News, News, News! October 2011

We at Ballarat have been enjoying some fine weather through the week however on Sundays it rains and is cold again therefore testing the keeness of our members to attend training - fortunately we have a good attendance record. Due to this fact all are progressing well and enjoying training with their dogs.
Welcome to Lyn and Jax who has fitted into the training group very easily and both have great enthusiasm for all things happening – tracking, obedience, socialisation and games.

We cancelled training on Aug 14th due to the club tracking trial at Haddon and was pleased to see some of our members out at the trial to lend a hand and follow a track or two - thanks guys. Member Alan was out there from Friday until Sunday afternoon helping set out tracks on the Friday then laying tracks and assisting Denise where necessary on the Sat/Sun, thanks Alan.

We held our tracking day in Victoria Park on the following Sunday 21st August and there was utter confusion as to the start time which was in everyone's email as 7.30am with some turning up at 7.00am, some at 7.30am and some at 8.30am so in the end we all finished up at the clubrooms and those who missed out tracked on the grounds around the clubhouse before enjoying some obedience training and socialisation.

Since then each week we all arrive at the clubrooms at 8.00am and put out small tracks for the dogs and are finished this in time to give them a spell while the handlers have brunch and then they enjoy obedience training and sometimes some games as well to round off our training.
It was most interesting watching Bev with Zac in the ball and spoon race - Bev trying to keep Zac from getting the ball off the spoon and Zac doing his best to get the ball while at the same time walking in a straight line from start to finish - Bev managed well as did all in that game with very little unsportsmanlike behaviour shown by the handlers.

In early August we had a street walk first off and this showed our socialisation programme with the dogs is paying off with all dogs behaving very well as we crossed roads - dogs sitting at the kerbs, went past houses where cats and other dogs lived, mowers going-kids playing etc.

Karen C has been missing for a few weeks as she has been busy studying for her nursing exams which she has almost completed so we look forward to catching up soon - we know you will do well as you have earlier in the year - Good luck.

Alan and Noreen's Saffy is keeping them busy with her litter and we are hoping to see them over at training when puppies are old enough - we have missed catching up with members of this household as often as we had as Noreen was busy with a litter early in the year then involved in training of young dogs she bred to compete at the National and other State shows and now looking after Saffy and her puppies.

We have been very fortunate that Council has cleaned off all the graffiti that had been sprayed at the front and side of our clubhouse and to our knowledge the culprit has been caught. It is not the best clean-up we have seen but the clubhouse looks much better than it did before. We are hoping to have a working bee soon to clean up the clubrooms inside ready for catering at the Oct and Nov shows for the Ballarat Dog Club next door. So members we are going to need your help on those catering days as we have to start our egg and bacon sandwiches by 7.30am and will continue the BBQ and other catering until about three in the afternoon - we will take all offers of help be it for two hours or more as this is an opportunity to make money which is not from our members to pay our bills.

We are planning a training day at Lake Wendouree when the weather fines up and is warmer - not sure how long we will have to wait for that to happen - hopefully looking at Oct.

Welcome to Karen and Graeme who have moved to Ballarat from Queensland and were members of the Queensland club up there for quite some time. They are very brave folks as this winter has been like it used to be a decade ago - very cold. We hope they enjoy their time with us and we will see them without thick coats, gloves and hats in a month or so.

We are hoping some members will go the Fun day at Eastern Branch on October 16th and I am sure those who do will enjoy themselves catching up with other class members from other country and metropolitan branches of GSDCV Inc and competing in their classes.

Team Ballarat.