Dog Club 30th Anniversary
Milton-Ulladulla Dog Training Club's is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and a special day was held on Sunday September 6,2009 to celebrate the occasion.
As well there was a special dedication of the Clubhouse which has been the work of Club Life Member Roy Cullen who designed the project and was responsible for most of the building along with many volunteer helpers.
A farewell to Club Instructor Bob Puttock who has been one of the Club's most dedicated members was also held. Bob has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to dogs and he has been in charge of the Agility Class held prior to Obedience Classes as well as maintaining equipment and the mowing of the dog club area. He will be missed greatly but has promised if available on a casual basis will be willing to help the club, in between his plans to travel with his wife Thelma and beloved dog Tasha.
The Club has a very strong Committee, many members have been with the Club for a long time giving their own time voluntarily and also their own dogs missing out on training to help those people wishing to train their dogs.
Sunday Morning is a hive of activitity at Milton Showground with those present put into their respective classes.
Roy Cullen is in charge of the Puppy Class which is held in the Agility Ring so these gorgeous new members can run free and have a ball and go home worn out after their lesson.Puppy classes are held for dogs aged from eight to sixteen weeks.
Life Member Roy has held the position of President and Vice-President over his years with the Club as well as having been a wonderful member with his expert building knowledge.
Life Member/Instructor Janet Smith has been with the club nineteen years most of that time holding the position of Secretary. She is now Assistant Secretary and produces the Club's Monthly Newsletter which is eagerly looked forward to. The Club has progressed over the years now having its own website which is looked after so competently by Website Administrator Caraline McLeod.
Ken Terry is also very much involved with the Club's Website and every Sunday sets up the Club's sound system ready for weekly announcements. Ken is also a great assistant with the Club functions where catering is needed.
Janet is in charge of the Quick Start Class which she conducts in her usual effecient and quiet manner, assisted by Instructor Robyn Carstens.
The Basic Class Instructors are Jenny Patch,Robyn Perry and Sarah Ball.
Intermediate Class will be conducted by Liz Karasconyi and Natalie Moore now that Bob Puttock will be semi-retiring. Liz Jenny,Natalie, Robyn, and Sarah are keen dog owners and like to compete in the Agility Competition and the Dog Club Championships.
Advanced Class is conducted by Life Member and President Peter Hudson and Rick Venning.They have been dedicated members of the Club and give a lot of their time to see everything goes well. Peter has held the position of President and also Vice-President previously and was the Club's original Agility Instructor.
Life/Member and Club Chief Instructor Diane Richmond has been with the club eighteen years and has been Club Chief Instructor for the past six years since Anne Cook,also a Life Member left the Club with husband Don to move to Tasmania.Dianne held the position of Club Treasurer for many years and also is a Past President.
Dianne is available for anyone who needs extra help with a problem dog and takes a class if there is an Instructor absent. Diane also takes dogs for tracking at times during class. She also oversees all classes when promotions are being decided upon.Diane has a wealth of experience which she willing shares with members.
Rosie Milton has brought a great insight into dog training to the Club particularly in the field of Fly Ball. She conducts classes before Dog Training of a morning assisted by Chief Instructor Diane Richmond. Rosie is also an expert in Clicker Training and is available to help out whenever needed.She is a keen competitor in Fly Ball with her dogs Pac and Izabella and travels to many competitions and has started a new Flyball team called Mud on the Paws which she is hoping to see members from Milton Dog Training Club join.
Baby Puppies will move to Basic Class when ready and do not have to complete the four week Quick Start unless appropriate.
Baby puppies can join on any Sunday,but dogs over four months can only join on the first Sunday of the month as they have a four week Quick Start Course.
Cost to join is $30 which includes your annual subscription,joining fee, a clicker and a bag of special treats. From then on each Sunday it is only $2 a week, pretty good value for training your dog to be a better canine citizen.
Equipment for Sale
The Club has a great range of all equipment needed to train your dog for sale and Equipment Officers Jenny Patch and Liz Karasconyi are available to help you at the Clubhouse.
There is also a good library of books on dog training and DVD's available for hire.
Two of the Club's oldest dogs have celebrated their birthdays, Roy Cullen's Penny turned twelve years old on August 13th and Margaret Rudd's Aussie turned fifteen on August 20th. Both dogs have been associated with the club all of those years.
The Club's Major Sponsors Mark and Cathy Sommerville of Budget Produce,Deering Street Ulladulla have been great supporters of the club for a long time and offers 5% off all purchases for your dog.
For further information on Dog Club ring Chief Instructor Diane on 44540171 before 4pm of a day. Members are invited to use the Member's Forum to ask questions and contact other members.
How the Dog Club Began
The Milton-Ulladulla Dog Training Club began in 1979 when Colleen Mison suggested to her brother-in-law Lou Gardener and his wife Marie that there was a need for a Dog Club in the district. They were German Shepherd people and use to travel to Nowra to take part in Shoalhaven Dog Training Club. Another person involved in the early days of the Club was Ambulance Officer at the time,Gary Moss who also owned a German Shepherd dog.
Classes were held of a night at Milton Showground. Membership was strong in those days too.There were no puppy classes in the early days. Classes were transferred to Milton Public School sports field for a time,before returning to Milton Showground of a Sunday Morning.
The club was very progressive and held an Annual Dinner for members at Christmas and a Christmas Party for dogs and their members. One Christmas Party was held at Killarney Lake Conjola ,which was lots of fun with Santa Claus coming across the lake in a dinghy with a sackful of toys for the dogs.
A beach outing to Bawley Point was another highlight, the dogs had a ball. No one had to worry about dogs off lead on beaches in those days.
The Dog Club along with the Milton-Ulladulla Basketball Club used to conduct the Milton Showground Markets which were huge and immensely popular and went a long way in helping the club to raise funds.
The Club over the years had donated quite a lot of money to various charities such as
NANA, RSPCA, Guide Dogs, Dogs for Indepenence,Milton A & H Championship Dog Show and the Milton Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade.
The Dog Club was adventurous in holding a Baby Show in Milton Showground Pavilion. It was a fantastic success with wonderful prizes obtained through donations and babies coming from everywhere.
The Dog Club gave a demonstration at the Croobyar Cup Race Day held on Ringland's property in Croobyar Road,Milton. Other demonstrations have been held over the years such as Milton A & H Show, Ulladulla-Milton Lions Club Australia Day, Sarah Claydon Retirement Village, Milton Hospital Day Centre,Milton Settler's Fair to name a few.
The Club still gives demonstration to various functions which are very popular.
For many years the Dog Club took part in the Blessing of the Fleet Parade.
It would be remise not to mention Anne Cook and her husband Don who moved to Tasmania to live. Anne was Club Chief Instructor for many years and gave a wealth of knowldge to the Club.
The Club now has its own Clubhouse at the rear of the Showground which is attached to the Agility Ring and makes an ideal setting for dog club activities. This Clubhouse will be dedicated as The Roy Cullen Clubhouse on Sunday September 6, 2009.
The President's Message
Firstly, a big thankyou to all past members and instructors for taking the initiative in launching the Milton Ulladulla Dog Training Club 3 decades ago. It should be with considerable pride that you look upon the Club 30 year later and see how it has grown in both membership and range of training activities it now undertakes.
To the current membership and those wonderful instructors we now have I commend you all in supporting the Club and making it the success it is today.
From the outset the Club was based on the premise that training was to be provided that made our dogs “good canine citizens” and to this day this remains our central tenet.
Instructional methods have changed over the years and the use of ‘choke chain collars’ and punishment for poor behaviour are no longer tolerated. Rewarding the behaviours of our dogs that we want to reinforce through food, toys or just a pat provides the central focus to Club training these days. More recently the Club has adopted ‘clicker’ training as an early aid in having dogs acquire the necessary skills in a much more efficient manner.
With the increase in club numbers to around 80 members there has been an emerging need to broaden the skill base on which to keep both members and dogs motivated in training. The Club offers tracking training in winter months with fly ball, agility and jumping events being all year round sports. However, obedience training remains the backbone in having the dog being able to undertake these other skills and therefore it dominates our training programme.
The message to anyone owning a dog is simple. If you want a real pal that will reward you with affection and obey your commands then training is the only means of obtaining these traits. Socialisation of the dog meeting others of its kind on a Sunday morning at the Club grounds in Milton Showground is a most necessary ingredient of being a good canine citizen.
My thanks to the marvelous Executive Team that ensures that the Club runs effectively and efficiently and to out volunteer and highly skilled instructors, long may you continue to enjoy this most important role you serve in our society.
Peter Hudson
Ralph's DoggerelTHREE DECADES ONMy last little missive fell on our 25th We moved from the old to a building anew Our superb newsletters go to a great website Training was changed to include use of a clicker First agility now flyball has made an impact So at 3 decades on what is the gain? PRH alias Ralph |
Chief Instructor's Message
I have been a member of the Club for about 18 years and in that time I have met some wonderful people, and I am very proud of the Instuctors that we have at the Club as they are all volunteers and give up their time to train their own dogs to take classes. I get a great thrill in seeing our members progress thought the classes and the joy they get from seeing their dogs improve into wonderful Canine Citizens and learning new skills, also there is nothing like training and showing people how to train their dogs its a great feeling. I could think of nothing else I would rather do on Sundays, I love it. We are a very friendly happy Club and welcome anyone to join.
Diane Richmond
Past Memories
by Margaret Rudd
President Peter asked me to give a brief summary of past memories of Milton-Ulladulla Dog Training Club.
I joined the Dog Club in 1979 the year it had commenced because my milkman suggested it.My family had bought me a Labrador pup and my husband had trained it to carry a basket in her mouth over 100 metres from our house to the street when the milkman arrived and he would take the money out of the basket and put in two litres of milk for Tessa I to carry back to us.
I loved dog training which was held at Milton Showground of a Tuesday Night,we later got a second dog a cross Australian Terrier, called Aussie 1 and both enjoyed it.In 1980 I took on the position of Secretary and use to give a report to the local paper,I have been Publicity Officer for a period of least twenty years since the club commenced,as I had a break in between when I got Aussie 11 and Tessa 11.In those early days the Club had a lot of assistance from Shoalhaven Dog Training Club and Ron Jenkins use to come down from the Nowra Club to assist with the running of the dog obedience classes. Jack O'Brien and his wife from the Illawarra German Shepherd League also took a keen interest in the Club and were regular helpers at the club giving of their expert knowledge.His wife was also a Dog Training Instructor.
Colleen Mison was Chief Instructor and along with Lou Gardner conducted the club for many years. Lou took over as Chief Instructor when Colleen left the district.
The Dog Club and the Basketball Club joined forces and held the Milton Showground Markets which became most successful and proved a great money-raiser.
The Club was able to make donations to many animal bodies over the years.
It also ran a monthly donation of dog food to the RSPCA and NANA which was appreciated.
Dog Demonstrations were held and even a very successful Baby Show held in Milton Show Pavilion.
As the winter months proved uncomfortable for night dog training the Club transferred to Milton Public School sports field for some time then returned to the Showground of a Sunday Morning. Some obedience classes were held in the Ex-Servicemen's Car Park at Ulladulla.
The Club has enjoyed a successful thirty years with many changes over the years.
1988 saw the start of Fly Ball instruction and 1999 Agility Classes. 2000 the Club held a Skill Expo Open Day which was a great success.
The Club also organised to host a visit from Tony Knight,Amichien Dog Listener from the U.K,which was held in Milton Cinema to a big audience.The Club continues to grown and bring in many changes the latest has been Clicker Training thanks to Rosie Milton joining the Club.Rosie has brought her expertise to the club in Flyball as well.
Margaret Rudd Publicity Officer 6/9/09