3rd February 2008
A Special General Meeting and the AGM of the BRSDC was held on 2nd February 2008 at Huntingdon. Unfortunately some committee members departed, and thanks must be paid to them for their past effort and continued support. New committee members were elected. The committee members page has been updated. There are a number of ongoing applications in progress for the club, and it is hoped that some results will be achieved this year in what has been a very slow process. The wheels of some organisations turn very slowly. There will be events this year, with regular training days to be held. The first of these will be held on 16th March 2008 courtesey of Bolton Schutzhund Club. Details of the event can be seen here (PDF) or (MS Word).

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1st January 2008
A date for the diary. The Hanbar Rottweiler Kennel are holding a two day seminar with Mr Gerrard O'Shea on the weekend of 26th/27th January 2008 at Markfield, Leicestershire. Mr O'Shea has considerable dog training experience and lectures throughout the world. The focus of the seminar is 'Handling for the Showring' whether UK or European styles. At the time of writing there are one or two places left. Full details and booking arrangements are available here.

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1st January 2008
Following the tragic event in Wakefield this week, the expected media coverage is in full flow.  We all sympathise with the victim and family. This is a tragedy and should never have been allowed to happen.  The sensible view involving the DDA has always been 'blame the deed not the breed', but the Daily Mirror has launched a poll seeking to have the Rottweiler breed banned.  This I'm sure does not sit comfortably for all owners who have Rottweilers of good character.  Please visit this link and cast your vote.

LINK

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1st January 2008
Date for the Diary - On 11th May 2008 the VLPV, Zwalm in Belgium are holding their second International Rottweiler Day.  In addition, it is also the 10 year jubilee celebration of the VLPV.  The first International Rottweiler Day saw most sports represented, including a demonstration by the World Champion.  An event not to be missed.  The club is only 2 hrs
drive from Calais, so travel is not too onerous.

The program will be added when published,

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31st December 2007
The 'Forum' has been changed from the realtime format to a Google group. The group uses an email circulation system so that all members who are registered gets a copy of the messages. It is up to the member whether they recieve individual messages or a daily digest. The messages can also be read and posted from the group page. The previous forum was constantly attacked by spammers and porn sites, so with any luck, this offensive practice can be stamped out. In addition, there were many members who were reluctant to ask questions or become involved in discussions. Hopefully they will see the new system as less intimidating and will enter into the objective of information sharing. To join the group, visit this Link and sign up. This group will also be used to update members and hopefully will fill the communication void which currently exist.

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29th December 2007
The notification for the SGM and AGM at 11.0am on Saturday 2nd February 2008 has been sent out by post to all members. If you haven't recieved yourenvelope, would you please email The Secretary so that one can be sent to you. I know a touchy subject, but just a reminder that subscriptions are due for 2008. Any members joining part way during 2007 are not due renewal until 31st December 2008.

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23rd July 2007
The 'Members Page' is about to be written and uploaded. If there are any members that have websites and would like them listed please forward the details to admin@brsdc.co.uk. Likewise, any members without sites who would like a summary listed about them and their activities, please also forward the details. In addition, I am about to edit the 'Qualifications Page'. If there are any entries that need to be updated or new ones, please let admin know.

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22nd July 2007
Many members have expressed concern in the way the BRSDC was featured twice in the Dog World newspaper and that the wrong impression could be gained from the articles. A response has been sent, and I hope in the interest of balance and fairness that the text will be published. Please see below the submission that has been made.

I feel compelled to write and explain the position and purpose of the British Rottweiler Sports Dog Club as featured in the Rottweiler Breed Notes in the last three weeks or so.  Given that the BRSDC was featured in the articles, and neither of the contributors has attended any BRSDC events, I would have expected the courtesy to give the club's views in the interest of balance and fairness. I agree with the commonly held views that both authors are respected, so it should follow that their views in print to the UK Dog World and the worldwide readership should be informed views and not generated by personally held opinion or third hand accounts and/or rumours

Just for the record. The membership consists of some who have an interest in Schutzhund, but they only account for about 15%. Furthermore, of those 15%, most are also members of the BSA and so continue their regular training under supervision. The BSA has been in existence for over fourteen years with several hundred dogs of a number of breeds during that time being trained.  The remaining members are involved in working trials, agility, competitive obedience and some just support the aims of the club. In addition, the club is not all about 'bite work', although we call it protection, but we have a system of testing in place. We hold twice yearly testing. Who else have a program of puppy tests, basic breed tests, character and mental tests, dentition certification and more? That is the gap we fill.

The BRSDC has been in being for about eighteen months. In that time we have run a number of seminars involving world champions, consistent top class trainers and breeders, repeat qualifiers for IFR championships and more. We even had a visit from a colleague in Europe to give a lecture on researching and using European bloodlines. All these people supporting what we are trying to achieve, and that is the regulation and education of rottweiler owners for the protection and survival of our working breed.

Another point being made was that of newcomers to the breed. The breed has been in jeopardy from legislation since the 1980's. Newcomers do have much to learn, but they can only move forward with what they inherit. So the possible harm to the breed is nothing new, and without casting blame to the more senior members of the breed, the situation has been in existence for 25 years or so.

So my challenge is this, do we try to regulate, educate and control the way in which the rottweiler is developed for the future or do we just allow things to wander, heads in sand and hope it will be alright. The BRSDC has an open door transparent policy, and we invite or allow non members to attend our training and events. Perhaps at the next event, we will see representatives from the seven breed clubs and dog press so that they can get a first hand view. We are not in competition with any clubs, and would welcome any constructive suggestions to improve and guide us for the future.

The final sentence of the articles was the view for the future, and the risk that the sport has for the rottweiler breed. Aggressive attacks and the sport are just not comparable. The recent campaign for the rottweiler was centred on blaming the deed and not the breed to which I totally agree.  But, if we were to follow the theory of banning the sport because of a perceived risk, then all showing should be banned because of the recent incident a few weeks ago. Of course that will never happen, and quite rightly so. It is just a pity that yet another own goal has been scored by people who have not fully thought through what they are publishing. To repeat myself, we are not cowboys who are just out to get our dogs biting, but people who take our breed seriously and wish to lead the way in control and responsibility for the sport and future of the rottweiler as a working breed.

 Further contact and information is available at http://www.brsdc.co.uk

 Secretary BRSDC.