News in Brief

Training suspended Guy Fawkes Week.

Post Xmas Party 15th January 2016 Bebington Legion

Wirral Alsatian Training Society

W.A.T.S ON

Inside this issue:

Dog of the month 2

Guide dogs and us 3

Hoylake in Bloom 4

Blood Donor update 5

Puppy class successes 6

Committee Brief Aug 7

Well Done Mist 7

Committee Brief Oct 8

Hilarious Hattie 9 Thank You 10 Halloween memories 10 Angela’s Blog 10

Idiots guide to Rally 9

October 2015

Angela The Editor

Hi Everyone! Happy Halloween!

Haven’t we had the most gorgeous Autumn? My most favourite season! My big “Sister” Tori shares the same view! Stunning col-ours everywhere, fantastic telly and all those slow cooked dinners to look forward to!

If you read our last Newsletter—you know I had a “Go” @ The Golden Girls. See page 4. They never let me down!

Ken had a great idea the other week—I know it’s rare but when he has one it’s usually genius! He was saying that people in his Agili-ty class where asking how to enter shows and how do you find out where they are? So Ken thought we could get some willing volun-teers to write “The idiot’s guide to ……..”. I told you it was genius!

So Flo using ESP had already started an article about Rally. She sent it to me and I read it as an idiot and I had some questions for her. Flo has now adjusted it, so if it’s now clear to me you will easily get it. Thanks Flo!

John (our President) and Irene (our Chair) are doing the Agility version and Nikki F.M is doin’ the Obedience one! No pressure guys! Go and make a cup of tea and enjoy YOUR Newsletter.

Issue 97

Dog of the Month ~ Sasha by Philip Ryan

Sasha was a rescue that we got in July 2013 and our first impres-sions of Sasha weren't exactly favourable, as when Sasha first

came into our house, she had flew through the hall like a whirlwind to im-mediately perform an examination of the food bowl, along with several circuits of the kitchen in rapid succession! She was adorable with those big brown puppy eyes and she certainly meant well in

WATS Who’s Who

The Committee 2015

President John Haddock

Vice President Kath Mangan

Chairman Irene Haddock

Secretary Jackie Weight

Treasurer Anne Cook

Director of Anne Hargreaves Training

Committee Marg Cabot Nikki Fildes-Moss Ian Nicholls Marg Nicholls Flo Williams

W.A.T.S

Please send articles for publication to ~

WATS Newsletter Editor Angela Morgan

Phone: 0151 648 6921 E-mail:idris0@talktalk.net

This is YOUR Newsletter.

We’re on the web www.wats.org.uk

Page 2

her affections, just she was a very headstrong dog! In the days that followed, any grub left unattended, be it Costco muffins, a tin of chocolates or a entire lunch box, she would stuff it all into her shovel head in under five minutes. (Shovel Head)? Made me laugh out loud! I’m sure many in the fashion business would want to know her secret for eating so much yet remaining so trim! Yet despite her abundance of energy her boundless enthusiasm made her a natural agility dog that went over every obstacle with a incredible pace, intended or not and a jump height that in all rights should earn her, her own category! At first Elaine had run her, but such was her relentless drive meant that I had to take over since one (since one? Very regal)! had to literally race her around the course, but it was a re-warding task because what had become clear was that she really enjoyed agility and the exercise that came with it, moaning and whining whenever she recognised a beach or field where she could run wild. Two years since then the Great Dane has mellowed out and has started to allow experience to be built upon Sasha's boundless energy, around the house she is a friendly, nosy great Dane that has lost none of the bright eyed curiosity of when we first got her. She has a fantastic temperament with people without los-ing any of her excitement for runs on the beach and agility and of recent months I've begun to have success with her in the ring with clear rounds in a number of venues, topped with a 2nd place earned in Bakewell! The future is looking bright for our dog and in her I have found a fantastic companion! Philip—I loved that article!! You are a star!! Do you think that you could write an article for every edition of the Newsletter? It doesn’t have to be about dogs—just about life. That is my “Challenge” to you!!!

Page 3

Guide Dogs and the ‘Brown’s’ – Part 34 Still no puppy of our own at yet, but we have had the opportunity of having Jay Kay for a few days. He was 6 weeks old when he came to visit, such a cutie, but you cannot look at many pups without using words as cutie, adorable etc.

Please don’t disturb me whilst I am resting

Oh good – dinner has arrived!!! It was funny having such a young pup back in the house again and when he met the Sheps he looked so tiny, but after an hour he was certainly settling in well with them. Whenever he was near Karl he just walked under him to get to wherever he wanted to go and Eva (bless) would just lie by him when he was resting. Jay Kay has now gone to his permanent Puppy Walker in Liverpool and has set-tled in very well. Good luck JK. And so say all of us!

Daniel and Pickles with Cerys and Neville chilling out at one of the shows. Photo courtesy of Luke Windsor—thanks Luke! (See my Blog)

Page 4 Wirral Alsatian Training Society

Issue 97 Hoylake In Bloom Anne, Margaret and Barbara

8.30 Sunday 2 August 2015 and the sun is shining as we arrive at Queens Park, Hoylake to set up for the day. We have a vast array of equipment collected from various points on the Wirral during the preceding day, made very much easier thanks to Gerry Skip the Collie for the use of the trailer and Agility equipment. It was all hands to the pump to set up the ring, the Agility course, help Anne and Flo erect their tent, find the area for Dancing with your Dog, and have a brew (thank you Lesley) and a quick look around the variety of stalls and displays. We all looked really smart in our matching turquoise shirts and dogs looked good too in their Bandanas.

The queue for the Fun Dog Show was enormous and we really thought this may distract people from our ring but no, it all went exceedingly well. The Agility display went well and was followed by Hurdle through Hoylake – a Run with Rufus spoof for children to run with a dog and handler. However, we realised adults were in the queue wanting to ‘have a go’ with their dog so amended our programme as these were ‘paid for events’ for Hoylake In Bloom funds. Thanks must go to Jane, who was organis-ing the Rally, as she had to do the first display in an area outside the ring so the Hurdling could con-tinue. We had to call a halt though as we needed to get back on track with the programme. The Heelwork Display was brilliant and looked extremely professional, the Scenting by Jackie amazed all the on lookers – as this took place after a display by the Professional Search and Rescue dogs it made it a hard act to follow but really did demonstrate how your dog can be useful at home to find keys, remote controls etc. The retrieve by Lesley was equally well received and enjoyed. The Rally looked very professional and Sheelagh and Jane in the pairs were nothing short of stunning. Hilda with Honey doing their Dance Routine was amazing and a great crowd puller, so many thanks to Hilda for helping WATS out on this one. Chris and June worked hard in ‘Tricks corner’ which ran through-out the day with any dogs not otherwise engaged showing off their party pieces. Sue with Callie represented PAT dogs and attracted much attention, it really is a lovely and rewarding thing to do with your dog, Anne and Flo were busy promoting WATS and the KC Good Citizen Scheme.

4.00 pm and it’s time to start packing up after a long, tiring but immensely enjoyable day entertain-ing and hopefully educating people and with the knowledge we helped to raise money for Hoylake in Bloom to improve the Park.

None of this would have been possible without the help and commitment of all those taking part, so on behalf of WATS it has to be a very big thank you to:

Jane with Sydd, Gibbs and Flo; Sheelagh with Shadow; Val with Maisie; Pat with Dotty; Chris with Duke; June with Winnie; Jackie with Dempsey; Lesley with Kiri; Geraldine with Diva (big); Sue with Callie; Jean with Coco; Margaret with Khara and Nimah; Barbara with Peppa and Diva (little) and our friend Hilda with Honey. Thanks also to Anne and Flo for their promotional activities and to Lesley for providing us with brews throughout the day.

An event like this takes a great deal of organising and requires everyone to commit, not only working with their dog, but also attending rehearsals and working as a team to help with the setting up, changing rings, clearing up, stewarding etc. on the day. It is fair to say that most people went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure we rehearsed to give professional displays and worked their socks off on the day ran to ensure it ran as smoothly as possible – thank you all

We look forward to being invited to another Hoylake in Bloom Fun Day in 2016.

If you wish to know more about PAT dogs or any of the other activities mentioned please do not hesitate to contact Anne 0151 678 3320; Barbara 07738 079 063 or Margaret 07855 839 318. Check out their website where you will be able to see photos/video of us and the many other activi-ties included in what was a really great day. http://www.hoylakeinbloom.co.uk/

Page 5

Blood Donor Register Update ~ Ruth Gardiner

You will all have previously read the articles re-lating to the canine blood donor register we were trying to set up with our local emergency veteri-nary hospital. This is an update of how we are making progress.

On 22nd August 2015 eleven of our members took their dogs to attend a blood screening ses-sion at Chestergates Veterinary Specialists. For those of you who do not know much about them they are a specialist-led multi-disciplinary veteri-nary referral hospital based near Chester not far from the Cheshire Oaks Outlet village (see their website for more details). They have animals re-ferred to them from vets when they require more specialised treatment. They also provide an out of hours service for a lot of vets who do not provide the service themselves. We are lucky to have such a provision in easy travelling distance.

The purpose of the screening was for the 17 dogs who attended to have a blood test, a health check and to see if they were of a suitable temperament to be a potential blood donor. The blood test was to check which blood group they are and that their general health was good. The dogs attended at half an hour intervals throughout the course of the day. It was very well or-ganised by the staff who made us all feel very welcome and kept us supplied with nibbles, cakes and drinks. Each dog received a gift to thank them for their attendance.

Each owner was sent the results of their dogs tests within a couple of days. I am pleased to say we now have a register set up with Chestergates. Caroline the vet who has organised the whole thing asked me to pass on her thanks to everyone in-volved and she said " We are so appreciative to all the volunteers for coming forward to help. It is so kind and selfless and hopefully will save someone else's beloved dog sometime in the future."

The usefulness of having the register was tested on 29/9/15 when one of our dogs was on standby at the vets for an emergency donation for a sick dog. He wasn't actually needed but having him available for the afternoon in the surgery and then available through the night at the end of a phone was a great position for the vets to be in.

The success of this is all down to our members agreeing to let their dogs be canine heroes. Having been in the position of having a critically ill dog I know how much our members and their dogs are appreciated for being a part of this.

Chestergates will continue to monitor the register but dogs will come off it when they no longer meet the criteria for example if they become ill or as they get older (8 years is the average age they can stay on until) so we will always be grateful for more volunteers for the future. Please con-tact me (ruth@rgardiner3.wanadoo.co.uk) if you have any queries or would like to know more about volun-teering.

Everyone sends their best wishes to Daniel who is recovering from an operation

Page 6

Puppy Class ~ Good Citizens awards Ken and I were watching the pups at class. All absolutely gor-geous—Ruth warned them that I might try to steal one! We looked at Odin (named after a Norse God—I think) and Ken said “What do you think that one is”? And I very smugly replied “It’s a Dogue de Bordeux”. Ken thought he looked like a Staffie.

So I couldn’t wait to ask Steve, Odin’s Dad, what was Odin’s breed………………. He’s a Dogue de Bordeux crossed with a Staffie!! He is sooo handsome! Next to Steve is Rhiannon with Miley a Belgian Shepherd.. A very pretty Malinois to be absolutely precise. (Lynda and Ruth will be very impressed—but I only know because Rhiannon told me)! Then we have Lynda with Rico a really stunning German Shepherd. His markings are just beautiful! I think Rico would go down a storm in Sue Browns class! Last but definitely not least is Simon and Archie a tiny Chihuahua (Helen taught me how to spell that - the way she said it made me instantly know how to spell it!) To be honest I didn’t think Simon looked a Chihuahua kind of guy. But he explained. Archie is his Mums dog and as she is on holiday Simon HAD to take him for his exam! He tells me this with that look that all the youngsters get when they are talking about their Mums! Laura’s face was like that at Blenheim. Cerys was away so Laura was the only child for Mum and Dad to shout at. Life’s hard. Mum you have a lovely Chihuahua and a lovely son!

September ~ Lucy Maylor & Gracie, Jess Joy & Sasha, Alan Roberts & Hugo, Karen Kavanagh & Luna, Angela Lloyd & Jess

Photo is of class from July They are left to right Peter Elliott and Lol-ly, Paula Meadows and Harry, Edward Millington and Rhex. Also passing were Scott Whiting and Toby and Liz Russell and Mia.

Well Done Mist and the Haddock! They had their 1st run yesterday and came 1st at DIG IT agility. (Must have been a small class!!!)

Page 7

WIRRAL ALSATIAN TRAINING SOCIETY

BRIEFING OF COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON

FRIDAY 28TH AUGUST 2015 AT 287 TEEHEY LANE, HR. BEBINGTON

COMMENCING AT 9.30AM

PRESENT: J Weight, A Hargreaves, I Haddock, I Nicholls, M Nicholls, M Cabot, N Fildes-Moss, F Williams. A Cook APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: None MINUTES OF LAST MEETING: Agreed. SHOWS: Rally/Fun Day was a success and thanks to all who gave up their time to organise and run the various parts. Well done everyone, all who attended enjoyed their day. £500 has been donated to charity - £200 to the Council Kennels and £300 to Guide Dogs, via Sue Brown. Hoylake in Bloom: This went very well in spite of having to suddenly rearrange the itinerary. The jump with Rover was a big hit and the demonstrations went very well. Thanks to all who took part, we have been asked to come back next year. 2016 Rally Trial will be on Saturday 2 April – more details to be advised nearer the time. TRAINING: Training at Beechwood – Obedience ran all month on an informal basis. Gold test judged by Flo Williams – not all passed but those who took part were all happy with their efforts, They are training for their next try. Thanks to Flo. FACEBOOK: Club will allow certain non members to become Friends. Flo will monitor it. FORWARDING OF EMAILS: Only those being of club business and health and safety will be forwarded. AOB: Flowers were sent to Ruth, Lynda and Anne following their bereavement. The club has been asked to take part in demonstrations at Birkenhead Park' Festival of Transport and they will be doing agility then Jump with Rover for the public to join in, Rally and Heelwork to Music de-mos. Stop Press – Bronze Good Citizen test on the Sunday for the public. DATE OF NEXT MEETING: Friday 2 October at 1.30pm, Anne Cook's. Any items for discussion, please send in writing to Jackie Weight, Secretary, via your trainer or by email to jackie.w8@btinternet.com

WIRRAL ALSATIAN TRAINING SOCIETY

BRIEFING OF COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON FRIDAY 2 OCTOBER 2016 AT 11 SEABANK ROAD, HESWALL

COMMENCING AT 1.30PM

PRESENT: A Cook, J Weight, I Haddock, N Fildes-Moss, A Hargreaves, I Nicholls, M Nicholls, F Williams, M Cabot. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: None Thanks to Marg Cabot and Barbara MacLeod for organising the demonstrations at the Festival of Transport in Birkenhead Park on 29 September, and thanks to all who took part. The Rally Trial in 2016 is booked for Saturday 2 April at Standish, near Wigan. It will be a two day show with another club hosting on Sunday 3 April. There will be a Gold Good Citizen test held at Beechwood on Friday 6 November in the morning. Sue Brown's class. Thanks to Flo and Steve who took the Monday night class at Beechwood on 14 September, when Jackie and Dave were on holiday. Heidi Lawrence of the Kennel Club is holding a seminar on the Good Citizen Dog Scheme at Beechwood on Thursday 12 November, to explain the changes to the scheme and to take questions from the floor. This seminar is for instructors, trainees and judges only. Pre-booked places only. All classes that took a break over the summer are now back. Evening training is suspended during Guy Fawkes week, Monday to Friday, 2 November to 6 November. Please check with your trainer for any exceptions. Problems with Larton are being taken up with the owners of the venue. The Guide Dogs have sent their thanks for the donation of £300 raised at the Fun Dog Show. Dave Neave's sister, Chris, is a professional photographer and gave up some of her holiday to take some stunning photos of the dogs in their classes. The club sent a bouquet of flowers to Chris, who lives in the Republic of Ireland.. Chris was also given a bottle of wine before she left for home and has sent her thanks via Dave. Thanks also from Gaenor Gregory for the flowers and card sent following her recent illness. Flowers and cards were sent to Geri Brophy on the loss of her mother recently. Our condolences. On a happier note, the Post Christmas Party will be held at the British Legion on Friday 15 January 2016 and the AGM on Monday 22 February at the same venue (get your points in order for trophies). Date of next meeting: Friday 30th October (items for discussion to jackie.w8@btinternet.com)

Page 8

Hilarious Hattie – Well you’ve just got to laugh! (Thanks Mrs. Nicholls) Ah no more going away to shows this year. Just when I was beginning to get the hang of it. Well nearly. I’m still working hard in Marie’s Bromborough class, if only I could stop barking. I’m like my Mum—I have a very low boredom threshold. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!

Page 9

Idiots guide to Rally by Flo Williams Rally is a brand new activity that was adopted from the APDT (Association of Professional Dog Trainers) in October 2012. It was invented my Bud Kramer in America. It was started off for pet owners as an introduction to Obedience. He was watching people training their dogs outside the obedience ring practising presents, finishes, close heelwork etc, before they went in the ring to compete. The idea then came to him about Rally. So he designed signs to fit in with the exercises he saw people practising. Rally is FUN!!! And we have lots of fun at our training sessions, encouraging one another and working together as a team. Progression is through achieving a qualifying score, not getting placed so you are not competing against your fellow competitors. In order to enter a show, your dog must be registered on the KC Breed Register or the Ac-tivity Register. You can download schedules for free from http://www.rallynews.co.uk/index.html There is al-so a list on the website of all the Rally trials that are being held in the country. You start off in Level 1 and 2 which both have your dogs on lead. This gives you the oppor-tunity for you and your dog to gain confidence for when you qualify out of the lower levels in-to Levels 3-6 which are all off lead. When you arrive at the show, you must report to the show secretary to get your ring number and then you will be told if you have a running order or if you have to sign in at the ring. It varies at the moment so it is always wise to ask. Half an hour before judging starts, you have the opportunity to walk around the course and familiarise yourself with the signs and ex-ercises and the layout of the course. You can walk the course as many times as you wish but if you have a query about anything always ask the judge, not your fellow competitors, because if you don’t perform the exercise how the judge requires it to be done, you will be, what we call, NQ'd. That means you are non qualified.# If you require any further information contact Flo Williams who is a Kennel Club Accredited Rally Judge Trainer and a Level 6 judge. flo.williams@ntlworld.com Thanks Flo! I get it!

Thank You

Ruth Gardiner, Lynda McNamara, Anne Handley and their families would like to pass on their thanks to all the members for their cards, flowers, messages of sympathy and the generous donations made to WaterAid in memory of their lovely mum Dorothy Maguire. It was really kind of everyone and most appreciated at a very difficult time - THANK YOU

Angela’s Blog

Well I thought that was a really interesting read! Well done and thank you to all our contributors this month. We are fast approaching Clubs 100th edition of the Newsletter!! Can you believe it? I think the first one came out before I was born. So we are having a special edition to celebrate! There is photography competition which I thought Irene (Our Chair) could help me judge—but oh no—she’s on a photography course at the moment and wants to enter! (Ruth—Ken says you could take the soft focus lens off occasion-ally). Photo’s can be of anything so please have a go! And we are having another competition for who sends in the best article entitled Why I love……… I was thinking of “Why I love my dog or why I love Autumn” but then Mrs. Nicholls suggested just leaving it open. So I want you to write an article about what you love. If anyone out there has any other ideas about how we can make the 100th edition special please get in touch!!!

Be happy with your four legged friends! Lots of love Angela x

Memories of Halloween ~ Irene

One Halloween several years ago when Ellie and Sam were a bit younger we decided to have a Halloween party in the garden. John made a tunnel out of a wooden frame with sheets over it and things hanging down inside so when you went through it they touched your face. He then made a trolley cart for the kids to ride through the tunnel on. John made the trolley cart from a couple of sets of skate board wheels and some wood, with a piece of string attached to the front so the kids thought they could steer it. For some reason (can’t remember why) we had lots of sheets of plywood and used this for the track for the trolley cart to run on. (skate boards don’t run well on grass) Needless to say we didn’t just have Ellie and Sam but what felt half the kids in the neighbourhood. After the kids had done trick or treat they arrived. The ride through the tunnel was their favourite game so they all queued up to take turns at going through the tunnel. The only problem was the adults had to take the cart from the end of the run back to the start and that was exhausting. We had to recruit the other parents and neighbours to help. Sometimes the kids got back to the start before the cart did. Funnily enough the grass in the garden didn’t look good for months. Never mind the kids had a great night, but we all needed an early night to get over it. Can’t you just picture it?

Page 10