Information and Ground Rules
Training Times & Cancellations
Classes are conducted during school terms, except on public holidays.
Please check individual class pages for start times.
Training is cancelled when:
- the temperature is expected to be at least 34C at 6.00 pm;
- it is raining steadily or is stormy (thunder and lightning). The decision whether or not to cancel training is made at 5:00 pm. It is often fine at the training grounds when it is raining elsewhere and vice versa.
Check our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/PineRiversDogTrainingClubInc) as any notification of training cancellation will appear there after 5:00 pm or check the weather website (www.bom.gov.au) for local weather details.
We ask you to exercise your own discretion when conditions might be uncomfortable for you or your dog.
Reception Desk
The Club carries a stock of dog requirements including leads, harnesses, collars, toys, and treat bags. We also have a library of training materials that you might be interested in borrowing. Please let us know if there is anything in particular that you require and if we don’t have it we can try to get it in for you.
Club Ground Rules
As a responsible Dog Club we are committed to a high level of health, safety and environmental standards. To assist us in maintaining these standards we have a selected number of points that we ask all our students to observe, thereby becoming directly involved in your dog’s and the Dog Club’s well-being.
The following rules apply to the entire Rob Akers Reserve grounds whilst class participants are on the grounds for training or competition:
1. Dogs must remain on lead, unless the class or competition requires off-lead work. All dogs must remain under the handler’s control at all times. Off-lead dogs approaching other dogs or people is not acceptable.
2. If your dog fouls the grounds, it is your responsibility to clean up and dispose of it. You need to carry a suitable plastic bag (bags are available at the gate) and deposit the filled bag in the Council bin at the gate.
3. All classes are non-smoking and mobile phone free. Please ensure that you turn off your mobile phone prior to the commencement of class. If you need your mobile for work purposes (e.g. you are on-call), please turn the phone to silent/vibrate so as not to disturb your fellow class members and dogs.
4. You must ensure you are on time for classes; this includes sign-in and presentation of yourself and your dog, ready to commence class. If you are late, you must wait outside the class until your trainer acknowledges you and invites you to join your class. If you need to leave early, you should let your trainer know before class.
5. For safety’s sake and insurance purposes, all people coming onto the grounds must wear closed, sturdy footwear (no open footwear such as thongs or sandals or bare feet). Please avoid loose, flapping clothes, including scarves and shoulder bags that can dangle near the dog.
6. Do not exercise your dog in the proximity of a class that is in progress.
7. Park in the car park, not on the Club grounds. Only Club trainers or committee members with dogs in their vehicle are allowed to park on the grounds.
8. Children under the age of 10 years may not handle a dog in class. Children over 10 years are able to handle a dog in class if they are physically able to keep the dog under effective control as per rules 1, 13 & 14.
9. Children on the training grounds must be directly and closely supervised by a parent and/or guardian who is not handling a dog. That person is directly and solely responsible for the behaviour and wellbeing of the child or children in their care.
10. Your dog’s current vaccination certificate or a copy of titre testing results must be presented to the Reception Desk on your first night of training.
11. Dogs suffering from an injury or contagious disease, or that have associated with a dog suffering from a contagious disease, MUST NOT be brought to the training grounds until at least three weeks after contact and/or after being cleared by a veterinarian.
12. Bitches in season MUST NOT be brought to the training grounds for a period of 21 days after the first sign of season. Please ensure your dog has been bathed before returning to class.
13. Dogs are social animals but Club training is not a social event and interaction between dogs in the context of Club training activities is not encouraged unless specifically directed. It is essential for the protection of your dog, yourself and other students, that you keep a close watch on your dog at all times.
14. Handlers and/or dogs MUST NOT approach (with or without your dog) any dogs that are crated, in vehicles, tethered or that are wearing a bright yellow collar, ribbon, bandanna or lead. These are NOT nasty dogs (we do not accept badly reactive or aggressive dogs in class). These dogs just need space and the bright yellow item is your warning to give these dogs some space.
15. Trainers have the authority to request any person acting in a manner not conducive to the interests of Pine Rivers Dog Training Club to leave the grounds.
16. Harsh handling of dogs is not permitted and you will be asked to leave the grounds if you engage in such conduct.
17. Dogs must have a slip or fixed collar, head halter which fits loosely around only the dog’s neck and which must remain on the dog at all times, with their lead attached. Dogs must not wear check chains, prong or pinch collars (made of chain or any other material), bark collars, or any kind of shock collars on Club grounds.
18. From time to time, the Club’s Management Committee issues guidelines and directives that must be adhered to.
All persons and their dogs attending Dog Club classes or events do so entirely at their own risk and must agree to abide by the Covid-19 requirements in force at the time.
