Today we have another guest writer contributing to our blog. Our colleague and Animal Welfare Officer Kay Foley reviews the successful Dog Activity Day in Mayow Park.
On Thursday the 21st of February Lewisham Council in partnership with the RSPCA and Battersea Dogs & Cats Home held our 4th Lewisham Dog Activity Day in Mayow Park. Celebrity Dog Trainer Robert Alleyne was also on hand to judge classes. The day was an opportunity to encourage and reward responsible Dog ownership.
Despite freezing cold temperatures and a biting wind, many local residents turned up to support our day and the dog show proved to be a huge success.
All breeds were welcome at the event including Chiwawa’s.
Staffordshire Bull Terriers Storm and Rocky were great ambassadors of their breed, winning the Waggiest Tail and Smiliest Staffie category.
The Childs Best Friend was particularly difficult to judge, as all the entrants clearly loved their pets and had a fantastic bond with them. However, in the end it was Kieran and his American Bulldog Lola that stole the show winning first place. Despite being a big dog, Lola had a lovely gentle nature and clearly adored Kieran.
Lola, the very mild mannered American Bulldog.
Best Trick was a chance for owners and their dogs to shine and it was fantastic to see what owners had taught their dogs to do. It was also great to see that breeds which are difficult to train, can with patience and time, learn to do tricks too. The class was eventually won by Kai and her dog Muffin a Shi Tzu. Muffin proved to be a dancing star and we think that Kai and Muffin could be the next Ashley and Pudsey! Jon-Jo and his dog Ice the husky also deserve a special mention. Huskys are not the easiest dogs to train but Jon-Jo had clearly put a lot of effort into Ice who behaved impeccably and went through his routine perfectly.
As always Best Biscuit Catcher was the most entertaining class of the day. 7 owners and their dogs battled it out to win first place. Having a dodgy eye didn’t stop Boyce the Staffie having a go and Tiger the Staffie was the most nonchalant biscuit catcher we had ever seen. Perhaps unsurprisingly it was a Labrador Cross Collie Jasper who eventually won. Jasper clearly had the best of both breeds as he fought to win the title.
Jasper and Robert Alleyne demonstrate the art of biscuit catching.
23 owners also took the opportunity to get their dogs microchipped for free as from 2016 this will be a legal requirement. 30 owners also got a free disc engraved with their details on for their dogs collars. To get your own free tag visit http://www.lewisham.gov.uk and click on animal welfare.
Many thanks to everyone who turned up and made the day such a success and we look forward to having more in the future.
Categories: community engagement | Tags: 4th Dog Activity Day, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Best Biscuit Catcher, best in show, Best Trick, clean up after your dog, Dog activity day, Dog Activity Day 2013, dog agility, Dog Borstal, dog microchipping, dog training lewisham, dog walking, dogs, Free dog health care in Lewisham, Free dog tagging in Lewisham, Lewisham Crufts, Mayow Park, Robert Alleyne, RSPCA | Permalink.
The Environment and Community Development (ECD) Team is the larger team that includes recycling and also Animal Welfare. This is why we’ve previously covered and promoted stories relating to dog activities. But there is also an environmental aspect to this in that this team work tirelessly with dog owners to ensure they are responsible when keeping a dog and always clean up after their dog when out walking them.
The wire haired Hungarian Vizla who’s owner came a long to sign up to the Green Dog Walker Scheme.
On Friday 2nd of November, Lewisham Council’s Animal Welfare Service held its 3rd Dog Activity day in Fordham Park SE14. The aim of these days is to encourage, reward and promote responsible dog ownership This day also saw the launch of Lewisham’s new Green Dog Walker scheme.
The Lewisham Green Dog Walker’s scheme is a non–confrontational, friendly way to change attitudes about dog fouling. Residents are asked to sign the following pledge to take part in the scheme. In return for signing up to the scheme they receive a free gift for their dog and some poo bags.
1. I will clean up after my dog and dispose of the bag in a bin. When others walk my dog, I will encourage them to clean up after my dog.
2. I pledge to ensure that my dog will wear a collar with a plate or tag, with my contact details inscribed on it.
3. I will carry extra dog-waste bags to distribute to other walkers if requested.
4. As no time will I aggressively confront other dog walkers about dog fouling. I fully understand that the Green Dog Walkers scheme is intended to be a non-confrontational and friendly campaign to change attitudes about dog fouling.
5. I agree that Lewisham Green Dog Walkers may contact me to take part in questionnaires or surveys regarding my Green Dog Walker experience to help judge the success of the project.
Zeus the malamute that won best trick.
Despite the freezing cold weather lots of dog owners turned up with their dogs to enjoy the fun and enter the competition classes, Robert Alleyene of Dog Borstal fame was on hand to judge the winners.
Waggiest Tail was a closely fought contest with several dogs in the running. Owners were encouraged to do everything they could to get their dogs tails wagging as much as possible. Ellie an American Spaniel owned by Barbara Mews eventually won, she looked very pleased with her rosette.
In the Childs Best Friend class entrants, children had to enter the ring with their dog and tell the judge why they loved their dog and why it should win. All of the entrants loved their dogs and gave some very funny answers, we particularly liked Angelina’s who said she loved her dog Knight the Staffie because he gets in more trouble than her! However there could only be one winner and that was Chloe with her 13 week old Boxer puppy Marmite.
The Best Biscuit Catcher produced hilarious results with some dogs failing to even notice that a biscuit had been thrown or preferring to wait until it had landed before eating it. Kiki the Staffie eventually beat Zeus the Malamute and Yoko the Chihuahua X to 1st place.
Chloe, her Mum and Marmite the boxer with their best in show and child’s best friend rosette.
Best Trick was the most anticipated class of the day with owners eager to show us their dogs skills. Meg the Rottweiler came 3rd, her owner Kate had brought her along to our free chipping day earlier in the week and been shown to get her to speak by Battersea’s behaviourist Ali Taylor. 2nd was Mia the Staffie. Mia is partially blind and her owner Sandy had taught her an amazing array of skills. 1st place went to Zeus the Alaskan Malamute, despite being notoriously difficult to train Zeus’s owner Darren had worked very hard and impressed Robert Alleyene with his skills.
Finally it was time for Best in Show. This was won by Chloe and her Boxer Marmite. Despite being only 13 weeks old Marmite was the best behaved dog of the day and she was handled beautifully by Chloe.
Overall the day was a huge success and we look forward to planning another one next year.
Categories: community engagement, Environmental Campaigns | Tags: 3rd Dog Actvitiy Day, Animal Welfare, Animal Welfare in Lewisham, Barbara Mews, Best Biscuit Catcher, Best Trick, clean up after your dog, Dog activity day, dog agility, dog fouling, Dog poo bags, dog waste bags, Environment and Community Development Team, Fordham Park, Fordham Park dog activity day, Green Dog Walkers Scheme, Marmite the dog, Meg the Rottweiler, Mia the Staffie, Stella Agunabor 020 8314 2068, Zeus the Alaskan Malamute | Permalink.
Following the success of Tuesdays dog agility day (see , @catford_se6 on twitter) the Animal Welfare team will be in Beckenham Place Park on the 20th July….
Categories: community engagement | Tags: agility training, beckenham, dog agility, dog training lewisham, dogs | Permalink.
Categories: community engagement | Tags: dog agility, dog training lewisham, dogs | Permalink.