I´m very excited about the release that has just gone out from the Kennel Club about the new Crufts broadcaster - More4! Good to use as the showcase for everything positive about dogs, discussions about dog health and collaboration between all parties.

Here´s the release.
More 4 has signed a deal with the Kennel Club, organiser of DFS Crufts, to broadcast the event for the first time in 2010.
More 4 will bring a fresh perspective to coverage of Crufts while retaining the show’s popular highlights including the stories of ‘hero dogs’ in the Friends for Life competition and the live award of ‘Best in Show’. The programming will also provide a high profile platform to inform the public about issues of health and welfare in pedigree dog breeding.
Coverage of the four-day dog show will be broadcast between 11 – 14 March with an hour long programme from Thursday to Saturday and a two-hour special on Sunday.

Hamish Mykura, Head of More 4, said:
“More 4’s coverage will enable dog lovers to see all the Crufts favourites, with fresh and stylish coverage that will give the show a More 4 twist. Crufts has a long-standing place in British broadcasting, and people who watch it want to know that the dogs are, above all, happy and healthy. Our programmes will place a particular emphasis on dog welfare issues, reflecting different points of view.”

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Communications Director, said:
“Dogs and dog lovers look forward to Crufts every year and we are delighted that More 4’s coverage will give them the opportunity to celebrate with us the special and unique bond between dogs and their owners. The programme will not only show a range of the fun competitions and events that celebrate the diverse role that dogs play in society, but will also give puppy buyers the opportunity to learn how to choose, train and care of their dog, throughout its life.
“Dog shows such as Crufts, are crucial to safeguarding the long term health and welfare of pedigree dogs. They enable us to encourage and reward the breeding of healthy, happy dogs, by making sure that these are the ones that go home with the prizes. Without dog shows there would be no incentive to breed healthy dogs, no forum to monitor whether this is being done and no platform to educate the breeders and owners of the future.
“Crufts is also the world’s best platform for all individuals and welfare organisations, veterinary professionals and breed experts who love and care about dogs, to discuss the health issues that the Kennel Club recognises affect some breeds and discuss what we can all do to ensure that dogs live healthy, happy lives.
“The Kennel Club has worked hard for many years to address these health issues both within and outside of the show ring, and will continue to do so. We conducted the world’s largest survey into pedigree health in 2004, in association with the Animal Health Trust and the British Small Animal Veterinary Association, which culminated in the review of all breed standards in January 2009.”

Nicky Paull, President of the British Veterinary Association, said:
“Dog shows such as Crufts provide an excellent opportunity to educate the public about pedigree breeding – both the good elements and the areas of concern. They can also be used to highlight best practice in dog breeding and encourage responsible ownership.
“Alongside many other organisations, the BVA has long campaigned to reduce genetic disease in all animals and, jointly with the Kennel Club, our Canine Health Schemes help breeders to identify problems early and ensure they are not passed on.
“We welcome More 4’s commitment to screening Crufts as a way to highlight health and welfare issues and inform viewers in an interesting and engaging way.”
The coverage will be produced by Sunset and Vine.

For those on twitter you will be familiar with this term - it is the dog version of #followfriday! Great fun and really nice to give and receive mentions of those that give great advice and support through twitter. Getting to think who is going to get my #woofwednesday today - huummm!

I´m making a quick stab at this blog today as I really need to be doing other stuff! But getting very hyped by pulling together the teams business plan and ideas for activity for the second half of this year and next year. Our team is working very closely on our social media strategy and have set up a number of groups on facebook - fan pages for dog showing and dog agility, causes for our campaign to gain support for our call on government to recommend better breeding standards under the Accredited Breeder Scheme, plus lots of activity on Flickr, YouTube and of course, Twitter. This is all great new stuff, but no good if we don´t set ourselves objectives and measures which we have put in place so that each quarter, we can review performance of this activity.

Many charities appear to be using this medium and I´m happy to do my bit in PetStreet - a great community that has a real love and committment to pets. Would love to hear any views on social networking and use of different website and how you like to use them.

Well, back to the calendar for the day - back soon.

Helen

Well, London has been a little disrupted this week with the tube strike, and so, tried to make it into a postive and tried out walking to work. I usually get the bus and I checked on my iphone and its only 6.5km and so thought I´d give it a go. So now I´m hooked and enjoying taking an hour of my own time to walk in. The last leg of the walk is through Green Park which is a beautiful park, but being the centre of London and early, I don´t get to see many dogs :( However, I did see two beautiful Dachis this morning, but they were tied up outside Sainsburys waiting for their owner. I really don´t know how think about this problem - leaving dogs outsid the shop. On the one hand I can understand owners needing to visit the supermarket and why not take the dog out whilst at it? However, it does seem extremely risky to leave your beloved pet outside and the mercy of what ever comes past them. The Kennel Club Open For Dogs campaign is a wonderful campaign which encourages businesses to allow dogs in - pubs, hotels, cafes and the KC also campaigns for better access for dog owner in forests and beaches. More work needs to be done, but don´t know how to fix the supermarket problem - other than asking owners to leave their dogs at home on these trips.

Well, today we´ve got some business planning in the marketing and fund-raising team for 2010 so better crack on with some strategy.

Have a good weekend everyone - off to Shropshire for an air show - don´t expect to see many dogs their though - it was so loud last year.

Helen

An interesting day at the Kennel Club as usual. Had a great meeting with the guys behind PetStreet to find out how this platform is moving on and how things are gong. PetStreet does seem to be a great platform for everyone of us who are potty about dogs! Lots of things to do and people to talk to. I´ve not really been using it much to date, but hope to find out lots of new contacts, news, information and events.

Also been thinking about our events, everything from Scruffts and Companion Dog Shows to Discover Dogs and Crufts - would really like to hear what type of events everyone enjoys and why.

Its been a day of website thinking and just finalising the survey to find out views about the Kennel Club website, its architecture, look and feel and how useful our users find it - I hope we get some good interaction with users so we can continue to improve the sight which helps the KC to education about responsible dog ownership.

Well back to work - a few reports to finalise today. Hope I can keep this up!

Helen