President’s Patter
Don’t panic, you didn’t miss the July/August newsletter! With the shows and so much going on there just wasn’t time to do it and here we are in September already – soon be Christmas! There has been a great deal going on with the club, not least the Mary Ray cabaret which promises to be a fantastic evening. Tickets are now on sale at the Villa Marina box office and going nicely so don’t leave it too late to get yours if you haven’t done so already, we must also thank Sue and Richard Callow of Caltrac for their very generous support of this event. For those who are not so familiar with Mary Ray she is a leading dog trainer and handler and best known for her fabulous dance routines with her dogs at Crufts just prior to the Best In Show each year. To me she is the handler I most admire as her dogs (all ten of them!) live with her in her home with husband Dave and she has a wonderful relationship with them all that is clearly reflected in their work, whether heelwork to music, competitive obedience or agility. My claim to fame is that I beat her once in a novice obedience class a few years ago with my rescue collie, Josh, of course that particular dog is now an obedience champion but hey!
One of the things that has changed with club activities is that flyball has now gone solo, Ruth will give a full explanation in her final flyball article for the newsletter. This was discussed with committee and we all felt that Nick and Ruth’s decision was fully understandable and that the club was busy enough with obedience and agility and that our efforts are best concentrated on these activities, leaving flyball to the experts! The Dermotts will continue to play havoc with us at agility so we won’t have seen the last of them by any means – and in a very short time there will be Baby Dermott to keep us on our toes too! I just hope they don’t fire baby in a puppy crate or Stan in the pram!!!!!!!!!! On a serious note, all on committee and I’m sure all at club too wish the Dermotts and all the flyball handlers well on their new ventures.
Debbie
Ruth’s Flyball Fanatics
It’s all change in the Dermott household at the moment as some of you will already know. Nick and I are expecting a baby in the new year (yikes!) and we have had to take a look at our lives and see where we can simplify things. Sadly for Ramsey Dog Club we no longer felt able to dedicate the time to being committee members and felt running a flyball team would be easier for us if it were independent of a much larger organisation. We are grateful for all the past support the flyball team has received from the committee and members of Ramsey Dog Club because without that we could not have grown to what we are today. As of this September the Ramsey Flyball teams have disbanded and we have started a new team called the Manx Flyball teams as an independent flyball club.
We will still be around at Agility and I will continue in the role of agility trainer (after a short sabbatical to allow for the arrival of our screaming bundle of joy).
Members Matter
Many congratulations on numerous successes at our July show:
Ruth and Chewy – winning pre-beginner and beginner obedience, also best club member over the weekend
Nick and Clio – winning more agility classes to move up a grade (seems the Dermotts reigned supreme at MAD!!)
Jim and Kofi, Karen and Maddie – both now out of beginner obedience
Pauline and Alan – finally getting a long overdue beginner win and so nearly doing the double with a close second the following day
Sue and Cassie, Sue and Maggie – making their marks in agility with a G1 win each
Voirrey and Muffin – wining G5-7 medium agility
Pauline and Gypsy – winning G1-4 small jumping and agility
Danielle and Lola – winning G1-4 and G1-7 small agility, also best club member over the weekend
And it doesn’t end there:
Debbie and Bea – finally got their last A win at the Royal Manx and are now qualified to work C obedience!
And finally… we wish Jean a speedy recover from surgery on her knee. She’ll be 6 weeks on crutches so be warned – she’s armed and dangerous!!
Pup Quiz Question – what are not considered good toys for dogs to play with?
Obedience on the Go!
After an initial postponement we finally managed to hold the Pet Obedience Tests in August. Working outside for a change provided an extra challenge for many handlers and their dogs but that was not a bad one, even tougher for those taking Gold as it was dark by the time we finished! Well done to the following who passed:
BronzeSilverGold
Judged by HirelleJudged by JeanJudged by Debbie
Gill Slaytor & PepperJohn & Carol Ainley & RileyFiona Bryans & Jet
Brigit Scott & PatchLisa Walker & BenjiJean Young and Willie
Pauline Moneta & GypsyVoirrey Horne & Muffin
Debbie Martin & AmyBetty Cooke & Max
Jean Young & Arthur
(judged by Cathy & Jim Stanley)
Have you ever thought of trying competition obedience? I’d be fibbing if I said it was easy but it is fun! If you would like to give it a go and join our 9pm group then please let us know as we thought it would make most sense to start any newbies off at the same time.
Agility Action
Yesterday (5th Sept) saw us host our Invitation Fun Agility Day and despite the wind and threat of rain the event went extremely well and fun was indeed had by all! The final results for the club with the most points and the trophy kindly given by Brenda Charlton was as follows:
1stDouglas DTC24 points
2ndRamsey DTC21 points
3rdIOM DO&AC18 points
A pretty close competition I’d say! Many thanks to all who helped out throughout the day with special thanks to:
- Pauline for use of the field and providing refreshments
- Jayne for organising and liaising with club members and the other clubs
- Peter, Jane and Sue for setting courses and judging
- Ruth and Jean for timekeeping and scribing
- Marie for scoring and keeping track of the final results
We are heading back to Kennaa for autumn/winter indoor training as of 14th September and this will also see a large new beginner group start too. Times for everyone are:
7.30Beginner group to set up and train (the quicker we set up the more training time we have!)
8.40money will be collected and we change over to advanced/novice dogs for 8.45 start
As we have such a large number of dogs this time can everyone please do their best to keep their dogs under control at all times and only dogs that are actually working should be off the lead. This rule is for the safety of everyone, two and four legged. Please also ensure that you clean up after your dog as venues are hard to come by.
Tried and Tested!
Following on from the last newsletter’s Pup Quiz Question on dog’s teeth and of course prompted by Jean’s obsession with all of us cleaning our teeth, whether human or canine (!) I have discovered a great way to clean four sets of collie teeth quickly and easily! Despite all the lectures I simply do not have time to clean four sets of collie teeth with toothbrush and doggy toothpaste so have discovered the next best thing – beaphar (used to be known as Sherley’s) tooth gel. You simply squeeze the gel onto the teeth and let the dog do the rest by licking their teeth and spreading it. Takes just seconds and it actually works! Bea’s teeth were looking a little worse for wear but within a very few weeks she has a gleaming set of gnashers! Available off the internet but I’ve found the best deal in the Ramsey pet shop at about £5 for a large tube.
Sutton Fields Flyball Tournament – Danielle’s view
The weekend of the 15th/16th May was Ramsey’s first tournament of 2010 at Sutton Fields, near Runcorn. For this tournament, we had 3 teams competing; 2 starter teams and 1 open team. Luckily enough, the weather stayed sunny all weekend which gave Emma and me a good excuse to do limited revision as it was ‘too hot to concentrate’!
On Saturday, we only had one team competing – Ramsey Rookies. They were lucky as this was a 5 team division instead of a 6 team. The team included Aileen & Rachel, Bernese & Patch, Nick & Stan, Vicky & Taz, Mandy & Poppie and Danielle & Misty. Their captain was Sharon Jenkinson and boxloader was Linda Qualtrough. All dogs ran exceptionally well and for some dogs it was their first time competing in the sport. The team managed a fastest time of 18.78(!!) seconds and finished in 4th place.
The day after, it was the Raiders’ and Rebels’ time to shine. This was a busy day for Ramsey as we were ring partying for division 9 (which was the first division in the ring) as well as racing 2 teams and some handlers gave singles/pairs/trios a go as well! Our first team to race this day was Ramsey Rebels, who were running in starters. The team consisted of Vicky and Jordan & Clifford, Nick and Josh & Clio, Linda & Lass, Mandy & Connor, Sharon & Maisie and Mairi & Lexi (who stepped in when Charlie was unable to compete due to an injury). Their captain was Sarah Paull & boxloader was Emma Jenkinson. The team ran really well and as with the Rookies it was some of the dogs’ first time competing in flyball. There were a few cross over fouls and some dropped balls but the team enjoyed themselves and the dogs ran really well in the sun(!!).
Later on that day, our open team Ramsey Raiders were competing in division 7. They were seeded 2nd out of 6 teams. In this team were Nick & Archie, Sarah & Eddie, Emma & Dash, Sharon & Benji, Anita & Boots and Danielle & Lola. All dogs were experienced and had competed before. Their captain was Ruth Dermott and boxloader was Vicky Guest. 20.35 seconds was their fastest time. All dogs ran really well, however due to some early change overs and a false start or two, they finished in 5th place. Overall, Ramsey enjoyed their weekend and caught up with friends from other teams during the evening. Roll on Rotherham – where we will have even more teams!!
Pup Quiz Answer–the obvious first items are sticks and stones. Neither should ever be thrown for a dog, the first can get stuck in the mouth and even worse the dog can be impaled on it if it lands with one end in the ground; the second will break teeth (not a good look for any dog!) and can also be swallowed. Other items include squeaky toys for puppies as they can teach the pup to ‘kill’ and can also affect how well they learn bite inhibition too, not an obvious problem but surprisingly true. All toys should be supervised and if your dog starts to destroy it then it should be disposed of before pieces get swallowed. I would also advise thinking very carefully about giving dogs old socks or shoes as expecting pups to differentiate between old and new is a tad optimistic!
Photos from MAD Becky took some fantastic shots of the dogs in action at both our agility and obedience weekends and the whole gallery is available to see at using the password ‘josh’ to access them. Photos and other items with photos on can be ordered on line at some very reasonable prices so do take a look.
Forthcoming Events
October 8Mary Ray Cabaret Evening at the Villa Marina
13Annual General Meeting (no training)
November 21Autumn Crufts Agility Competition and Agility Fun Day
27Ceilidh with supper and annual prize giving