter had trust issues but with the greater space offered to him he overcame his anxieties
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Special feature
By popular demand! Enthusiasm and a good business approach ensures Rugby Dog Training Club’s success By Dave Ray
T
here is a lot of talk about canine activities and the perception that some are declining in popularity while others are thriving. However, dogs are more popular than ever in the UK, no doubt aided by the rise of the designer crossbreeds. The activity that is thriving and is invariably quoted is agility and it certainly continues to grow in popularity. However, there is one area for which there is an insatiable demand from the public and that is dog training clubs. They, too, have had their difficulties, mainly due to the rise in private training businesses which invariably focus on a narrow part of dog training. Prior to this, the main avenue for dog owners was to go to a Kennel Club licensed dog training club and there are still a huge number of them in the UK, providing an invaluable service to their local communities at a reasonable cost. I am chairman of one of the biggest dog training clubs in the country, Rugby Dog Training Club (RDTC), which was established in 1962 strictly as an obedience club, albeit with a few members who had a great interest in working trials. But in those days the choice in working disciplines was somewhat limited. The club which, as the name suggests, is based in Rugby at that time met in various halls every Thursday evening and accepted a new beginner intake every eight weeks. The club has never charged for weekly lessons but has always taken an annual membership whereby people can stay for as long or as little as they choose.
Initially, the club ran open obedience shows and swiftly upgraded to championship obedience shows, then when agility was unveiled at Crufts in 1978 some of our members decided that this was another avenue to explore, including my wife Mary who, along with me, joined the club in 1978. Not being a dog trainer, of course, it wasn’t long before I took on an administrative role at the club and by 1981 the club was running the first-ever dog agility competition weekend in Rugby and as soon as possible we ran our first Kennel Club Championship Agility Weekend, followed by the Good Citizen Dog Scheme (GCDS) and heelwork to music (HTM). It’s also worth mentioning that RDTC ran the first-ever HTM competition in the UK. Now, the club is very active in the new sport of rally so we run Kennel Club licensed rally shows as well! After nearly 50 years of having limited training facilities, one of our founder members passed away and left the club a legacy. As a result, we decided that we would lease our own dedicated venue, which we did eight years ago. We invested heavily in the facility and the club has thrived ever since. We now have training lessons several
A versatile and spacious venue
Some of the hard-working Rugby Dog Training Club committee and trainers
Agility night
evenings a week including heelwork to music, rally, competitive obedience, pet obedience, GCDS training and testing, and dog agility on a soft impact floor surface. Our main obedience training evening is still every Thursday and I have to say that they are all absolutely thriving. The demand for dog owners to join classes at a sensible but reasonable cost is unlimited. When we went into our new venue, we were quite concerned that perhaps our income would not cover our outgoings but in fact this has not been the case. Our main club evening remains Thursday and
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Special feature
the popularity of our pet obedience classes never ceases to amaze me as we have a constant waiting list for our new beginner courses, which take place every eight weeks, to the extent that it is not unknown for the club to put on an additional new beginner course on Monday evenings. We never turn a dog away and, although we keep muzzles at the club — just in case — they are almost never, ever used. We do encourage owners to come with their dogs as soon as possible, whether puppies or older dogs, to try to get them involved from a very early stage, not only with the training but also socialisation. It is worth mentioning that the club has always trained with reward-based hands-off training methods and that has always been the norm for RDTC. It is very obvious from the success of our club that there is an insatiable demand from the general public for reasonably priced, affordable dog training, and in a lot of cases, offering progression to a higher level in dog training. In our club’s case, taking rally as an example, we have gone from an unknown area to a thriving club activity and a lot of these people who are now active in this in our club joined as beginners having had no prior dog training at all. Our agility evening is also over-subscribed and our GCDS evening continues weekly on a Monday for 10 months each year. The running of RDTC is very much a team effort and dependent on a hard-working,
“The demand for dog owners to join classes at a sensible but reasonable cost is unlimited”
Good Citizen Dog Scheme training
mostly long-serving committee, the oldest of whom is in their 80s and the youngest in their 30s and, of course, a great team of trainers. Because of the sheer size of the club and the interest in our individual disciplines, we have a head trainer for each discipline. We also have our own favoured charity which is Avon Valley Canine Trust, whose trustees are all long-serving members of RDTC. In our case, our success has no doubt been helped by our ‘legacy’ venue. We simply decided that, rather than have it sitting in the bank, we would do something with it. Perhaps this is an area that should be examined for future investment in smaller, local facilities, not only to promote responsible dog ownership but also to showcase the Kennel Club’s support of dogs generally to local populations throughout the UK. I have no doubt that RDTC will
continue to thrive and we are looking to raise money at the moment through our charity to replace our meeting area and toilet block in order to maintain our place as one of the premier clubs in the United Kingdom and, of course, to be the first port of call for all our Rugby residents and get them on the right road to having happy, well-trained dogs. For more information about RDTC please visit www.rugbydogtrainingclub.com. ● Apart from Rugby Dog Training Club there are thousands of clubs all over the country offering everything from ringcraft, agility, obedience, rally, working trials, and heelwork to music to the Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme. To find your local training club please visit www.findadogclub.org.uk
For many years Dave has been a member of various KC committees and working parties. He has managed the Olympia Agility Stakes finals for 27 years; he has also been a commentator at Crufts for 25 years and is currently chairman of both Rugby Dog Training Club and a Rugby-based canine charity
All photos: ©Rugby Dog Training Club
DAVE RAY
Pet obedience training night
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Luisa Scammell/The Kennel Club ©
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