Kennel Club

Some people are unaware that there are rescue societies for many dog breeds, so it's a great idea that the Kennel Club has put a link on its site to let people know about them. Now on its "Choosing the right puppy/dog" page, there is a link to "Choosing a Rescue Dog".

Crufts is only just over a month away. In five weeks’ time we’ll be smack bang in the middle of it all. This year’s Crufts could of course be quite an unusual one.

The British Kennel Club has come in for a real mauling recently, and consequently more and more organisations have bailed out of Crufts 2009. I think the real question here is not can we live with the Kennel Club, but more can we live without it?

I met and interviewed Dr. Roger Mugford at his Train and Behave Week. He’s a real character who’s lots of fun and not afraid to speak his mind. He’s also passionately committed to dogs; his own and those whose owners appeal to him for training or legal help. He is extremely likeable in person.

Roger invented the Halti, and sells many variations on a Kong theme. You can find his website at www.companyofanimals.co.uk

Here’s some thoughts from Roger about Crufts and the contribution of showing to the development of dogs:

The Kennel Club has at last reacted really well to the furore created by the Pedigree Dogs Exposed Documentary, with this announcement “Kennel Club to Clamp Down on Breeders to Safeguard Health of Pedigree Dogs”. (www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/2089/23/5/3)

The firs new standard is for the Pekingese, and demands the breed has a muzzle rather than a completely flat face. (www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/196)

We have just returned from a brilliant holiday in Scotland – a peaceful isolated dog-friendly cottage, Loch Ness just minutes away, beautiful scenery and lots to do,; who could ask for more? We loved it and so did Buddy and Star.

We stayed at Rowan Cottage (www.lochnesshideaways.co.uk/) and our host Janet made us feel very welcome indeed. The dogs accompanied us on a gondola trip up the Glen Nevis range near Fort William (www.nevisrange.co.uk/summer/index.asp), as well as enjoying a boat trip on Loch Ness (www.jacobite.co.uk/).

Last night Buddy and I started a Bronze Good Citizenship Dog Scheme course of lessons.
The scheme is run by the Kennel Club and promotes responsible dog ownership. Not only do you have to train your dog to do certain tasks, but you as the owner have to know certain things. One of the most important of these to me is that you have to demonstrate that you are carrying some form of poop scoop.