Office Bearers and Committee
President Lynn Olson
Vice President
MaryjkaKelly
Secretary Vicki Cooper
Treasurer Julie Annetts
Chief Instructor Obedience Leanne Brown
Chief Instructor Agility Leanne Brown
Table Manager
Shop Manager
Agility Secretary
Vicki Cooper
Francoise Matter
Newsletter/Website Lynn Olson
Sports Council Representative Paul Kelly
General Committee Trevor Mawer, Cath Moran, Francoise Matter
Life Members: Dot Luker, Ann Moy, Sue Fell, Ron Amann, Wally Campbell, Pam Waters, Lesley Piggott, Lynn Olson, Leanne Brown, Trevor Mawer
General Meetings: are held 3rd Tuesday of each month from February to November at Red Cross Hall, Macquarie Road, Springwood commencing 7.30. All members welcome.
Web site: www.sddtc.org
Email info@sddtc.org
Facebook: Springwood District Dog Training Club
WelcomeBack Training –
As per Club rules if any member wishes to attend a training session, you must book on our Facebook page or advise by telephoning 47394325 or emailing
sofalegs4321@bigpond.com
Monday – Agility 7.00 –Please arrive 6.45 p.m. so you may assist in putting out equipment, after which you exercise your dog.
Tuesday – Obedience 9.00 – 10.00 a.m. (Daylight Saving Time) This class is for members who have completed their 8 weeks Beginners Course – Please arrive 8.45 a.m. to pay and move to the oval, to exercise your dog before class commences
Thursday – Obedience – 7.30 – 8.45 p.m.This evening is for Beginners
Classes, Intermediate Class and Advanced Class. Please arrive 7.00 p.m. giving you time to pay at the table and move to the oval. This way you can exercise your dog before class commences.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT.
The club will be starting up an evening group called Dog Central. This group will be for its members to talk about anything “dog related”. We will meet at the Red Cross Hall in Springwood on the 3rd Tuesday of the month, before the clubs General meeting.
If you are interested we will be starting on the 21st Feb at 7pm. Come along and find out what the group is all about. You will need to advise you will be attending as spots will be limited due to the size of the Hall. You must be a member of the club to join the group.
EXTERNAL SENSES
The influential external senses are -
SMELL TASTE HEARING TOUCH SIGHT
SMELL
The sense of smell is very exciting to a dog and gives him more information than we can possibly imagine. The length of muzzle and width of foreface play a big part in scenting ability. These passages fill with odours during each inhalation and are sorted out with incredible success when exhaling. Dogs often snort and sneeze when concentrating on a strong scent. Its scenting ability can tell it anything it wants to know, even which house the bitch in season lives in.
TASTE
There isn’t a lot known about a dog’s sense of taste. We know it can distinguish flavours and has its favourite tit bits. It is thought, that as in humans, the sense of smell has a connection with the ability to taste.
HEARING
The dogs hearing is extraordinary. It is believed that generally dogs can hear sounds at 75 feet that we are unable to hear at 15 feet. They find monotone voices difficult to distinguish, a fact we must emphasise to handlers. As the dog uses our tone of voice to tell him right from wrong, we must encourage the development in our students of the three different tones from command, praise and reprimand.
Most new trainers are inclined to use very loud voices in their training believing that disobedience is caused by not hearing. Actually, the quieter the voice, the more attention the dog will learn to pay. High pitched sounds are easily heard, even sounds so high that we can’t hear them at all (like the dog’s silent whistle). It is claimed that a dog’s ‘sixth sense’ is due to his being alerted by his acute hearing.
TOUCH
The sense of touch varies from dog to dog, due to the thickness of skin and amount of coat. What may be a loving pat to one dog may cause pain to another. Handlers have to learn to what degree a check chain can be used to train their dog and how it prefers to be patted. Dogs appear to like a stroking touch rather than a pat-pat-pat action.
Their sense of touch can also lead into trouble. Care should be taken when handling other people’s dogs. To touch a dog, without warning, on the hindquarters could, in some dogs, evoke a highly defensive response. The same dog could allow a person it can see, to touch him. The touch should start at the shoulders and proceed to the hindquarters.
SIGHT
Sight in dogs is very poor compared to humans but it is surprising the number of people who do not realise this. The sighthounds, breeds who hunt by sight, such as the Afghan and Borzoi, have better vision than other breeds.
The dog will always trust its nose, seldom its sight, as they observe little that does not move. Because the dogs eye lacks the light sensitive membrane that humans have for ‘fine tuning’, it can’t distinguish intricate details. The slightest movement, however, is instantly noticed. This of course is the reason that hand signals should be so exact.
Judging distances and heights is also difficult for them, as theirs is a flat two-dimensional world. With the eye level so much lower than ours, it is helpful to handlers if they occasionally get down alongside their dogs and see what the world looks like from its level.
February
2nd Jett
16th Boss
March
2nd Mayzie
Vicki Cooper
Vicki Cooper
Leanne Brown
4th Bella Therese Berrell
18th Cosmic
25th Randle
Kiera Peake
Peter Lang
27th Georgie Lyn Pearce
That’s How The Fight Started
One year I decided to buy my mother-in-law a cemetery plot as a Christmas gift. The next year I didn’t buy her a gift. When she asked me why, I replied, ‘Well, you still haven’t used the gift I bought you last year! AND That’s How The Fight Started.
Black Dog Halties – all sizes $22.00
Black Dog Martingale Collars (all sizes) $15.50
Black Dog Collars (various sizes) $12.00 - $17.00
Black Dog 1.2 metre Lead (Black or Red) $18.50
Black Dog Treat Tote (Black or Red) $30.00
Black Dog Black Treat Bag $25.00
Club Shirts, Vests and Jackets are available for purchase from the Club.
Francoise Matter (owner of Molly, Golden Retriever) is our Shop Manager. For all your needs, please see Francoise on Tuesday mornings or Thursday evenings.
ARTICLES FOR THE NEWSLETTER –If you have any interesting articles for inclusion in the newsletter, please forward to Lynn Olson
sofalegs4321@bigpond.com
