DISPLAY TEAM
For Pets Teach Science:16 Golden Retrievers Explains Atoms
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qwBfBugo_A
The Southern Golden Retriever Society Display Team came into being in 2001 when eight friends who had trained at the Society's classes at Wrotham in Kent wanted to stay together and have fun with their dogs. They came up with the idea of doing basic obedience moves to music and began performing at local fetes in Kent. Over time the team grew to twelve and then to sixteen and the routines became more complicated.
A Kennel Club member saw the team at the 2003 SGRS Championship Show and the team were invited to perform at Discover Dogs 2003. They have performed every year since and at Crufts every year since 2004. What started as a bit of fun has turned into high profile entertainment and an opportunity to show the public the pleasure of owning a well-behaved dog. They have fans in the UK, Europe and the USA and are now much in demand.
Highlights have been: performing at Crufts on Best in Show evening; performing before the Gundog Group; performing on Blue Peter (when all the dogs received a Blue Peter badge) and having a 5 minute film made by the BBC transmitted on BBC1 Crufts coverage. They have also appeared live twice in the BBC Crufts studio with Ben Fogle and Clare Balding.
Richard Fisher, a fan who saw the dogs at Discover Dogs, asked them to help propose to his girlfriend. Each dog had a letter around its neck spelling out "Krissy will you marry me?" (She did!).
When Richard was recently (November 2009) asked by his editor to do a light-hearted article on "What makes a video go viral on YouTube" for his magazine "New Scientist" he needed to make his own video of something different and entertaining. He immediately thought of the Display Team and the dogs helped him to illustrate different scientific principles. The video "Pets Teach Science" with 16 golden retrievers explaining the structure of the atom was immediately popular on YouTube and at the time of writing is getting 7000-9000 views a day.
Although the team perform at large events such as Crufts, they still enjoy performing at fetes and country fairs in Kent, Surrey and Sussex. Children love what they do and are invited into the ring at the end of the performance to meet the dogs and learn about responsible pet ownership and the pleasures of owning a trained dog. We promote the Kennel Club Good Citizen Scheme which is used at the Wrotham Training Club.
The team always welcomes new members. The basic requirements for anyone wishing to be considered for the team are that the dog must have achieved Kennel Club Good Citizen Gold Award or a similar standard and the handler must be able to walk in time to music. Commitment to the team, hard work and an acceptance of the time training and performing take are also necessary.
Karen Menter is the team's manager. She devises the routines, trains the team, deals with bookings, books hotels, liaises with the Kennel Club and TV companies, is the "caller" during performances and works her own dog Saffy.
For bookings or other enquiries please contact Karen on: karenmenter@yahoo.com
