Discover Dogs Sunday 2018

Making his debut appearance at Discover Dogs is Nelson. Morag had no idea how he would react but he was a star! He soon got into the swing of things and the public adored him. Just look at these photos, I think they speak for themselves!

The public just couldn't keep their hands of the adorable Nelson. So it was time to chill out for a bit!

Time for a little play before going home

After lunch, Lynn and Pete arrived with their real little cutie, Sophie, who also managed to steal many people's hearts!

It can be really thirsty work folks!

People just fell in love with our Sophie! All she had to do was chill out on the table.

Sophie had her eye on these interlopers!!! They had to be fully inspected.

What a busy weekend for all the dogs and helpers. They were wonderful ambassadors for our breed. Well done to all of you and thank you all so much for giving your precious time and wonderful Welsh Terriers to educate the public about this gorgeous breed!

Jan Chamberlain writes:

Willow thanks Daisy for modelling her new Equafleece coat. It's a perfect fit.

Izzy is not letting me out of her sight today, it's me and a big hairy shadow. She's making sure I don't go out on my own today.

Jan

Jane Price writes:

Congratulations Pat and to all the team for doing the Welsh Terriers proud!

The stand looks amazing as do the gorgeous Welsh Terriers representing the club and ultimately promoting the breed.

Let’s hope that some of those people attending Discover dogs will be converted to having a Welsh Terrier as a dog. So long as they are the’ right’ people of course!

One year when I was at Discover dogs with my WT Dilys, a lady who had a nine year old boy with her asked me ‘do they need a walk’? ….Der!!!

She said she wanted to get a dog for her son as she had read that a pet would teach him responsibility? The boy was looking around, clearly bored, totally disinterested in Dilys or any of the other dogs present and was not at all interested or excited about having a dog. The lady said she lived in London. I asked if she had a garden or a park nearby her house? The answer was ‘no’ to both garden and park! She then told me that she worked full time but would be able to take the dog in the car to a park twenty minutes from her house once a week on her day off?

Alarm bells were ringing! So, I had to be honest and tell her that I did not think her circumstances would suit a Welsh Terrier or any dog? In fact, I would not have trusted her or her son with even a Goldfish? She appeared a very cold person and I got the impression that she was wanting to get a dog as an educational tool rather than because she actually liked dogs? In fact, I positively dissuaded her NOT to get a dog as I could not bear to think of any poor dog or creature being subjected to such conditions.

By contrast, on another occasion, I had Dilys on the table when there was a flurry of people approaching the stand. Amongst the faces, I noticed a young couple. The man looked over at the WELTOS stand and suddenly rushed towards us with such excitement in his face. He then clamped down on Dilys cuddling and kissing her as if she was his long lost dog!

At first, I was a bit taken back by his exuberant show of affection towards Dilys but she didn’t seem to mind. He then explained that he had had a Welsh Terrier when he was a child which he absolutely loved. One day, when he came home from school the dog was missing and he was told by his parents that it had gone to Heaven! His parents later told him that it had to be put down due to a terminal medical condition. However, he told me that he missed the dog so much and it had a profound effect on him to lose him. He said that he would now love to have a WT of his own.

The man was in his thirties I would say but his girlfriend was clearly not keen and said that she would prefer a Labrador. The lovely man, held Dilys for ages and didn’t seem to want to leave the stand.

I only hope that he got his wish in end as it would be one very lucky WT indeed to find such a loving owner as him?

Editors note: I bet a lot of Weltos members who have helped out at Discover Dogs have their own little stories they could tell!

David and Jan Morgan write:

Looks terrific!!! Thank you!

Lynn French writes:

Hi Pat Hope you got home OK with all the gear for the stand! That trolley is brilliant and just the job.

Editor's note: Yes I did thank you. In fact considering I was on my own, I thought I did really well and got to the Blackwell Tunnel in no time at all.

That trolley was a Godsend. On the Sunday it was used to put all the bags and coats in it, keeping the stand tidy and then when we took the stand down, there was ample room to put all the artwork etc in it. Having four wheels it was much easier to pull.

Lynn continues: We had a lovely afternoon yesterday and little Sophie was a star and soooo good, bearing in mind all the touching/stroking/tickling which was going on. At times, it is hard to keep a check on what everyone is doing! She was exhausted and slept all the way home in the car, managed to wake herself up long enough to eat her dinner and then went back to sleep for the night. Bless! It is such an enjoyable day - I am surprised that more people in the club don't volunteer to do it. Really, it is better when there are a couple of dogs for each session to give each other a bit of a break for a walk and a wee. So come on you lot of Weltos members, get volunteering for next year!!

Editors note: I couldn't agree more! Looking forward to the ramble on Wednesday in Tenterden. Lynn

The Kennel Club writes:

Chris Amos writes:

Well done to everyone who represented our breed at Discover Dogs . I was unable to take my turn on the stand this year for health reasons but know how tiring it is for both dogs and humans, however it is so rewarding too. If you've thought about it but not been sure, give it a try next year. Lets face it...we all like to talk about our wonderful Welsh Terriers and what better opportunity than Discover Dogs!

I'm delighted and not a little amazed to say that Jasper, yes naughty Jasper, has passed his Kennel Club Good Citizen Silver Test! Not only passed, but passed with flying colours. He was absolutely brilliant. The examiner commented that. "I don't really like terriers but I would like to take him home" I wasn't sure how he would get on with her 5 shelties though so I brought him home with me😜

Chris

Jan Chamberlain writes:

Congratulations Jasper!! Tell your instructor Terriers rule. (the roost)

Judith Berg writes:

Nice to see the KC appreciates everyone's efforts. Certainly we had a very good rota of people and dogs to give the public an appreciation of what owning a WT is all about. Thank you to those who went and promoted the breed.

My heart leapt when I was walking Evie past the infants school the other day and an assistant rushed to the fence saying 'I have a WT at home'! I was busy trying to get Evie to stay calm with the children in the playground but we did manage a chat. I am really sad Evie still has lots of hang ups due to a lack of socialisation when she was young. However we will persevere.

Editors note:

Where would we be without people like Judith and Alan? After having two super Welsh Terriers, they took on rescue dog and escape artist Evie. She really keeps them on their toes! There are such a lot of kind people around, picking up the pieces that others just couldn't seem to put together.

Kaye Attoe writes:

Just wanted to say well done for the stand at Discover Dogs and how fantastic the photos were that you posted. I'm sorry, this was the first year we have missed it.