North Yorkshire youngster and Caversham competitor amongst the winners of nationwide competition.
Three young dog lovers have been crowned winners following an online competition to celebrate the bond between owners and their canine companions and how this has helped them through lockdown, winning prize money of £100 in each age category.
Sponsored by the Kennel Club Educational Trust (KCET) and hosted by the Young Kennel Club (YKC) via its social media channels and website, the Life in Lockdown competition saw almost 100 entries from members aged as young as six years old, and up to 24-year-olds. Participants were split into three age categories, with each age group having a week to submit their entries between 29th June and 8th July.
The entries were varied in their format, from slideshows to photo montages and even videos captured from the dog’s point of view, showcasing the talent and creativity of the youngsters and celebrating the positive role that our four-legged friends play, not only during lockdown but as lifelong companions.
The three winners were as follows:
18-24 years winner
Alexandra Morgan, a 20-year-old from Caversham, Berkshire, and Ollie, a five-year-old Labrador Retriever won the 18-24 category, with their very funny video captured from Ollie’s point of view, teaching Alexandra ‘how to be a dog’.
Speaking of their win, Alexandra said: “It is a massive honour that mine and Ollie’s video has been chosen as the winner for my age group. There were so many great entries and Ollie and I had a blast making our video together. The one thing that Ollie is brilliant at is constantly making me and my family smile and I wanted to show that in my video.
“The lockdown has brought a lot of change and uncertainty with me having to leave university and miss my graduation, but spending so much time with Ollie has made the whole experience a million times better. I could not ask for a better companion, not just for lockdown, but for life.”
12-17 years winner
Susanna and five-year-old Teasel, a crossbreed, won the 12-17 category, with their highlight reel of their lockdown activities, including birthday celebrations and making homemade treats.
Speaking of their win, Susanna said: “I have only been a Young Kennel Club member for a few months and this is the first competition I have entered, so it is fantastic to win! However, what is more valuable to me is the bond I have with Teasel and the time lockdown has made available for me to be with her, from extra agility at home when lockdown meant no regular training at my club, to giving her longer walks and discovering new places. That being said, I can’t wait to be back competing at agility soon and also participating in YKC agility events and training weekends.”
6-11 years winner
Elsie Bradley, aged nine, from Marske-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, and Daisy, a four-year-old Pomeranian/Chihuahua cross won the 6-11 category, with their slideshow comprised of snapshots of all the fun activities the pair had been up to, keeping active and sharing laughs.
Speaking of their win, Elsie said: “Having Daisy has been brilliant through lockdown. She always makes me happy. I loved making the video to show everyone what we have been getting up to. It feels very exciting to win and I feel very proud.”
The Young Kennel Club has been providing its dedicated members with fun games and activities to enjoy with their dogs during lockdown across its website and social channels, including a successful online dog show last month, which saw over 1,000 entries, as well as a series of upcoming dog breed drawing tutorials, printable quizzes, colouring pages and more.
Gerald King, Chairman of the Kennel Club Educational Trust said: “It was a real delight to see so many YKC members submitting entries for the Life in Lockdown competition. Dogs have played a really supportive and important role to their young owners during such a difficult time and they have certainly put a smile on our faces!
“It was really hard choosing just three winners amongst so many impressive entries, but we felt that the submissions from Elsie and Daisy, Susanna and Teasel and Alexandra and Ollie really summarised the strong bond between the young dog owners and their four-legged-friends and highlighted how beneficial dog ownership can be.”
The Kennel Club Educational Trust was established in 2007 with the initial aim to help advance the education of the public, dog owners and trainers in responsible dog ownership, including public safety, obedience training and the health and welfare of dogs.
Over time this has evolved into focusing on education for all canine activities including judges training seminars, breed specific films (including breeding, whelping and health), the Safe and Sound and Bark and Read schemes, the Canine Genetics and Epidemiology Journal and funding towards the development of young people, in particular Young Kennel Club members.
Find out more about the work of the Educational Trust.
More information for parents and/or young dog lovers who are interested in joining the Young Kennel Club is available at www.ykc.org.uk.