The Kennel Club has agreed to take part in a worldwide exercise to conduct research into incidents relating to contact equipment (the A-Frame, the Dog Walk and the See Saw). This is an unprecedented piece of research, and The Kennel Club is pleased to be involved. The research period is expected to run for six months.
The information is being collected through questionnaires, one aimed at judges recording ‘incidents’ and one aimed at show secretaries establishing the number of runs at their show, conditions etc.
The research group has provided training material for judges and show secretaries to follow in order to complete the questionnaires. In the event of any incidents, Judges and Show Secretaries are invited to complete the forms on-line directly with the research organisation. The forms have been designed to be easy to follow and require a minimum of amount of detail for the research to be effective. (More detail can be input voluntarily as suggested by the questionnaire).
Where a judge has completed an on-line incident form relating to the contact equipment it is essential that the Show Secretary is informed so that the corresponding Show Secretary questionnaire is also completed. This is so that incidents vs the number of runs and show conditions can also be assessed as part of the research.
Judges and Show Secretaries are reminded that there is an existing “Equipment Incident Report” form which has now been moved online to .make it easier to complete. This has not been superseded and should continue to be completed where an incident occurs. These must also be recorded even where an on-line survey has been completed.
Given the level of cooperation between organisations across the world we think it essential as many judges and show secretaries take part as possible. Whilst it may seem a burden, the results of the research will provide a greater understanding of the number of incidents involved at shows and whether there are any mitigating actions that organisations can take to reduce them.
All Kennel Club show secretaries will receive, by email, a copy of both questionnaires which should be made available to judges when requested from them