Ramsey Dog Training Club

I have been a member of Ramsey Dog Training Club for the past 6 years and started out, with my little cross breed, with domestic obedience and moving on the agility. After falling in love with Debbie Martin’s dog Bea and Andy Firth’s dog, Tyson, I was lucky enough to be able to get a dog from the same breeding lines and in March 2006 I got Fleet. Fleet is not an easy dog in the slightest but he is quite simply lovely and I can’t remember him not being around. Fleet and I just compete in obedience due to Fleet having a large hernia as a puppy which means that he can’t do either agility of flyball, however we won out of beginners when he was 18 months old and got our first Novice win at MAD last year so I am very proud of him.

I really enjoy being a member of Ramsey Dog Training Club for the fun and camaraderie between its members and being part of the Committee is my way of giving something back to the club. I look forward to many more years working my dog and enjoying myself as that is what it is all about!

Treasurer: Sue Adams

President: Debbie Martin

Also Show Secretary for Manx Action Dog Week, Obedience and Agility Trainer, Chief Bottlewasher...

I’ve been with the club more years than I would care to count and now seem to have an accompanying set of hats that has been added to with monotonous regularity along the way! But I only have myself to blame for that – don’t I?? It all started with a pet dog trainer’s hat, then I added competitive obedience and eventually agility to the collection with the Chairman’s arriving somewhere in the middle of it all followed by Show Secretary, initially to a weekend open agility show.  However being a glutton for punishment I came up with the idea of expanding two days into a week long event incorporating a weekend of open obedience competition and various fun activities in between (it seemed like a jolly good idea at the time!). And so, in 2005, ‘Manx Action Dog Week’ or more appropriately ‘MAD’ was born!!

In 2007 I started working for myself and this began to take up much more of the little spare time I had and in 2008 my youngest collie, Amy (Foxbarton Bee’s Knees) arrived.  So in 2009 I decided with some regret that I could no longer continue in my role as Chairman and stepped down from the post, taking on the President’s hat instead. 

I now have 4 collies: Luke (Gaelic Charm) now retired from obedience and agility, having reached the top level of each discipline; Josh (Mannanan’s Wild Child) is also retired from agility due to hip dysplasia but continues to enjoy himself with obedience, successfully working A; then comes Bea (Mykellnmark’s Silver Lining A Ex, AW (S)) who is still my baby and has been to Crufts as part of the Inter Regional Obedience Team and twice represented the Island in the International Agility and will be doing so once again in 2010; finally Amy, still learning but showing lots of potential. 

Membership Secretary: Fiona Bryans

General Committee Members:

Ruth Dermott

I first got involved with dog training when we got Chewy our rather mad Boxer X from the MSPCA in 2004 (we went to get a cat and came home with Chewy!!!). He was a handful so within 24 hours of coming home he was taken to the Wednesday night puppy class for some much needed 'guidance' . He then introduced me to Flyball and that was that, I was hooked and dragged Nick along and he was soon hooked too. Molly our old girl doesn't care for anything too energetic and reserves herself for visiting my mother-in-law's for Sunday lunch scraps! We have since gained a collection of dogs in addition to Molly and Chewy - Clio, Archie and Stan who all do Flyball and Agility. I can also be found in the obedience ring with Chewy, he now only competes in Obedience after a back injury left him unable to resume Flyball or Agility at a competitive level.

Marie Horne

Gary & Jayne Hubble

We joined RDTC back in April 2008 when our dog Doona started at the puppy class.  We all (Doona included) found the classes great fun.  Jayne does the handling while Gary provides support and encouragement.  After a while we moved on to the competition obedience class which was a bit scary to begin with but which we now thoroughly enjoy.  We recently started the beginners’ agility course and are having great fun getting everything wrong!