The DBC held three constructive meetings throughout the year discussing and or acting upon the following in alphabetical order:-

Dangerous Dogs Act,  DCM, Election of Officers,  Finances,  Hypothyroidism Funding,
Judges Applications,  Judges Assessment Test,  KC Accredited Breeders Scheme, 
KCLC Breed Council Representative,  Objects & Rules,  Tail Docking,  &  Web Site

Dangerous Dogs Act

The ramification of the Act was tabled at the Councils last meeting the ensuing discussion revealed one of the representatives being well versed on this subject. I had been contacted personally with regards to attending a seminar being given by Mr Trevor Cooper unfortunately I was unable to attend however the feed back received indicated a full attendance but more importantly details presented on the Act and its  operation gave great concern for the dog fraternity. It was agreed that I would look into using the services of Mr Cooper with a view to the DBC organising a seminar, this will be reviewed at the next DBC meeting. If in fact this comes to fruition I would ask that you and your friends give this your full support.

DCM (Dilated Cardiomyopathy)

At the June meeting  Carolyn Morton BVMS (Hons) MVM CertVA MRCVS representing Boeringer together with Naula Summerfield gave a presentation to the clubs in attendance on the practical aspects of testing and documentation involved. This gave a better understanding of the procedure and was of assistance to the clubs representatives.

Carol Smith the Health/Welfare Co-ordinator reported at the November meeting that 17 Dobermanns had been adopted to go onto the trials, these where in the early stages of DCM. Also there will be a new campaign in 2007 to recruit Dobermanns between 5 to 9 years old. At this time approximately 200 have been tested and everyone who has participated are pleased with how they were treated.

Election of Officers

Linda Wilkes had given prior notice of her intention to retire from the position of Secretary/Treasurer, in appreciation of her services to the DBC Linda was presented with a memento. Pauline Hart was elected as Secretary/Treasurer and myself as Chairman.

Finances

In last years report I referred to the member clubs annual subscriptions, I am pleased to say that by using a less salubrious venue for meetings the accounts indicated that with a reduction in subscriptions a small surplus for the year, against a larger deficit for the previous year. It is essential that any Club or Society should make sure that good business practice should be adopted in their management.

Hypothyroidism Funding

At the last meeting the Health/ Welfare Co-ordinator advised that Funding for Inherited Conditions  may be available from the Kennel Club Health Foundation. It was agreed that Mrs Smith should make the necessary enquiries to ascertain if funding is available for investigating the mode of inheritance of Hypothyroidism. 

Judges Applications

The DBC approved and invited no less than 31 Judges who accepted their invitation, the breakdown being as follows:-

A1 List: - Breed Specialist 1,  None Breed Specialist 1

A3 List: - Breed Specialist 7,  None Breed Specialist 2,  Overseas 1

B List:-   Breed Specialist 4,   None Breed  Specialist 7

C List: -   Breed Specialist 8

I feel that the increase in applications is due to a better acceptance and understanding of the DBC and KC requirements of those wishing to judge the breed

Judges Assessment Test

The Scottish Dobermann Club held a successful DBC Assessment Test on the 14th & 15th October 2006 commencing at 1 pm. On the first afternoon twelve individuals sat the written test resulting in a100% success rate, the second day had nine taking the Hands on Assessment and Critique Writing, resulting in seven achieving the necessary pass rate.

I would congratulate the SDC Committee on the manner in which the whole weekend ran, however we should not forget all those who made their Dobermans available for the Hands on Assessment without their enthusiasm the event could not have taken place.

The KC Accredited Breeders Scheme

The DBC is not alone in its concerns of how easy it is to become an Accredited Breeder that carries the kudos of being endorsed by the Kennel Club.

At the DBC next meeting we will be considering representation to the appropriate KC committee on steps the KC could take in the event of an Accredited Breeder not complying with the conditions they have agreed to observe. In the past when a complaint as been raised we have been unable to obtain the required substantive evidence that the KC require.

KCLC Breed Council Representative

Having been a Representative of another breed for twelve years I am familiar with the procedures and what would or would not be considered. The Kennel Club Liaison Councils were established to allow grass-roots opinion to be addressed within the Kennel Club, there are 6 different Councils covering the broad base of canine activities.
The DBC Rules provides that the KCLC Breed Council Representative shall be the incumbent Chairperson. I am of the opinion that in the past DBC have missed the opportunity to make it feelings known by not using this channel of communication to the Kennel Club I will be looking to rectify this in the future.

Objects & Rules

At the AGM the member clubs approved 7 amendments to the rules that made for a better understanding and smoother running of DBC and 6 new rules that were necessary to comply with kennel Clubs requirements.

At the first meeting of the year a proposal regarding who had access to DBC minutes was discussed I advised that this was not for the DBC to decide and that each club is guided by their own Rules & Aims and the DBC has no executive powers over the constituent clubs that make up the DBC and is therefore unable to give any written guidance.

Tail Docking

This controversial subject as been an ongoing concern for the DBC and as been approached both individually and jointly with regards to the government stance on this issue. The last opportunity to make objections was to the Scottish Executive on the Prohibited Procedure (Exemptions), (Scotland)
Regulations 2007, the Scottish Dobermann Club and the Dobermann Club had made submissions, it was agreed that the DBC would write and endorse these on behalf of all member clubs unfortunately to no avail.

Web Site

It was decide at the March meeting that I should look into updating and standardising the presentation of the website this took a while before I became familiar with what had already been achieved, Christine Nichols was responsible for developing the site and for this we are indebted. However due to Christine not having the time available that she had at the onset I had to look for someone else with the necessary skills and Jean Quigley kindly offered her services.

I should point out that more details are to be added.