Paws for Thought!

Many moons ago the club had a paper newsletter that was printed monthly and distributed on Sundays. Now we are digital we maybe haven't been as effective at communicating with our members about information or happenings outside of our weekly training sessions.

From now on we will endeavor to keep our wonderful and valued members better informed. The club has monthly committee meetings on the third Thursday evening each month and if anything that may be of interest to our members is discussed we will bring it to your attention via Facebook and here in the club website news articles.

July Fun Day

Firstly, we are planning a Fun Day for July. For our newer members on a Fun Day we do not have our usual classes but have a variety of other dog activities such as Agility, Tunnelling and Flyball for you and your dog to try. We work in class groups and also have a BBQ during the morning. And '4Legs' (the dog food people who sponsor us) usually donate food for us to give to members to try. The date of the Fun Day is tentatively July 20th, in case you need a bit of planning time. More news re the Fun Day closer to the date.

Soccer Hub at AJ Davis Reserve and likely relocation of KODTC

This is what has prompted this newsletter. For quite a few years the Moonee Valley City Council has been planning to turn the AJ Davis Reserve into a Soccer Hub. The secondary school on the hill behind us are very enthusiastic about the plan. However we, and the Wolves Rugby Club that also uses the reserve, have been told that we will most likely have to relocate. And the problem is that by the time that we are informed that we do need to relocate it will be too late to have any impact on the decision. KODTC has been training at the AJ Davis reserve since we formed in 1976. The council have suggested 2 other reserves that we could move to, however they are not appropriate due to a combination of lack of parking, and no pavilion or facilities. We have no say in this decision and are dependent on the council because they own the ground. This year the council is currently putting $600,000 into scoping (planning) the soccer hub.

We are very concerned about what the council will decide regarding our fate.

What can members do? Please support our club and be loud in your support of it. We have an exceptional positive reinforcement dog obedience club with incredibly committed instructors who have a massive amount of experience in helping members training their dogs. Three of our instructors have a great deal of specific knowledge regarding reactive dogs and another is a retired vet. We are run by committed volunteers and our fees are aimed at making dog training available to dog owners from all socioeconomic groups. We are not run for profit but for the benefit of all dog owners and their dogs. And we are one of the leading Flyball dog clubs in Victoria!

Please support us by regularly commenting about the club on your social media and by completing a review on our Facebook page. If anyone is inclined to write to local councilors about our concerns we would be very appreciative. Your support could influence the council's decisions.

New Instructor Opportunities

We are always on the lookout for enthusiastic club members who would like to become instructors. Rob, our Training Manager is currently restructuring our instructor training so you can develop confidence and competence in taking a class, one level at a time. If you have any interest in learning more about positive reinforcement training under the very gentle and wise guidance of our instructors, please speak to one of our instructors or to a committee member at the kiosk.

Until the next 'Paws for Thought' keep up your training and enjoy your own wonderful and unique pooch.