Cleveland Show Team 2010.

CLEVELAND CLEVER CANINES DEMONSTRATIONS

Cleveland Clever Canines Demonstration Team was formed in 2003 following an enquiry from the Wensleydale show secretary asking if Carrie could arrange for some owners from her classes to put on a small demonstration at their annual show. As Carrie had attended the Halifax agricultural show for several years with owners from her classes, it posed no problem to put a small group of owners and their dog’s together and come up with a suitable demonstration. As always the focus was responsible dog ownership and highlighted that owner's from all backgrounds and ages attend the classes teaching their dog in a kind, fair and effective way.

Due to their success the following year the team were asked to put on a display at the Stockton Summertime Show but this time they incorporated Have a Go Agility, offering owners with either their own pet dog or one of the demonstration team dogs to go around the agility equipment. Since then the team has gone from strength to strength and now attend the Cleveland Show and other local events annually.

The demonstrations aim to show the public the advantages of having a well behaved dog and how this is achieved through attending puppy socialisation and pet dog training classes which use reward based teaching methods. Each demonstration is designed according to the owner's who are able to participate and attend a particular show and includes the various levels of obedience that can be attained with your dog from Under-Graduate, Graduate to Post Graduate, responsible dog ownership and tricks, as well as the agility.

Preparing for the demonstration is not easy and owners and dogs are required to regularly attend both the Monday night agility classes as well as weekly sessions several months prior to an event and daily sessions in the week running up to a show. During the demonstrations there are a variety of distractions for the dogs and whilst on occasions this can prove too much more often the owners and dogs prove that all their hard work has paid off and they present a top quality performance. Advice and course information is also available on the day for anyone who needs help with their dog or who would like to join the classes.