Secretary’s Notice Board – Northern King Charles Spaniel Club

THE NORTHERN KING CHARLES SPANIEL CLUB

November 2024

NOTICE OF

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Dear Member,

It is intended to hold the Annual General Meeting for 2025 at Grenoside Community Centre, Main Street, Grenoside Sheffield on Saturday 15th March 2025 at 10.30 a.m. Renewal subscriptions are due on the 1^st January 2025, and should be sent to the Honorary Treasurer Mea Kendall. Membership subscriptions are as follows:

Single – £10.00 Joint – £12.00 Overseas – £16.00.

No business shall be conducted at the A.G.M. unless notice thereof appears on the agenda or at the discretion of the Chairman. The Hon. Secretary must receive items for inclusion on the agenda for 2025 in writing no later than Saturday 1st February 2025, otherwise they will not be accepted. Nominations are invited for committee members who must have been a fully paid-up member of the Club for at least two years.

The Honorary Acting Secretary must receive written nominations for Officers and Committee no later than Saturday 1st February 2025. Nominations must be proposed and seconded in writing and be accompanied by a letter from the nominee stating that he/she would be willing to serve if elected. All nominees must have been a member of the Club for at least two years. Voting papers will only be sent to fully paid-up members as at the 1^st February 2025.

The following committee members are due for re-election by rotation and are willing to stand for a further term.

Officers – Mea Kendall (Treasurer)

Committee – Sue Tonner, Adrian Tonner & Becky Wileman

Yours sincerely

Loraine Ratter

Hon. Acting Secretary

KENNEL CLUB ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO JUDGES’ EDUCATION PROGRAMMEIn response to feedback received from Breed Education Coordinators, breed clubs, judges and societies, The Kennel Club has implemented several changes to the Judges’ Education Programme (Breed Shows). These adjustments aim to resolve some of the concerns and improve the overall experience. The organisation is in the process of updating the Codes of Best Practice and the new versions will be available on its website as soon as possible. These changes are effective immediately and are as follows:MentoringMentorsTo help increase the pool of mentors, which is a problem for some breeds, and to provide more opportunities for mentoring, Group judges who have awarded Challenge Certificates (CCs) to the relevant breed at least twice are able to be mentors for the breed should they wish to, without breed club approval.MentoringConcerns have been raised that some judges are trying to rush through the Judges’ Education Programme (JEP) levels in the minimum timeframe without having gained sufficient knowledge of the breed and therefore will progress through level 3 to the Breed Competency Assessment before they are really ready, and it can then be disheartening to judges who then do not pass the assessment when this could have been identified earlier in their education of the breed. Therefore, an amendment to mentoring has been agreed. Mentors will have to agree that a judge is ready to progress or requires further mentoring in that breed. Two out of the three mentoring sessions will need to indicate that a judge has sufficient knowledge to progress before an observation can take place. The requirement for 12 months between the first and third mentoring sessions is still required.It is important to remember that three mentoring sessions is the minimum number of sessions required and judges should take opportunities to be mentored either formally or informally throughout their judging education to help them develop in depth knowledge of a breed.Code of Best Practice for breed mentoring – guidance on one-to-one mentoring The wording in the Code of Best Practice is being changed to ‘Mentors should provide an impartial view of the dogs exhibited and not favour or be highly critical of a certain kennel or breeder~~, no dogs owned or bred by them should be discussed, save in special circumstances~~.’ (deletion struck through).This change will be particularly beneficial to numerically small breeds where mentoring was problematic as the most experienced and knowledgeable people could not mentor due to having dogs entered.ObservationsObserversTo help increase the pool of observers for some breeds and to provide more opportunities for observations, group judges who have awarded Challenge Certificates (CCs) to the relevant breed at least three times are able to be observers for the breed should they wish to, without breed club approval. Observation criteria for JEP Some Breed Education Coordinators (BECs) have faced challenges to find adequate opportunities to organise observations for judges. To address this, an additional opportunity for observation has been agreed. Observations can now also take place at group and general open shows, as well as breed club shows (including special awards classes), breed supported entry classes and championship shows without CCs for the breed. There has been concern from BECs and judges regarding observations where the required number of dogs were entered but did not turn up on the day, resulting in the observation not being able to take place. The decision has been made that should the correct number of dogs be entered and not arrive, the observation should still proceed. The observer should note in the comments section of the form whether they believe the judge was of sufficient capability to continue. Additionally, observers should have a conversation with the judge following the appointment to further assess the judge’s level of understanding of the breed. The forms will be updated to reflect this change.In exceptional circumstances – which must be approved prior to the observation taking place – mock classes would be allowed on a trial basis; these would be approved on a case-by-case basis by Judges Committee. BECs should ask the office for approval for a mock class observation to take place explaining the exceptional circumstances.Level 5 and 6 criteria – group and best in show judgesJudges applying to be approved for groups and best in show route must have successfully passed the Eye for a Dog Assessment.The MINIMUM criteria for eligibility to be considered for approval to judge a group are that nominees must have awarded Challenge Certificates to a minimum of 20% of the breeds currently allocated Challenge Certificates in the group, including at least one of the six breeds with the currently recorded highest breed entries in the group at general championship shows. The requirements for each group appear at the end of this release.The minimum eligibility criteria for approval to judge best in show are to have previously judged at least one group and to have awarded Challenge Certificates to at least one breed from two other groups. Judges will also be expected to have adequate experience in judging across all groups.Policy judges The criteria for policy judges has been amended to state that they must have awarded CCs in at least 75% of eligible breeds within the group, have judged the group and have passed the Eye for a Dog assessment.Grandfathering The cut-off date for grandfathering applications for breeds will be as previously announced – 31 December 2025 – no grandfathering applications will be accepted after this date.Judges should also note that with immediate effect they are required to be on at least 50% of breed club A3 lists for the breed, and not just one A3 list. It is appreciated that in some breeds multiple breed clubs have different A3 list criteria; The Kennel Club has recently written to clubs encouraging them to bring their criteria in line with The Kennel Club criteria and run more hands-on assessments to give judges more opportunities to meet criteria.Grandfathering applications for group and best in shows judges will cease as the JEP system for these levels is now in place, so judges have the option of submitting a traditional questionnaire for an appointment or following JEP.End of transition to JEP – Submission of traditional/A2 nominations The Kennel Club judges department will continue to accept nominations via the traditional route (questionnaires and A2 questionnaires) until 31 December 2025 for shows up to 31 December 2027. It was confirmed that any nominations from 1 January 2028 onwards must be for preapproved judges (either previously approved through the traditional route or approved Level 4 judges through JEP). Breed Education Coordinators Following an initial proposal from the Breeds Liaison Council, a three-year term of office for Breed Education Coordinators will start on 1 January 2025 for all breeds. This will bring the role in line with other Kennel Club volunteer roles. If a BEC resigned mid-term, a replacement BEC will be appointed for the remainder of the term of office. BECs currently in office who have the support of breed clubs and wish to continue in the role will begin their three-year term of office on 1 January 2025. The Kennel Club will assume the current BECs will remain in place unless notified otherwise. The process for nomination will be advised to breed clubs in due course.More information about the Judges’ Education Programme can be found at thekennelclub.org.uk/JEP.ENDS[193.24]16 September 2024Notes to Editor  Appendix 1Approval for GroupsHound Group – 4 breeds (incl. 1 of Afghan Hound, Basset Hounds, Beagle, Dachshunds, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Whippet). Gundog Group – 6 breeds (incl. 1 of Retriever (Golden), Retriever (Labrador), Spaniel (Cocker), Irish Setter, Retriever (Flat Coated), Pointer Terrier Group – 5 breeds (incl. 1 of Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Border Terrier, Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, Cairn Terrier, Bedlington Terrier, Bull Terriers, Irish Terrier) Utility Group – 4 breeds (incl. 1 of Bulldog, Dalmatian, French Bulldog, Tibetan Terrier, Poodles, Tibetan Spaniel). Working Group – 3 breeds (incl. 1 of Newfoundland, Boxer, Dobermann, Great Dane, Rottweiler, Siberian Husky). Pastoral Group – 4 breeds (incl. 1 of Bearded Collie, Border Collie, Collie (Rough), German Shepherd Dog, Shetland Sheepdog, Samoyed). Toy Group – 4 breeds (incl. 1 of Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Chihuahuas, Papillon, Japanese Chin, Pomeranian, Pug). Note 1 – For each group the 5-year average from 2023 will be used to determine the top 6 numerical breeds in each groupNote 2 – The Judges Committee will take into account the diversity and judging tiers of the previously approved breeds together with the number of dogs judged in the breeds for which the judge is not yet approved. If you’d like any further information please email press.office@thekennelclub.org.uk.The Kennel Club  The Kennel Club is the largest organisation in the UK devoted to dog health, welfare and training. Its objective is to ensure that dogs live healthy, happy lives with responsible owners.    It runs the country’s largest registration database for both pedigree and crossbreed dogs and the Petlog database, which is one of the UK’s biggest reunification service for microchipped animals. The Kennel Club also runs its Assured Breeders scheme – the only UK-wide scheme that monitors breeders in order to protect the welfare of puppies and breeding bitches – as well as the UK’s largest dog training programme, The Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Training scheme. It accredits dog trainers and behaviourists through the City & Guilds Accredited Kennel Club Instructors scheme (KCAI).   The Kennel Club licenses shows and clubs across a wide range of activities, which help dog owners to bond and enjoy life with their dogs and runs the world’s greatest dog show, Crufts, which showcases canine activities and educates people about how to responsibly buy and care for their dog.    The Kennel Club invests in welfare campaigns, dog training and education programmes and The Kennel Club Charitable Trust, which supports research into dog diseases and dog welfare charities, including The Kennel Club Breed Rescue organisations that re-home dogs throughout the UK. The Kennel Club jointly runs health screening schemes with the British Veterinary Association. 

The Club accounts will be available on request from the Treasurer, Mea Kendall, by email or post fourteen days prior to the AGM

CLARIFICATION OF ‘GRANDFATHER RIGHTS’ FOR ESTABLISHED JUDGES

Recognition of judging and assessments already undertaken
A2 and established approval routes available for whole of transition period
Grandfathering available as of 2021
Judges may self-submit questionnaires for CC, Group and BIS status
Judges of non-CC breeds included

Further to the announcement made on 1 May 2020 regarding ‘grandfather rights’ for established judges during the transition phase of the initiative now known as the Judges Education Programme (Breed Shows), the Kennel Club wishes to clarify a number of issues.

The current A2 and established approval routes will continue for the entirety of the five-year transition period, with a review of their comparative uptake and success, taking place once the current routes and the Judges Education Programme (Breed Shows) have been run in tandem for three years.

The other key points to note are as follows:

The aim of both the A2 and grandfathering routes is to create a pool of pre-approved CC judges to enable the selection and appointment of judges and reduce the perceived uncertainties inherent in the other aspects of the established approval route.
The current A2 process will continue to operate for those who choose to use it during the five-year period during which it has been agreed that the established approval route and Judges Education Programme (Breed Shows) route will run in tandem.
For progression by the A2 route candidates must have a minimum of three positive judging assessments on file, be nominated by a Breed Club/Council and be listed on the nominating club/council’s A3 list. Full guidance on this route can be found at bit.ly/2JpDwGW.
From 1 January 2021 eligible judges who are seeking pre-approval to award CCs will be able to select from either the current A2 route or the new grandfathering approval route on a per breed basis.
For progression to award CCs via grandfathering candidates can self-nominate provided they are included on at least one Breed Club/Council A3 list and/or have a pre-existing JDP Credit Pass for the relevant breed. Each judge must also meet all the Kennel Club’s mandatory requirements for approval to award CCs (see below).

Judges of non-CC breeds are advised that they too will have grandfather rights which may make it possible to achieve Level 4 status in such breeds. In those cases it is recognised that breed specialists will not have the three Stud Book Numbers (as required for CC judges), but the Judges Committee will take into account dogs owned and/or bred and any significant wins. Clubs catering for non-CC breeds and therefore not previously required to compile an A3 list are now encouraged to do so to include those judges which the club is prepared to support through the grandfathering route.

Once the grandfathering facility is available at the start of 2021, the Kennel Club will make a further announcement on the process, including details of the relevant questionnaires and how to access them.

It is strongly recommended that breed clubs bring their judging criteria into line with that of the Kennel Club as soon as they are able. A previous announcement regarding this can be found here: bit.ly/2WhfjaB.

Any queries regarding the Judges Education Programme (Breed Shows) should be directed to judges.education@thekennelclub.org.uk. Please also refer to the Frequently Asked Questions at www.thekennelclub.org.uk/jep.

GRANDFATHERING CRITERIA

Current status	Criteria required	Notes
A3 list judge (breeds with CC status)	To appear on at least one breed club/council A3 judging list at the time of submission to KC To have met all KC mandatory criteria regarding seminars, stewarding, Stud Book numbers To have judged the required number of dogs set by the KC according to the relevant Stud Book Band¹ To have passed a breed specific hands-on assessment held in accordance with the Kennel Club Code of Best Practice²	Submission after 1 January 2021 One submission per breed only permitted; if application rejected no further application can be made for that breed If approved judge will appear in listings as pre-approved for relevant breed No appeals will be accepted
A3 list judge (non CC breeds)	To appear on at least one breed club/council A3 judging list at the time of submission to KC To have met all KC mandatory criteria regarding seminars, stewarding, listing dogs owned and/or bred with significant wins. To have judged the required number of dogs set by the KC according to the relevant Stud Book Band¹ To have passed a breed specific hands-on assessment held in accordance with the Kennel Club Code of Best Practice²	Submission after 1 January 2021 One submission per breed only permitted; if application rejected no further application can be made for that breed If approved judge will appear in listings as pre-approved for relevant breed No appeals will be accepted
Judge with JDP Credit	To have a JDP Credit for the relevant breed To have met 50% or more of the KC required number of dogs judged for the breed	Submission after 1 January 2021 One submission per breed only permitted; if submission is rejected no further application can be made for that breed If approved judge will appear in listings as pre-approved for relevant breed No appeals will be accepted
Aspiring Group and Best in Show judge	Group submission – To have awarded CCs in the required number of breeds to be approved to judge the relevant group³ Best in Show submission – To meet the requirements for a Best in Show appointment, and be able to demonstrate a broad experience of judging across all groups⁴	Submission after 1 January 2021 Only one submission per group and/or Best in Show category permitted. If application rejected no further application can be made for that category If approved will be appear in listings as pre-approved for relevant group or as Best in Show judge No appeals will be accepted

¹ Stud Book Band A (including non-CC breeds) – 40 dogs; Stud Book Band B – 70 dogs; Stud Book Band C – 120 dogs; Stud Book Band D – 180 dogs; Stud Book Band E – 250 dogs.

Note the following Stud Book Band A breeds require a minimum of 30 dogs judged: Australian Cattle Dog; Australian Terrier; Basset Griffon Vendeen (Grand); Bloodhound; Bouvier Des Flandres; Brittany; Finnish Spitz; Glen of Imaal Terrier; Ibizan Hound; Kerry Blue Terrier; Lakeland Terrier; Mastiff; Norwegian Buhund; Norwich Terrier; Otterhound; Pharaoh Hound; Polish Lowland Sheepdog; Retriever (Chesapeake Bay); Sealyham Terrier; Skye Terrier; Spaniel (Irish Water); Swedish Vallhund; Welsh Terrier.

Breeds with varieties require the following criteria (automatic approval is given for a further variety or varieties once approved for a CC appointment in an initial variety): Bull Terriers – 80 dogs of any variety; Chihuahua (Long Coat & Smooth Coat) – 200 dogs of any variety; Belgian Shepherd Dogs (Groenendael, Tervueren, Laekenois & Malinois) – 70 dogs of any variety; Fox Terrier – 70 dogs of any variety; German Spitz (Mittel & Klein) – 70 dogs of any variety; Poodle (Toy, Miniature & Standard) – 150 dogs including at least 30 of each variety; Dachshund (all varieties) – 250 dogs any variety.

² Mandatory for approval to award CCs in first three breeds and desirable for subsequent breeds

³ Current criteria – First time group judges must have carried out CC appointments to a minimum of four breeds (three in the working group) in the relevant group. For second and subsequent groups, three breeds are required. The Judges Committee will take into account the diversity and Stud Book Bands of the previously approved breeds together with the number of dogs judged in the breeds for which the judge is not yet approved and any JDP Credits obtained.

⁴ Current criteria – Judges must be approved to judge one group and to award Challenge Certificates to at least one breed from two other groups. Judges will be expected to have experience in judging across all groups and all relevant experience will be taken into account.

JUDGES COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK TO BE KNOWN AS JUDGES EDUCATION PROGRAMME (BREED SHOWS)

The Judges Competency Framework (JCF) underwent an independent review in 2019 which recommended that a new name be adopted by the framework, without using the word ‘competency’. This view was also supported by the findings of the Kennel Club survey on the JCF.

The Kennel Club Board has recently approved a change of name for the JCF. It is now to be known as the Judges Education Programme (Breed Shows).

Kathryn Mansfield, Kennel Club Secretary, said: “In reaching this decision, the Board was mindful that, as the Kennel Club offers education for all judges, this new name can be adopted across all its licensed activities, for example Judges Education Programme (Agility Shows).”

All queries related to the Judges Education Programme (Breed Shows) should be directed to judges.education@thekennelclub.org.uk. All documentation for each activity will be updated with the revised name in due course.

For a current list of FAQs and other information related to the Judges Education Programme (Breed Shows), please visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk/jep.

5) A message from Royal Canin re redemption of gift certificates

“Don’t forget that you can still redeem your gift certificates won at shows sponsored by Royal Canin by contacting their Area Business Manager. To find out who the Business Manager is for your area, click here: https://bit.ly/3b6yjOr”

Statement Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI)

Reflecting on the legislative changes regarding the brachycephalic breeds in the Netherlands, please be informed about the following: Even though, last August, the FCI – among many canine stakeholders – had been informed about the preparation of the current legislation, we have since then not heard -nor have we been consulted- of any final step or decision being taken or made. No professional assistance or guidance was sought at that time by the Raad van Beheer (RvB-Dutch Kennel Club), which “ ”. Once the rumours about the legislative change have started on social media, we immediately contacted the RvB for official further details. Under the current sanitary circumstances, face-to-face meetings are not possible to be held but we will arrange a personal meeting between the FCI General Committee’s representative and the RvB in order for us to understand the practical situation, the plans and the standpoint of the RvB following this domestic legislative change. As previously announced, the FCI had proactively started to establish a cooperation frame with the professional BOAS working group led by Dr. Jane Ladlow and The Kennel Club in order to implement their new system of functional tests and to apply even more professional methods for the health of brachycephalic breeds. Due to the current pandemic situation, it was impossible to launch the program so far, but we shall do our best to introduce this new approach worldwide as soon as the circumstances are appropriate. Our priority is the preservation of these endangered brachycephalic breeds which all are National Heritages, and the protection of the interests of responsible breeders (vs individual puppy-producers, who are not falling under any regulations in the country). One of our biggest concerns – besides ignoring the National Heritage of the countries of origin of the affected breeds – lies in the fact that such legislation puts into advantageous situation those unmonitored and unregistered puppy farmers who are now given the tools to avoid any control, functional test, genetic test, and professional supervision of their activities. “Banning” breeds this way will result in making it impossible for the professionals (registered kennel club’s breeders) to operate correctly and in the interest of the breeds in question. A huge percentage of the dogs will be produced in individual households with no official affiliation to a registered entity, having as a final consequence that the overall health status of these dogs will be dramatically and negatively impacted in a near future. Keep in mind that once we lost the registered gene pool, the quality control gets lost forever. Obviously, the FCI is also strictly against registered breed-crossing, which boils down to simply cheating hundreds of years of history. Due to its simplicity and advantage to produce results in the short run, outcrossing is a popular concept for refreshing the gene pool, but it also bears unforeseeable consequences on the gene pool of the breed(s). All that is causing me a serious personal problem as well as the fact that this situation will affect only breeders related to national canine organisations and will protect those who are not providing any pedigree along with their puppies. Those dogs will indeed not fall under this regulation. I am inviting all the national canine organisations, especially those which operate in the country of origin of the aforementioned 12 breeds, to express their official reaction about a decision, taken by a foreign government, which tends to ignore an important part of their National Heritage without any previous consultation with the professional authorities of the involved counties. I am calling for an international campaign and action related to this cultural matter ! The FCI General Committee will be able to take further actions and measures once we get first-hand information (from the Raad van Beheer) about the facts and circumstances.. Dr. Tamás Jakkel President of the FCI