Young people from Perthshire know how to handle their four-legged friends thanks to their local dog training club.
They are excited that Perthshire Canine Club (PCC) has been shortlisted for the training club of the year award at the 2023 ‘Pawscars’, a huge gathering of people from across the UK with a love for dogs.
Awards recognise success, hard work and effort in all areas of the pedigree dog show scene and are a celebration of “all that is good in the world of dog showing in the UK.”
The 2023 Pawscars take place at the Hilton Metropole, NEC in Birmingham on March 8, with a big gala dinner the night before Crufts begins.
Five members of the Perthshire group are going to the awards and there are quite a few from Perth and beyond who have entered the famous dog show in the days after.
Perthshire Canine Club has been going since 1884.
Members enter pedigree dog shows, talk about diseases and breed problems and have a ringcraft meeting on Tuesday nights in Perth.
They held Zoom nights during lockdown and worked hard to build an online following when pups and owners were kept at home.
One of their main objectives when training classes could not meet was to teach good handling.
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During the pandemic, when humans turned to canine companionship, a huge number of people bought a puppy. But many young dogs suffered from a lack of socialisation and early training.
Perthshire Canine Club worked tirelessly to teach members young and old how to handle their dogs for showing and also trained new judges.
The club was delighted to recently find out that they had been entered for training club of the year at the UK-wide awards - dubbed the Pawscars.
“Nobody from the club’s committee can enter the Pawscars,” explained PCC secretary Aileen Campbell. “We have no idea who entered us, but it is fantastic someone thinks we deserve recognition. Now we are in the running, we really need everybody’s vote to win.”
The club was asked to make a YouTube video to support their entry. It shows Perthshire pooches big and small, some in fancy dress, some just enjoying standing proud in the show ring.
The link for this is https://youtu.be/4XWWa3FMb_c
Voting for the Pawscars is open until the end of February.
To support Perthshire Canine Club, follow the link https://www.thepawscars.org.uk