MUDTC Newsletter Do You Have Something for the Newsletter? We d love to hear from you newsletter@mudtc.org.au or leave hard copy at the New Member Table President s Message Once again, a very busy month for our Club, although it was disappointing that classes had to be cancelled due to bad weather, and then the next week classes were not held because most of our instructors were involved in the ADAA Agility Competition. I hope you still had opportunities to play and train with your dogs, outside the class situation. On the first Friday of the month several of us spent the morning taking delivery, and raking in the mulch for the new Dog Park equipment. The mulch has made a great improvement, and so far hasn t been blown away in our Milton winds. We are still awaiting confirmation from the RSPCA of assistance with the cost of the fencing. We are very grateful to the Ulladulla Milton Lions Club who are to donate $200 towards the project. Last weekend we hosted our second Australian Dog Agility Association event at the Showground. It was a great success with entrants from all over the State travelling to take part. I am extremely grateful to all our members who contributed so much time and effort to make it such a success. The jobs are many and varied, from spending countless hours obtaining sponsors for prizes, to cooking the sausage sizzle. My sincere thanks to everyone who worked so hard leading up to the event, and then spent both days at the grounds keeping everything running so smoothly. (see photos pages 3 & 4) To keep us on our toes we have another event at the Showground on Saturday 20 September when we host an Australian Flyball Association Competition. This one day event will be held at the rear of the Showground in the Dressage Arena. There will be lots of action with the dogs racing in teams against each other, to see which team is the fastest without any faults. Our Club is the host for this competition and will provide the catering. Last year we ran a very successful cake stall and several of the entrants are hoping for a repeat this year! Do you bake? Would you like to bake a batch of cup cakes or muffins, or similar for us to sell on the cake stall? All offers gratefully received. Jenny Patch, our catering officer is at training every Sunday, and she will be very grateful to hear from anyone who can bake for the stall. Regards Rosie Milton President MUDTC Newsletter Edition No: 91 September 2014 Special points of interest: Relay for Life event at the Showground 5 & 6 September. Dog training will still be held. We share the grounds with Ulladulla Riders on 14 September Club to hold AFA Flyball Competition 20 September. Training Classes as usual on 21st Timber Festival to be held at Showground October long weekend -Dog Training cancelled Inside this issue: Training Classes 2 Club Photos 3,4,5 Members Corner 6,7
Page 2 MUDTC Newsletter Training Classes at MUDTC Here we continue the information about our Club Obedience Classes. After graduating from Beginners, handlers and their dogs continue to improve their skills in Basic Class with Instructor, Mark. Work continues on heeling, the various turns, retrieving, recalls, stays, stands and some fun times playing with the tuggy and learning some tricks. Once handlers and their dogs show consistency in these exercises, they are ready to graduate to Intermediate Class with Liz and Rick. The Intermediate Class of The Dog Club is one in which many handlers will spend a longer time. It is the class that brings all of what has been learned in previous classes together and extends dogs and trainers in preparation for the Advanced Class. In Intermediate, we attempt to polish all of the basic skills learned, heeling, sitting, dropping, standing, lead work, stays, waits, etc.. And correcting any 'bad' or 'sloppy' habits handlers sometimes develop as they become more confident in what they are doing. We move into more involved obedience, socialisation and activity skills for both dogs and handlers. We also do work on 'reactive' dogs, flighty behaviours, unsociable behaviours and unsettled behaviours because we have found that these dogs tend to come into this class and stay quite a while before they are ready to progress, thus causing this class to sometimes become a bit 'top heavy' and is the main reason there are two Trainers with this group. Intermediate class also starts to introduce working off lead for obedience work and activities, providing the dog has the necessary socialised skills required for this work. Clicker training is still used in Intermediate but generally only with the teaching of new skills or activities. Standing for examination, seek-backs, fetching, long stays and recalls, dummy work, flags, tricks and agility activities are all part of Intermediate class. The emphasis, as it is in all of the classes, is on enjoying your time with your dog, having fun with a dog that is trained, well behaved and a loyal and loving companion. Ajax - Intermediate Class Member Paunchy Pooches Dogs & humans often share these problems - too much food & too little exercise. Obesity can lead to serious conditions like arthritis, pancreatitis, diabetes & even cardiovascular disease. It can drastically shorten our dog s lives. Ways to check if your dog is overweight Can you feel each rib when you run your fingers along the ribcage? When viewed from above, does your dog have a definite waist behind the ribcage? When viewed side on, does your dog s tummy tuck upwards from the bottom of the ribcage to the groin? Does your dog have love handles just in front of their hips? For dogs that are overweight, a proper weight reduction program is essential. Firstly, record your dog s starting weight & then weigh your dog weekly. Talk to your vet about a suitable weight reduction diet. There are many specially formulated dry & canned diets available from your vet. With your vet work out what your dog s target weight should be. Then feed your dog the amount of food needed for a dog that would weigh 60% of this target weight. This should see the dog s weight reducing about 3% per week & you should achieve your dog s target weight in about 12 weeks. The next rule is essential but tough you know what it is! Never feed titbits & never feed your dog from the dinner table. Make sure your dog doesn t have access to other food sources such as another pet s food & that is it not sneaking to the neighbour s house for a second course. Don t provide free access to food unless you measure the exact amount every day. Use food from the daily allowance as reward treats. Exercise is an essential part of a weight reduction program. Burning the calories is vital. It s a great opportunity for you & your dog to start an exercise program together! There are many benefits from exercising your dog in your own back yard by throwing balls & toys in various different directions. Swimming is also wonderful exercise for dogs if you can organise it. Please discuss with your Vet before putting your dog on any type of diet.
MUDTC Newsletter Page 3 Club Photos Sunday morning 24 August and Ready for the ADAA Agility Competition 2nd day to start Lady with some of her prizes Mikki having lots of fun Photos courtesy Sarah Taylor and Janet Smith Tia - giving 100%
MUDTC Newsletter Page 4 Club Photos Kylie and Jenny - taking a well earned short break at the ADAA Comp BBQ Boys John and Bob at the ADAA Agility Comp Belinda and Kelly had a great day at the ADAA Comp
Page 5 Janet, Rosie, Jenny, Mark and Warwick hard at work mulching the Dog Park The finished product! Intermediate Class enjoying a game of noughts and crosses last Sunday at the Showground Photos courtesy Margaret Rudd and Jean Pack
Page 6 Members Corner A warm welcome to all our recent new members. We hope you have a happy and rewarding time training your dog at the Club. Dates for your Diary 7 September Relay for Life event is booked at the Showground. Dog Training classes as usual at 9am. 14 September we share the grounds with Ulladulla Riders, please keep your dog on leash around the horses. 14 September is the next round of the Tessa Rudd and Penny Cullen Club Agility competition. Open to all members, please arrive by 7.30am to walk the course. Training classes as usual at 9am. The Club s next committee meeting is also on 14th after training at 10.15am. 20 September our Club will hold an Australian Flyball Association event in the Dressage Arena area at Milton Showground. Competition starts at 8.30am and lasts all day. If you can bake some goodies for the cake stall please see Catering Officer, Jenny at training. Spectators welcome. Dog training will be held as usual on Sunday 21 September. What is Flyball? Flyball is a relay race between two teams of dogs (four dogs in each team). The dogs go through start gates - which are usually drag racing lights - and jump over four hurdles to a spring loaded box hold a tennis ball, grab the tennis ball and return over the four hurdles and through the finish line. If a team is really good the two dogs will meet nose-to-nose at the start line to minimise the time taken to complete the course and come out with a really fast time. Flyball is trained Australia-wide and many competitions are held during the year. The Club is a member of the Australian Flyball Association. 5 October (Long weekend) The Timber Festival event will be held at the Showground and so training is cancelled. New members day will be on 12 October. For Club agility class participants please check with Rosie or Jenny for arrangements during September. Fantastic Relay Winners Congratulations to our Junior Member Tara, Marg s grand-daughter who is a member of Ulladulla Public School Junior Girls Relay Team who won the Primary Schools Zone Championships at Canberra recently. The team now goes onto the State Primary Schools Athletics Championships in Sydney later this year. Good luck to all members of the team. Tara and Sunday Best Wishes Sending our best wishes to members Natasha, Louise and Nerida who have all had operations recently. Happy to report they are all recovering well, and we hope to see them back at training soon. Ticks Please be very car efu l t o check your dog for ticks. Several entrants in last week s agility competition at the Showground, found ticks on their dogs. They had been staying at the Showground and so did not take their dogs anywhere else, so the ticks must have come from the long grass at the grounds.
Page 7 Results - Congratulations to Club Members Congratulations to the members who were successful at the Shoalhaven Dog Training Club Rally O Trial held on Saturday, August 2. Diane Richmond s Lady gained second place in Rally O excellent, Emma Parnell s Blitz gained first place in Rally O novice, Ruth Hall and her dogs Mr Paddy and Shandi gained passes and their Rally O novice titles, and Ruth s Shandi was successful to gain highest point score. Club Graduations to Intermediate: Well done to Warwick Taylor and Ajax, Amanda Phillips and Jet in graduating to Intermediate Class. If you and your dog take part in any of the Dog Disciplines, including Showing, please let us know your results if you would like them included on this page. Club members from Eurobodalla also did well recently. Karen Gould was successful in gaining her Rally O excellent title when her dog Kalikai Bonza Fudge CCD had its most successful day at the ACT CDC Rally O and Obedience Trials. Donna Garten s dog Oscar was first and gained a pass and the highest point in CCD Title at Broken Hill. At Bulli & District Kennel Club held at Wollongong on the 10th August very well done to members Diane & Rusty (Australian Kelpie) won Minor Puppy class, and got Best Minor Puppy in Breed and to Alison & Georgie (Belgian Shepherd Tervueren) won Puppy Class and Won Challenge Bitch,R/up Best of Breed and Best Puppy in Breed. Also Alison & Livvy (Belgian Shepherd Groenendael) came second in Baby Puppy Bitch. Also congratulations to members Rosie Milton, Dianne Richmond, Jenny Patch, Belinda Smithers, Sue and Rachel Swaney, Jacquie Koppman, Danielle Butson and Jenny Marshall who competed with their dogs at the ADAA Agility Trial held at the Showground 23 and 24 August. There were several qualifying rounds by our members, and Danielle s dog Tia Maria achieved her SAAD - Senior Australian Agility Dog title. Several members came along to watch, including Hilary and Sarah who travelled up from Moruya, grateful thanks to Sarah for the fantastic photos - a great weekend for everyone. Fudge - a very successful day at ACT CDC Rally O and Obedience Trials Food Treats If you forget your dog s food treats you can purchase a bag at the Clubhouse. All profits go towards our fence project for the Dog Park. $3 per bag. Grateful thanks to Alison who is preparing the treats. Training classes are held at 9am on Sundays at the rear of Milton Showground. Training fee is $2 for each dog. Please drive slowly within the Showground Milton Ulladulla Dog Training Club Inc PO Box 274 MILTON NSW 2538 Phone: 4454 071 before 4pm E-mail: info@mudtc.org.au Web Site: www.mudtc.org.au