Articles published in this Newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views of the Committee or the Editor. Nothing may be copied unless permission is granted by the WTA.

Dates to remember: 

Our AGM is on 10 March at 10.00 for 10.30 at Kennel Club of Harare, and it would be very nice if you could attend, to show your support in your Committee. It was decided to have it during day hours and no other weekend is available in March. We could use one more person onto the Committee and if your are willing please contact the Secretary. The first Dog Jumping and Agility Show will be held on 17 March at 7 for 7.30 in the morning, to beat the heat. Clive Edwards is judging all tests. Schedule has been mailed to you. It is now time to practise for these jumps and you might get your dog ready to enjoy the show and enter. Come and support us and look what is involved.

The next Working Trials Championship will be held on 6 & 7 April and most probably will be held at Frascati. Please find out from Gladys and why not go out for the day and see what it is all about.

Happy memories of the Domestic Diploma   Paul, one of our members trying to get a good recall, I wonder what you are having in your hands? Looks quite a big tidbit? This was all during the Domestic Diploma and we hope these members will have entered the next Open Show during the month of February.   They did and had a good day on the 24th February. We now have some intensive training for the coming Dog Jumping show coming Sunday, Thursday and then the show will be on 17 March. Please do come even if you are not ready to enter. People with dogs that are not registered with Zimbabwe Kennel Club must do so as you need a record card for these shows. So go to the office situated on the verandah at Kennel Club on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursdays between 9 and 11 in the morning. Miranda will register your dog. When you have that you still need a record card: DJ you will get from Gladys, Working Trials and Obedience come and ask me.   We have not seen Paul for some time and phoning his wife this morning revealed that he is in ST Anne’s to sort out a digestive problem. Paul we hope you get better soon and that we see you and your dog coming to training again. The dog can do with some rest, the better work you can get out of the next training you start.

How to teach area search? 

One of our members lives in far away Norway and it is often too cold to go to the nearest club, which is situated on a slope of a mountain and so quite windy and cold. Her dog has lots of walks and still gets the obedience training during the walks. But where do you train area search? Eyrun decided that it would be fun to let her search in the snow. Fresh fallen snow is like powder. You throw something far away from you and the object will sink into the snow at least 20 or more cm down leaving a small funnel like shape. No track is left as Eyrun throws it far away from her. Well her Belgium Shepherd loves it, while looking for it she is like a snow plough going towards it, snow flying all over and when she can smell the object, snow is really flying as she digs deep to be able to get down to it and bring it back. What a way to train like this with your dog. Have fun and how about sending us a digital picture via E-mail to show us?  

Memories of past achievements 

Recently I did visit Avril La Grange, who used to live in Bulawayo. Avril was a fantastic trainer and used food years back and was told she bribed her dog. What do we do now?? She started in Zambia with a Great Dane: Prince, then a Dachsie came on the scene. She then had a Boxer: Chief Ishindi and did fun training with the dog. The next one was a Bulldog Chief Ndungu and Avril had 1,5 lesson with him and was expelled from the club. Dog was not behaving, as we would call it. In Bulawayo she started Gunsmoke, he came up to Novice standard, there she was again expelled from the GSD and MDTC clubs, because of her dog! I bet this must have been fun to see.

Avril then decided to try out a GSD: Chief Nzanga and made him into an Obedience Champion, Working Trials Champion and PD Champion. Then dog number 7 came on the scene: Microbe, found in a drain at the hospital? She got as far as C test and won a CC in the test as well as CD Ex. in Working Trials. The jumps had to be made especially for this dog as it was not bigger then a Chihuahua! Microbe also performed in a Ballet and was handled by Pam Brennan. Tokalosh a very dark sable GSD followed and he became an Obedience and TD Champion. Puff a Chihuahua went to TD 1 and was in Class ‘A’. 

Currently Avril is living in Pietermaritzburg where she trained Tipex: a Japanese Spitz to CD Ex and Class ‘B’ Tipex is retired and Koki: a Giant Poodle is now working with her, a beautiful lovely dog, has already 2 CC’s in C test as well as CD Ex. 

Another funny incident Avril recalled. No doubt some of you might remember. In those early days Cherrie Blake [former Freeburn] had a cross GSD/Shetland Sheepdog and trained him up to PD Ex. Jock Freeburn, Cherrie’s husband competed with a Shetland Sheepdog. One day he competed in Class’A’. The dog was lagging so badly during that test, that Jock picked up the dog at the end of the heel course, took him to the trashcan and dropped him into it! Can any of you remember this? Must have been hilarious! 

Open Show on 24 February 

Some of our members entered and I only have some results passed on to me. The top class had Helen Brown in and she came second with her border collie. B Class Helen and Gladys competed but my source was not sure where they came in placings. No results of Class A and no one of our members came in the first three placings in Novice. 

Elementary Beginners Monica with breeze came 3rd, Christine with Smoke 4th and Dorothy with Boris 5th. Beginners had Ems with Ice and Cherrie with her dog were in 3rd and 4th places.

Please do remember I was not there so placings might be wrong. I would appreciate you giving me results via E-mail for the next issue. 

Most embarrassing moments: 

Na-na na-na na-nah! 

While in line at the bank one afternoon, my toddler decided to release some pent-up energy and ran amok. I was finally able to grab hold of her after receiving looks of disgust and annoyance from other patrons. I told her that if she did not start behaving "right now" she would be punished. To my horror, she looked me in the eye and said in a voice just as threatening, "If you don't let me go right now, I will tell Grandma that I saw you kissing Daddy's pee-pee last night!" 

The silence was deafening after this enlightening exchange. Even the tellers stopped what they were doing. I mustered up the last of my dignity and walked out of the bank with my daughter in tow. The last thing I heard when the door closed behind me were screams of laughter.