PRO’s REPORT ON A MEETING HELD AT THE COACH & HORSES, MARKFIELD, LEICESTERSHIRE ON SATURDAY, 16 MARCH 2002
The Chairman opened the meeting at 1110 with 10 constituent clubs present (Alyn & Deeside, East Anglia, Northern Counties, East Midlands, Morecambe Bay & Cumbria, North East, Notts & Derby, North West, SBT Club, Southern Counties). The Scottish delegates arrived shortly after, making a total of 11 clubs present. Apologies were received from the North of Scotland and Western Clubs. Those clubs without representation were: Downlands, Potteries, Merseyside, Northern Ireland, North of Scotland, South Wales and Western. The meeting was once again non-quorate and following a vote it was unanimously agreed to proceed.
Matters Arising: Agreed a sub-committee be formed comprising the KCBLO and representatives of North East and Notts & Derby, in order to investigate the feasibility of organising another Reception at Westminster.
FREE DISCUSSION PERIOD
Height/Weight Clause: Concern was expressed regarding the Kennel Club’s ‘rounding up’ of the heights and weights quoted in the Breed Standard, as a result of metrication. It was subsequently agreed the Secretary write to the KC requesting a correction.
Colours: Discussion centred around the identification of a ‘black & tan’ where it was stated that dogs with this colouring should be identified by their markings, rather than their colouration. It was further stated that the actual colours of ‘black & tan’ are the basic colours of brindle, which are of course acceptable. However, it is when these colours are found as markings similar to those of, e.g. the Doberman, that the term ‘black & tan’ correctly applies. One delegate commented that in his view, there have been occasions when a ‘mis-marked brindle’ has been wrongly identified as a ‘black & tan’. Another delegate advised that ‘black & tan’ is a very dominant gene and this is why it says in the Breed Standard “highly undesirable”, otherwise it would take over and we would eventually lose all our colour variations. Reference was made to the ‘glossary of canine terms’ at the rear of the KC Illustrated Breed Standards, which gives a definition of all colours contained in Breed Standards. From a judging perspective, it was agreed that a ‘black & tan’ dog can be judged, provided it is KC registered. Indeed some delegates believed that most ‘black & tans’ are excellent specimens, and one delegate said that the best dog he had ever seen was a liver/brindle. Another delegate quoted his experience of judging a ‘black & tan’ at a canine society open show, when he had given the dog a 3rd place, even though he believed it to be the best dog in the ring. He considered this to be the correct placement for this particular dog, being mindful of the fact that the Breed Standard says the colour is “highly undesirable”. As a result of this discussion it was agreed the Secretary write to the Kennel Club to request that the colour clause within the Breed Standard be highlighted (i.e. in bold type) in respect of ‘liver’ and ‘black & tan’.
Reference was made to ‘light in loins’ being omitted from the Breed Standard and the subsequent failure of all 18 Breed Clubs to agree to apply to the KC to have the clause reinstated. One delegate suggested it was in the hands of the judges to promote dogs possessing this attribute. In turn he was asked: “are you suggesting we don’t need a Breed Standard?” Another delegate expressed concern that it is not the breed specialists but the all-rounders coming into the breed who need the guidance, and that is why ‘light in loins’ should be reinstated within the Breed Standard.
On the issue of excessive breeding of litters by individuals and advertising in free papers, one Breed Club was trying a different stance to try to address the problem. They had been in touch with their local Dog Warden who has the power to restrict unlicensed breeding. In addition, they were to submit an advert to ‘LOOT’ offering advice to prospective purchasers and would brief delegates on the outcome of both these issues at the next meeting.
Election of Officers:
Chairman: Patrick McGlynn - re-elected unopposed
Secretary/Treasurer: Alan Hedges - re-elected unopposed
PRO: Jaci McLauchlan - declined nomination
Veronica Brown - elected unopposed
Chairman’s Report: The Chairman expressed his disappointment that 2 of the 3 meetings he had chaired had been non-quorate. He suggested one solution may be the proposal to reduce meetings to two per year or alternatively, Breed Clubs could appoint a nominal delegate from another club to represent their views (as had happened in the past). The Chairman congratulated the East Anglian club on achieving 1st place on the KC ‘Good Citizen Dog Scheme for Registered Breed Clubs’ and asked the Secretary to write to the East Anglian Secretary to convey the Breed Council’s congratulations. He suggested other clubs may wish to follow in the footsteps of clubs such as East Anglia and the SBT Club of South Wales in participating in such competitions.
PRO’S Report: The PRO reported that in view of changes of Secretary at both Notts & Derby and Scottish Clubs the Breed Club Secretaries sheet which forms part of the BC Breed Literature Pack had been updated and copies were circulated to delegates present. Examples of both the KC Registration document (old and new style) and the ‘Certificate of Eye Examination’ showing ‘unaffected’ results, and associated KC Registration with examiner’s certification had now been placed on the Breed Council web page to assist prospective purchasers in identifying bona-fide paperwork.
The agreed BC logo had now been produced in letterhead form on a Word template and also as a web logo for placing on the Breed Council web-site. Unfortunately it was not possible to progress this matter further in view of the meeting being non-quorate. However, it was agreed the new PRO would take the matter forward to the next meeting for finalisation. It was further agreed the logo should be copyrighted to the Breed Council, and the KCBLO undertook to follow this action up in liaison with the new PRO. The Secretary was asked to write to Peter McGlynn on behalf of the Breed Council, to thank him for all his hard work given free of charge in designing the logo. The PRO congratulated her successor and thanked delegates and in particular her fellow officials both past and present for all their support during her term of office. She considered it had been a privilege to have served on the Breed Council and had learned a lot from the experience.
KCBLO’s Report: This has been distributed by the KCBLO and a copy posted to the Stafford web-site: www.staffords.co.uk\breed council\kc liaison. Harry Coble gave a brief, verbal report on the recent visit to Battersea Dogs Home of himself and the KCBLO, made on behalf of the Breed Council. Battersea had received 1127 SBTs this year to date. Harry reported that neither he nor the KCBLO had noticed any temperament problems, although one dog was very frightened. However the behaviourist had indicated she was quite willing to work with this dog to try to overcome its problems. It was observed that Battersea employ 4 vets and 20 nurses full time. Any terminally ill animals are put down. It was considered the Behaviourist was doing a very worthwhile job and she was in regular communication with John Laker of SBT Welfare.
Secretary/Treasurer’s Report: Agreed to the Secretary’s suggestion that the judging criteria with respect to seminar attendance be amended as follows:- “must have attended a breed judging seminar” be changed to “must have attended a breed specific seminar”. The Secretary commented on the confusion which appeared to have arisen regarding nominees for the officials of the Breed Council. He confirmed that any Club can submit names for the positions of Chairman, Secretary/Treasurer and PRO, these have to be submitted in writing and received by the Secretary/Treasurer by 31 December. The nominees do not have to be seconded until the March meeting
Report of the Eye Sub-Committee: Ivor Keyes gave a verbal report on behalf of the Sub-Committee. Ivor confirmed the required number of samples have now been obtained, and the Animal Health Trust has commenced the research. The project proposal has been lodged with the Kennel Club who in turn will submit this to the Health Foundation. We now await the outcome of how much money they are prepared to contribute towards the project. Ivor considered the fact that the AHT is progressing with research to be a good indication that there should not be too much difficulty over the funding. He had spoken with Jeff Sampson who was in receipt of the project proposal, which required some minor amendment to adhere to their procedures. Cathryn Mellersh is in charge of the research and she confirmed that all was proceeding well, although no major linked markers have yet been passed. Overall everything was progressing well and hopefully it is now just a matter of time.
Discover Dogs: SBT delegates advised that at Crufts this year, Club literature had been allowed on ‘Discover Dogs’ for the first time. Clubs may wish to bear this in mind for next year and have some literature prepared.
International Forum Sub-Committee: The sub-committee was reformed to commence the planning process for the 2004 IF to coincide with Terrier Day at Crufts. Secretary to the Sub-Committee was again confirmed as Jaci McLauchlan. Jaci would be calling a meeting of the sub-committee shortly to agree a new venue as both the Manor and Strawberry Bank were unavailable.
Date of corresponding meeting next year: Saturday, 15 March 2003
Date of next meeting: Saturday, 6 July 2002
Jenny Smith
Public Relations Officer
SBT Breed Council of GB & NI
24 March 2002