Despite the rather inclement weather we had a wonderful
turnout for this year’s AGM at Lewknor Village Hall. It’s always encouraging to
meet up with new owners and ‘owners in waiting’ at these events and I would
like to extend a personal thank you to all the owners of Danni’s puppies who
made the journey with their ‘babies’; it was great to see you all again!
Our Chair, Ian Cottrell, opened the formal AGM by outlining
the enormous progress SEA had made over its first year, and thanking our
members, and in particular our Vice Chair Brigitte Mordan-Grimm, for all they
have done to make this enterprise such a success. Brief reports from the
Secretary and Treasurer were followed by a vote in favour of adding a requirement
to DNA-check all breeding stock for Dandy Walker Like Malformation to our Code
of Ethics. Brigitte rounded off the Meeting with a summary of her activities as
the Kennel Club’s Breed Health Co-ordinator and our representative for the
International Federation of Eurasier Breeding (IFEZ).
After the AGM, a break for lunch was followed by a short, mercifully
rain-free walk, offering a chance for both dogs and humans to stretch their
legs and, though a few dogs came back slightly muddier than when they left,
they enjoyed the chance to let off some steam! On our return Tracy Cottrell
treated us to a very informative demonstration of ‘Shaping’, a training process
by which you can teach your dog a new behaviour by breaking it down into easily
achievable steps. At the end of the demonstration there was an opportunity to
practice the technique with your own dog, which was thoroughly appreciated by
dogs and owners alike.
A hugely enjoyable day ended with a well-supported Raffle
with a seemingly endless supply of prizes donated by our generous members (many
thanks to whoever donated the Duck chews, they went down very well with my old
girl who is eating very little nowadays!).
Finally, could I just say, that ideas for events, or indeed anything
else that could be included at our next AGM, are always welcome.
Caroline Allen
Photos: Cowdock, Mordan-Grimm
