Anyway with all this showing it was inevitable that we would become involved in the Breed Club. Cheryl initially then me who did not own a Rott(after all I was the driver most of the time). We became involved in the rescue Scheme which was in place at the time and served several years on Committee etc. I took on the role of Secretary with the Club and after a lengthy term then Vice President and Breed Recorder. This is where I think I found my niche in the dog world. I am an administrator and you will generally see me taking critiques, organising paperwork and generally getting stuck into how things work rather than on the Trial Field or in the Show ring. My nerves are not that strong and after all this time I still get stressed at the thought of performing. However I love to watch others perform and get great pleasure out of knowing that things run smoothly and that we can all enjoy these events without stress.
My involvement in Dogsport came as a natural evolution. We had all learnt that these dogs were strong willed and because of their natural strength and drives needed training. It was also apparent as the Breed became more popular that a process needed to be in place for testing of temperament and stability. At about this time the Clubs were bringing more and more judges out to this country from Germany, we were no longer isolated from the rest of the world and our base of knowledge on the breed was ever expanding. It was the need for more information and involvement in training which bought a group of people together who eventually became the foundation of WROCA (Working Rottweiler Club Australia) initially as a training group then as a Schutzhund Club with Australian Schutzhund Association and then with the newly formed Australian United Schutzhund Clubs.
My knowledge and empathy with these dogs has grown enormously and I am increasingly aware of the need for some type of temperament and breed assessment system to ensure that the Rottweiler and his inherent qualities are safeguarded for generations to come.
My Club has held Breed Survey with basic temperament testing as well as Ztps. I firmly believe that this form of survey and gathered and shared information is one way of ensuring the Rottweiler does not become a statistic in the ever increasing ban on breeds of dogs. As with all things, it is the responsibility of the owner to ensure that their individual actions do not reflect on an entire Breed and it is up to each of us as individuals to educate owners and breeders and to promote our dogs for what they are. They are not teddy bears, but are stable and reliable dogs which come from the guarding breeds, therefore have the potential to have appeal to a wide variety of personalities in society as we know it today. With this appeal there is all the more reason for education of owners and a need to stress the importance of responsible dog ownership and safe breeding practise. Safe breeding practise also means that dogs with unstable nerves, fearful and cowardly are not allowed to be bred from and that the resultant pups from these breedings do not become the statistics we see in ever increasing regularity for dog attacks. It is no use having a beautiful looking animal who falls apart when confronted with society and the world outside his kennel.