January Newsletter

Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) Membership

Gemma Osmond, MAPDT 01069

We are pleased to report that last year Gemma applied to join the APDT, and after an assessment in October was approved for membership. The purpose of the APDT is to ‘offer pet dog owners a guarantee of quality when looking for a puppy and dog training class in their area’. Gemma felt it was important to join the organisation so that our current and future students could have further confidence in the services we provide, and to set us apart from the ‘old school’ trainers who still believe in using coercive and punitive techniques and equipment. For further information about the APDT, please visit their website: http://www.apdt.co.uk/


Puppy News

Just before Christmas, Gemma was delighted to welcome 10-week-old Shetland Sheepdog ‘Diva’ into her already busy household! Gemma has wanted to re-join the ranks of the Small/ Medium handlers in KC competition for sometime, since the retirement of her parent’s Medium terrier, Toby. This coupled with the fact that one of her best friends dogs measures into Small and therefore she finds herself ringside of Small/ Medium classes on a regular basis, prompted her search for her own little dog. So far Diva is everything Gemma hoped she would be – bright, bold and eager to learn. They have already started Puppy Socialisation classes with Leanne Barnes of ‘Animal Understanding’, and are looking forward to going onto do their KC Good Citizen awards under Sue James’ instruction at Burnham-on-Sea Training Club.

Price Increase

Gemma started Daybreak Dog Training to offer excellent dog training in both the basics and agility, with a view to earning enough money from teaching that she could continue to train and compete with her own dogs. In researching classes for her new puppy, she was surprised to find that Daybreak’s prices were considerably lower than other similarly and sometimes less qualified instructors than Sue & herself. That alongside increases in show entry fees necessitates a price rise from £5.00/lesson to £6.50/lesson from 27th February 2010. There will also be no discounts applicable for under 16’s after that time. The price of 1-2-1’s will remain the same at £20.00/ hour.

Class Changes

During the Christmas break, Sue & I met up to discuss your classes as we do on a regular basis; to make sure we’re providing you with the very best training for your needs. As you can imagine, it isn’t always easy getting the right balance of dogs & handlers within a group, as progress will be different from each individual partnership. However we feel that the re-arranged groups that we have come up with will allow everyone to get the most from their sessions, and these new groups are from immediate effect. We have also had to change the start times for some handlers – please contact me if you are unable to make the new time:

Start time Class
10.00am Beginners
11.00am G1-3 Agility
12.00pm Improvers

Beginners:
1. Natalie & Billy
2. Norma & Razzle
3. Lynda & Meghan
4. Matt & Colin
5. Sophie & Jasper

Improvers:
1. Catriona & Finn
2. Joan & Jake
3. Kate & Toby
4. Sally & Max
5. Sara & Baloo

G1-3 Agility:
1. Hazel & Lily
2. Emma & Raffy
3. Susan & Monty
4. Becky & Inca
5. Anne & Lacey
6. Jenni & Dylan
7. Catriona & George
8. Sara & Blaze/ Oliver
9. Sarian & Tui

You will notice that the G1-3 Agility group is bigger than our usual number of 6 dogs per group. As such we have enlisted the help of Helen Sharp as assistant instructor to Sue. However we do not expect to have a whole class of 9 to teach, as some of people are only able to make class infrequently – so don’t panic if your name is on this list, it’s not as big as it first appears!

Assistant Instructor - Helen Sharp

We are pleased to welcome Helen to our team of instructors at Daybreak, as Assistant Instructor to Sue James in her G1-3 Agility group. Helen is an instructor at Severnside Dog Agility Club, and a regular agility competitor with her Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Hattie. 2009 was their first season of competition and it was a very good start to their competitive agility career, seeing them move from KC Grade 1 to 4, and UKA Beginners to Senior. Helen is a student of Martin Tait at ‘Dervish Agility’, as well as Gemma here at Daybreak so we’re positive that the G1-3 Agility class will enjoy and benefit from her instruction.


Dates for your diary

Here are the dates for the next two training blocks. These dates take us up until we move to the Spring/ Summer training schedule. Please could you begin to think about which evenings you would prefer to be training and let either Sue or myself know your thoughts – gemma@daybreakdogs.co.uk

1st 6 week block £30

16th January (1st session back)
23rd January
30th January
6th February
13th February
20th February

2nd 5 week block £32.50

27th February
6th March
13th March – CRUFTS, NO TRAINING
20th March
27th March
10th April

‘Ask Why? Say No!’ Campaign

This campaign is being jointly run by COAPE (Centre Of Applied Pet Ethology) & CAPBT (COAPE Association of Pet Behaviourists & Trainers). This is the statement that they are looking for people to support:

There are still huge numbers of ‘stamp and jerk’ dog trainers and whisperers at large with their choke chains, spiked collars, shock collars, rape alarms, correction sticks and bullying attitudes who haven’t chosen to move on into the humane, modern age of dog training.

ASK WHY? of those trainers who still want to be cruel to dogs by training with punishment, correcting jerks and coercion when kind training methods are so much better, and are so very widely known and applied all over the world these days?

ASK WHY? of those ‘behaviourists’ who persist in deploying those long out-of-date ‘dominance reduction’ and one-size-fits-all ‘nothing in life is free’ programmes in the name of behavioural therapy. Why are they telling you to ignore and thus punish your dog? Don’t they know that this threatens the bond you have with your dog and potentially inflicts huge psychological damage on him? Click Here for more information.

‘SAY NO!’ to all of them! There is no such thing as ‘Being Cruel to be Kind’ in the name of dog training or behaviour therapy. Such dog trainers, whisperers and behaviourists are simply being ‘Cruel to be Cruel’ with these long outdated, inhumane and discredited techniques.

Don't be fooled by the fact that they may be members of some institute, council or guild. Ask to see their Code of Conduct. If they don't have one, ‘SAY NO!’ and walk away. If they do have one, see what techniques and equipment are NOT excluded and so might be employed with your dog. ASK WHY they might want to abuse your dog with any such unpleasantness, then, if you are not satisfied that your dog will be safe from harm, protect him! ‘SAY NO!’ and walk away.

If you would like further information and an opportunity to support the campaign by signing their online petition as Gemma & Sue have already done, please visit their website: http://www.coape.org/awsn.html

Welfare in Dog Training

Following on from the ‘Ask Why? Say No!’ campaign, we feel the ‘Welfare in Dog Training’ website (http://www.dogwelfarecampaign.org/) has some very valuable information that all dog owners should be interested to read. Do let us know your thoughts – dog training talk is one of Gemma & Sue’s favourite activities!

Online Feedback Form

We’re very keen to know how you’re all enjoying training and what you think of Daybreak Dog Training as a whole. We have put together an online feedback survey form that should only take a few minutes to complete. If you could spare the time we would be very grateful! Here’s the link you need: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/P3QDQKL

In case of class cancellations

Should we have to cancel a class we will do our utmost to contact you in plenty of time so that you don’t waste petrol travelling to a class that won’t be happening. We will also be using our online blog (http://daybreakdogs.blogspot.com/) more to keep everyone up-to-date with any changes to classes, so please do add it to your internet browser’s favourites to keep up with the latest news. If nothing else you can follow Gemma’s progress with her new puppy’s hooligan antics, and smile that even the best of us go through trials and tribulations with each new dog that joins the family! J

Lastly, Gemma & Sue would like to wish you all a happy & successful 2010, and look forward to seeing you back at training on Wednesday 6th January and Saturday 16th January (all classes).

Happy Training Everyone!