'DOG ENDS' NEWSLETTER

BILLINGSHURST DOG TRAINING CLUB

 

 

‘DOG ENDS’

BDTC AUGUST NEWSLETTER 2023

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CHARITY NOMINATION TIME!!

August is nearly over by the time you receive this edition of Dog Ends. I hope you all had a lovely summer but where did the summer weather go?

September is practically next week and it’s time to propose the charity you would like us to support next year. Use the form below to propose your charity which must be dog related but not support a single breed. It must have a charity number, so use the Charity Commission website for the information you need to fill in the form.

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission

Find your seconder and this year you both need to sign the form. The forms need to be with me, Sue Salisbury by 22^nd  September 2023. The committee will then look at the forms and take forward to the AGM all those that fit our criteria, for voting by members.

October… enjoy autumn walks with your dogs.

November is your chance to vote for your charity of choice at our AGM on Friday 24^th November 2023.

December……. Happy Christmas!

 

Charity Coordinator Sue Salisbury. email: bdtccharity@billingshurst-dtc.org

 

STREETVET            Money raised so far £1085.52

Homelessness is a growing problem in the UK and an increasing number of homeless people have dogs. The bond between many homeless people and their dogs is profound and the health and wellbeing of their canine companions is often a major priority for their owners.

Life on the streets makes it difficult to access the fundamental vet care required to ensure the health and vitality these dogs deserve. STREETVET is a registered practice with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and has been established by a dedicated team of professional vets and veterinary nurses to bring that essential care to homeless people and their dogs across the capital.

Together, the STREETVET team take their experience out onto the streets of ever expanding locations, seeking out people; their dogs living rough, and delivering care and support required to ensure their combined wellbeing.

Combined with the critical support of a host of renowned organisations backing our team of qualified professionals, STREETVET is changing the future for homeless dogs who may otherwise have to go without the care they need and deserve. www.streetvet.org.uk      

             

IMPORTANT DATES

CHARITY FORM DEADLINE  22^ND SEPTEMBER

BDTC AGM          24^TH NOVEMBER

 

BDTC  60^TH ANNIVERSARY FUN DAY

What a wonderful day we had at Dedisham to celebrate the Club’s 60^th Anniversary.  Thank you to Peter and Valerie for allowing us to use the field and the sand school to spread our events – and our picnics – out in the sunshine and really enjoy ourselves.  We had plenty of prizes in the raffle which raised £146 for the charity, together with a donation of £20 from a member who wasn’t able to come, so £166 has been added to the charity account.    We had arranged for cotton tote bags to have our logo printed on them and they were filled with lots of doggie treats.  Enormous thanks for our treat donations go to;

1. Pets Pantry – local pet store on Guildford Road, Rowly, Cranleigh GU6 8PG
2. Poppy’s Doggie Deli – local online store at https://poppysdoggiedeli.com/
3. Fish 4 Dogs - in pet stores and online at https://www.fish4dogs.com/

 

There is one tote bag for every club member and they were handed out on the day.  If you were not there, not only did you miss out on an absolutely fabulous day, but you also didn’t get your bag!  Please make sure you ask at your next training class or get in touch with a member of the committee if you are not training at the moment.

There were lots of fun things to get involved in and have a go at – one being the ever popular Fun Challenge, organised by Wendy Adcock with help from Maureen Strange.  Possibly the dogs’ favourite activity was the Hidden Sausage test but everyone enjoyed themselves and the lucky winners were:-

1^st Jacqui with Gracie

2^nd Lynne with Bryn

3^rd Sarah with Luna

 

Alongside the above activities was the ‘collect the most tennis balls and put them in the tray’ challenge run by Ann and Duncan and this was won by Esther with Tippee, who managed to get all the balls in within the time limit.  Well done Tippee.

 

Anne Riches from the Agility section devised a simple course that everyone could have a go at, even if they hadn’t done agility before.  It was also challenging enough for anyone who isn’t competing yet to get a feel for what it is like to work a dog in a competition environment.  Here are the results:-

1^st Kevin Rawlinson and Merle

2^nd Claire Hawes and Miya

3^rd Esther Clarke and Tippee

The Obedience section organised an exemption show just for fun classes and this was judged by Valerie Harrison’s daughter Wendy, who is a qualified vet by the way.  The results are as follows:-

 

Class 1.          Dog most like its owner

            1^st Sue and Rafferty

            2^nd Maureen and Febo

            3^rd Simone and Flicker

Class 2.          Irish Brace

            1^st Helen with Rosie and Kensey

            2^nd Louise and Clare with Bracken and Mia

            3^rd Lynne and Trudy with Kaelen and Stanlee

Class 3.          Happiest dog, waggiest tail

            1^st Edith and Eleanor with Monty

            2^nd Val with Star

            3^rd Louise with Bracken

Class 4.          Best Trick

            1^st Richard with Barney

            2^nd Julie with Dilly

            3^rd Lynne with Kaelen

Class 5.          Dog the judge would like to take home

            1^st Julie Docking with Sheltie puppy Polly

            2^nd Dominic with Bea

            3^rd Helen with Rosie

 

Finally, there was Julia Wrathall’s fiendish Quiz!  The winner was Team Korra – the Jackie Allen family and dogs.  Second was Eunice, working alone and third was Trudy, who may have had some help from Stanlee but probably not!  The last question in the quiz was a suggestion to write a limerick, which a couple of contestants managed to do. (see below.)

All in all, it was a very enjoyable day and a fitting celebration of the club’s achievement of 60 years of dog training in this part of Sussex.  A big Thank You to everyone who organised the activities and helped with setting up and putting away, and most of all, to everyone who attended and make it such a happy and sociable occasion. 

 

Our next exciting event will be the Annual General Meeting on 24^th November when we will be voting for the next dog-related charity to support for 2024.  Please try to attend and, if you haven’t done so already by then, you can collect your bag of goodies and enjoy a bit more socialising before the end of the year.

 

Eunice Pearson       Chairman

Below are two of  the limericks that were submitted by two of the entries to the Doggy Quiz that was held at the event.

 

The overall winner of the quiz - 'Team Korra' consisting of Jackie and Keith Allen and grandson Woodie Markfort (who is Korra's young owner) - wrote this limerick:

Korra the Dog is a monkey

On the lead she is sometimes quite grumpy

She often does howl

When wrapped in a towel

And it makes her look really quite funky!

 

The quiz entry that came second overall was from Eunice, and her limerick contribution was as follows:

There was an old man from Dundee

Who said: "I will plant a fine tree!"

His dog said: "That's good!

You can plant a whole wood.

And then I'll have somewhere to pee!"

 

One of our honorary members Jackie Allen has shared some kind words about the BDTC and their 60th Anniversary celebration.

 

“What a wonderful achievement, 60 years of training Dogs and their people.

The club was still in Billingshurst village hall when I started classes with Honey. Many happy years followed including the birth of the agility section at Dedisham Farm.

Three generations of the family and eight dogs later we are still enjoying classes.

So a huge thank you to all the trainers, helpers and committee members past and present. Your dedication, patience and love of dogs is much appreciated.

 

Keith, Jackie, Woodie, Themba and Korra x”

 

 

CLUB CLOTHING

Surrey Embroidery is the suppliers of BDTC clothing.

Check out the items below on the Surrey Embroidery website:        www.surreyembroidery.co.uk 

(type the codes below into the search bar at the bottom of the catalogue list.)

Either phone them, contact them via the contact page, or email them with your order at the address. info@surreyembroidery.co.uk

 

Sweatshirts – Navy:     RX300: £20.40            RX 301: £18.60  Hoodies:     265M French Navy:  £27.50

Rugby Shirts:   FR100 Navy with white collar: £28.00  Polo Shirts:  RX101 – Navy and white: £16.60 

T shirts:  GD95 – Navy and White: £13.60  Jackets:  PW171 – Navy: £29.60       RG125 – Navy: £39.95 

Cap:  RC050 Navy: £13.70 Body Warmer:  RS214 – Navy : £30.30

 

Prices include garment, embroidery, vat and p&p, i.e. everything included to receive an individual order. They will send an invoice with the garment.

Please note, Surrey Embroidery do not accept Card Payments so people can pay by BACS, Cheque or Cash. 

The Surrey Embroidery Co Ltd, The Old Coach House,

1 Fengates Road, Redhill, Surrey,  RH1 6AG.

Tel: 01737 761666, Fax: 01737 780666. 

 

 

 

ONLINE PAYMENT

Thanks to all of you who pay your course fees and membership subscriptions online. It is the quickest and easiest way to pay the club.

For anybody who wants to take advantage of this payment system here are the bank details.

Sort code: 30 94 41 Account number: 01678041.

Contact Trudy at treasurer@billingshurst-dtc.org for more details. Your forms will still need to go to the relevant people i.e. Section reps/Course instructors or Pat Reynolds if you are not currently attending classes.  

 

 

 

KENNEL CLUB GOOD CITIZENS DOG SCHEME

 

On 17^th May 2023 we held our annual GCDS tests at Bronze Level at our training hall in Rudgwick.

We had five candidates this time.  Often Tracey would judge for us but she was unable to do so this time so Brenda McMichael helped us out instead.  Brenda is a very experienced judge and has judged for us in the past. Like most judges, she is lovely and goes to great lengths to put people – and their dogs - at ease.

The idea of the Scheme is to promote responsible dog ownership by teaching owners to train their dog for all sorts of every day situations, just as we do in our classes. 

As is the norm we held a mock test the previous week just to give everyone an idea of what to expect and see whether there is anything in particular they need to work on before the test itself.

I’m delighted to say that all passed.  The candidates were

• Marion Clarke with Louis
• Andree Langhorn with Kiera
• Brenda McMichael (judge)
• Val Cottle with Hattie
• Joanna Clark with Rhubarb
• Samantha Liversedge with Ripley

Thank you to others including our instructors who came along to support us on the night.

I will as usual organize a test at Silver and at Gold Level later in the year and so if this is something you’d be interested in then please let me know.

Elaine Heath, Obedience Instructor

 

 

 

TAIL NOTE!

I hope you all enjoyed this copy of ‘DOG ENDS’ and make sure you put those important club dates in your diary.

 

Make sure you put your thinking caps on and fill in your nominations for your charity choice by 22^nd September. Also put the AGM date in your diary (24^th November)  to cast your vote for your favourite.

 

If you want ‘DOG ENDS’ emailed to you just let me know! noticeboard@billingshurst-dtc.org

 

If you need to find anything out about Billingshurst Dog Training Club, the best place is to check out the website www.billingshurst-dtc.org, which I try to keep updated regularly.

 

If you have anything you would like added (or put in ‘DOG ENDS’) please contact me at noticeboard@billingshurst-dtc.org, and I will be pleased to add it.

Contributions for the next issue and website are always gratefully received.   

As ever, a very big thank you to all of you who contributed to this edition of ‘DOG ENDS’ 

The Ed!

 

 

(Please note BDTC cannot be held responsible for any information found on any links on the BDTC website!)