History of the Sevenoaks and District Dog Training Society, Kent
In mid 1963 four friends, experienced dog handlers, met to discuss the need for a dog training club in the Sevenoaks area. By autumn of that year Sevenoaks & District Dog Training Society was formed. The response to the advertisement "is anyone interested" was overwhelming. Fifty owners (and their dogs!) attended the first General Meeting and within a few weeks training had begun.
The Society applied for Kennel Club registration and the necessary rules were set out. In the first year the founder members formed a Committee, its structure being a Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary plus up to four other Committee Members. We also have a club President. These were elected by vote at the Annual General Meeting - and so it is today.
In the early days the original four became the instructors and the Society was grateful to guest instructors from other clubs who widened the vision of training. Our instructing team grew steadily and at present we have a number of instructors who between them have many years of training experience in both Agility and Obedience.
Pictured on the left are our club Chairmen through the years - Joan Hammond, Steve Seale and our current Chair, Kaye Scott. Kaye is an Affiliate Member of the British Institute of Professional Dog Trainers and a member of and Assessor for the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. Our secretary, Christine Boylan, is trained in Canine First Aid as well as in Canine Legal matters, she is also an Associate Member of the Animal Care College. The other members of the committee work tirelessly to maintain the current high standards of training that the club offers.
All the instructors are keen to further their theoretical and practical knowledge, so helping to keep the club forward thinking in all aspects of dog training. The club actively encourages this and has an annual instructor training budget set aside for just this.
For twenty years the Society ran a mid-week Open Obedience Show and have also organised five Agility Shows. In more recent years the club organises the annual PDSA Companion Obedience Dog Show in Norman Park, Bromley.
The club is keen to participate in various community activities including obedience and agility training displays, The Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme, Sevenoaks District Council environmental campaigns, Veterinary Open Days etc.
We work closely with Elands Veterinary Clinic in Dunton Green for our Puppy Socialisation and Basic Obedience Training Courses and other vets in the area are happy to recommend their clients to us ensuring reward based training methodology.
