The Kennel Club has announced that its new and improved ‘Find a Club’ service will be available online shortly.
The new service will include listings for clubs which hold training for agility, Bloodhound working trials, dog shows, heelwork to music, obedience, rally, field trials, Good Citizen Dog Training scheme and working trials. There is also a separate list for breed clubs.
The purpose of the service is to enable new dog owners to find local clubs in their area, and clubs which licence shows can also be found via ‘Find a Club’ when it launches.
To ensure that this new service can help new dog owners find accurate information, The Kennel Club is asking clubs to ensure that their details are up to date and correct. If the information on your club profile displays a N/A you will need to enter information about the training you offer or you can leave this as N/A and the new owner can contact the club directly.
Providing these up-to-date details will ensure that the following information will be available to the public once the service is live:
- About us – the information you supplied to The Kennel Club about the club. Please note that this should not include any references to training methods or subject matter that refers to non-regulated Kennel Club activities.
- Phone number – the phone number of the club secretary or activity co-ordinator.
- Activities – the activities a club runs training for (this is not related to shows a club holds). Please note that this section will only include activities that are recognised by The Kennel Club. Listed Status Clubs should only include activities that are included in their Listed Status contract.
- Activity training venue – the county where training is held
- Tests conducted (for Good Citizen Dog Training scheme) – tests which are being conducted.
- Contacts – the contacts which are associated to a club, such as club secretary, field trial secretary, Good Citizen Dog Training scheme co-ordinator etc.
- Training available – if training is in the daytime, evenings, weekdays or weekends.
Mark Beazley, Kennel Club Chief Executive commented: “We hope that new dog owners looking for a club in their area will find this new service valuable in making decisions about where to attend.
“We regret the delay in relaunching this service whilst all the improved functionality such as searching by activity and post code were developed. These additional enhancements ensure all activities are provided with the same level of service.
“Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the data is accurate and up to date, the service reflects what clubs, show and trial societies have provided. Should anything be incorrect, club secretaries can log into their online account and request to update this information. We are encouraging as many secretaries as possible to try to do this prior to the launch. An email has been sent directly to secretaries, however if there have been changes during this time, please contact us so we can amend your details and resend the information.
“Our dedicated team are on hand to resolve any issues as quickly as possible so all information is up to date when we launch based on what each club has provided.”
It is hoped that Find a Club will be launched in the coming weeks.