ENVE

Closely following the first two Advanced Challenge awards in June we are proud to announce not 1, not 2, not 3 but 4 more! The Advanced Challenge was created to stretch those that have passed Gold II even further, fine tuning those dog training skills and asking more of our dogs, really getting them thinking. This award really is something to be proud of. Announcing these awards is however tinged with sadness as one of the dogs has sadly passed away before we could present him with his rosette. Ozzy, the French Bulldog, will always have a special place in the hearts of all the instructors who worked with his owners on his journey from conquering reactivity to reaching the highest standard we test to – a true testament to Hannah and Luke’s dedication. Alongside Ozzy we present awards to Suzy and Bear, Angela and Tasker and Emma and Luca, all of whom have worked so hard. Please join us in congratulating them all.

We are proud to announce three more Gold II Awards. Firstly, the 47th award goes to John & Chief (7yr old GSD) who train at our Thanington classes. The 48th award goes to Richard and Riley (8yr labrador) who train at Minster on a Saturday and for the 49th award we go back to Thanington and congratulate Aaron and Rosie (6yr spaniel cross). We are so proud of all three of these combinations on passing their Gold II, please join us in congratulating them.

The race is now on to grab that prestigious 50th award – who will it be?????

We are so proud to be supporting the Thanet Community Safety Partnership’s Annual Safety Bonanza by hosting their dog show on Saturday 19th August. The aim of the event is to raise awareness on the safety of women out walking their dogs alone. This is something very close to our hearts as I’m sure I’m not the only one that has felt vulnerable at times. As well as our fabulous show (with the chance to win some gorgeous rosettes!) and free have a go agility (in a lovely shady spot of Dane Park) there are lots of safety giveaways and other family events going on. All proceeds from the dog show will be donated to the fantastic Isle of Thanet branch of the RSPCA Animal Centre with whom we work closely. Please come down and support the event. It should be a lovely day out.

Would you know what to do if your dog was in a road traffic accident? Or poisoned? Or bitten by an adder? Do you want to know? We are offering Canine First Aid courses on 3 dates at 3 different venues. These are designed to give you the skills to provide on the spot care in the interim period before you get your dog to the vet. Knowing what to do could be life saving! All details below.

At Minster, on a Saturday, we reached the stage where we had a whole class of clients and dogs that had passed our top award of Gold II. We decided we needed a new target for them to aspire to so we created the Advanced Challenge! The Advanced Challenge consists of 16 very difficult exercises – from stays with distractions (eg placing bowls of food under their noses!), distance control with hand signals only to teaching 6 new tricks (some to be performed at a distance), scent recognition (being able to choose their owners scented article out of all of the groups articles), independent weaving and directional control (moving the dog left, right, forward and back at a distance) and more. All of the exercises require lots of time and effort from the owners practicing in between classes and a strong partnership with their dog.

We are exceptionally proud to have presented our first two rosettes to Vicky & Quincy who were first to pass the Advanced Challenge in February, closely followed by Ruth & Buddy in May. We are going to have to get our thinking caps on to find a new challenge for these two! Please join us in congratulating them.

Congratulations to Nick and Mabel for passing their Gold II Award. They are the first combination to pass the Gold II from attending the obedience and hoopers classes in Deal. They actually passed in February so our apologies for the delay in presenting the award. They are the 46th partnership to pass the prestigious Gold II award in 13 years which includes feats like 10 metre distance control and a 10 minute out of sight stay! Please join us in congratulating them.

We are pleased to present the first Gold II Award of 2023 to Richard and Nellie. Richard and Nellie joined us in January 2022 and have worked extremely hard to progress through all levels and pass their Gold II in just over a year. They are the 44th combination to reach this prestigious level . Congratulations!

Our second Gold II Award of 2023 is presented to Ruth and Aksel. Aksel is Ruth’s second dog to reach Gold II, her first she co-trained with her partner but this one she is claiming all by herself! Aksel has attended since puppy class and in addition to obedience is flying through our scentwork levels. They are the 45th combination to reach this level and should be very proud of themselves. Congratulations!

After waiting exceptionally patiently, I was pleased to be able to present our final Gold II Award from 2022 this week to April and Amber. This is a significant achievement as Amber can be a very worried girl at times, so the improvements she has made to get to the stage where she confidently stayed whilst April was out of her sight for 10 minutes are huge. I remember April saying to me “she’ll never do that!” and yet, here we are! They are the 42nd combination to reach this level and should be very proud of themselves. Congratulations!

I just had to share this picture too showing Amber in a middle position looking up at April waiting for her next cue. So cute!

As we head towards the end of the year we have four more Gold II Awards to announce.  Unfortunately, we have not yet had the opportunity to present her certificate to one so we will save her for the first post of 2023!

It is exceptionally difficult to pass the Gold II test, which is why out of thousands of dogs that have passed through us in 13 years the numbers are so low and so celebrated. It really is a fantastic achievement and a real commitment. 2022 saw the presentation of seven Gold II awards – will you get yours in 2023?

Congratulations to Pip & Della and Stephen & Dudley who attend our Minster classes as they become the 40th and 41st combinations in 13 years to pass their Gold II Award. Both dogs have attended since puppies. Della is a 4yr old soft coated wheaten terrier and Dudley is a 7yr old golden retriever. Both have worked hard to get through the Enve levels. Congratulations!

Congratulations to Rosemary and Poppy who attend our Thanington classes as they become the 43rd combination in 13 years to pass their Gold II Award. Poppy is a 4 year old cockapoo who just loves coming to class. Congratulations!

(for those with eagle eyes, we know we made a mistake on the polo – don’t worry, a replacement is in the works!)

Congratulations to Fiona and Winnie who attend our Minster classes as they become the 39th combination in 13 years to pass their Gold II Award. Winnie is a cockapoo and will be 2yrs old in February. Fiona and Winnie started off in our puppy classes and have worked hard to get through the Enve levels. Congratulations!