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By april, June 1, 2010

PELHAMS DOG FUN PARK

NEWSLETTER NO. 5

MAY 2010

Hello again everyone,

Well summer has arrived so don’t forget from 1st June we will be opening from 4 p.m. – 9 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday as it will be too hot for the dogs (let alone us) during the day.  Please note we will be closed on Mondays.

The next lot of classes also begin on 1st June at 7.30 in the evenings, again because of the heat.  Don’t forget to practice what you learn between lessons as you will find that this really pays off.

Can I ask that those of you who want to book for September classes pay on application as we have had to spend a lot of time chasing people up to see who is and who isn’t attending before we can offer the classes to other people.  This way it will be on a first come first served basis.

The dog boarding has proved very popular and we are now booked up until October.  Please note that boarding is payable per day including the day of drop off and the day of collection.

This month’s monthly draw winner is member no. 21, don’t forget to collect your two free dog park sessions before the end of the month.

Once again, please don’t forget when entering or leaving the field to make sure one gate is closed before opening the other so as to prevent escapees!

Work should be completed on the dog plunge pool in the next couple of weeks so the dogs can cool themselves down in the hot weather.

I hope you all enjoyed the pig roast as much as we did.  I think it was a success.  The dogs all mixed really well together and the only little bit of troubnle came from a human!  I am sorry if anybody’s day was spoilt because of one stupid man who wasn’t even a member!  Next time we will be a bit more selective about who we let in.  Thanks to Paul Kennington for his timely speech – much appreciated.

We are hoping to do a summer BBQ (dog pool opening party) at the end of July and this time we will make a few improvements including some extra seating and shade.  We are planning to get outside caterers in next time to give us more time to socialise!

Thanks to everyone who helped out including Estelle, Mrs. Pace, Romina, Joanna and many others.  My thanks also go to Peter from Toyland who provided the BBQ equipment and Paulo from the Car Sales who helped me a lot with the preparation.

Also thanks to May Cassar for lending us the tables and chairs and Joe Spiteri for the freezer van.  Thanks also to the kids for helping out with the bar and raffle – we managed to raise some cash for the dog sanctuaries which I am putting in a pot and will hand over at the end of the summer after our other events in the hope of giving them a big cheque each.

Thanks of course to Flavio and Rodeen for sponsoring the disco which I think you will all agree was most enjoyable.

My biggest thanks goes to Valerie who organised the pig and worked so hard not only on Sunday but on the days leading up to it and without whose help I couldn’t have managed.  Valerie also made the delicious strawberry gateauxs.

I had arranged to present Valerie with some flowers on the day but unfortunately the flower people next door left and took Valeries bouquet with them!  Never mind, thanks anyway Valerie and I will make it up to you this week.

Last but not least, thanks to everyone who donated the fantastic raffle prizes:

• • Pace Fire Prevention Services
  • Munchy Moose Xemxija
  • Trattoria Fiorino D’oro Restaurant Salina
  • Heaven Hair Salon – Naxxar
  • Flower Power
  • Rainforrest Pet Shop
  • Badger Karting
  • Terrazza Restaurant Spinola Bay
  • Angelo’s Restaurant Bugibba
  • Petnutrition Qormi
  • Martins Bar Attard
  • Mario Spiteri
  • Garden Shop Zebbeigh
  • Mgarr Farmers Market Zebbeigh
  • Rockna Restaurant – Paceville
  • Go Mobile (Lorraine)
  • Paul Howes – Malta Powerboat Association

I took some great pictures on the day and hopefully they should be on the website in the next few days

www.pelhamdogtraining.com

We now have another new sponsor Feelwell dog treats which are available to buy at dog school.

Holder of Membership No. 1 Olga Bonnici has opened a branch of SAGS (stray animals support group) at 34 Nicolo’ Isouard Street Mosta.  Please give her your support by either donating goods for sale or calling into the shop which is open Mondays to Saturdays 9.30 to 1.30.

As most of you are probably aware, Prescott and Blossom have now moved in with their new owners Mary and Graham on Gozo.  Mary and Graham are reporting back to us regularly with Prescott and Blossom’s progress.  They have settled in very well and have become popular residents at Marsaforn.  We are planning to visit them soon and they have promised to come back and see us regularly.

AGILITY COURSE COMPETITION

Well, she finally did it!  Lorraine with Didi the fox terrier fought off the competition with the best time of 31.84 seconds for the Agility Course.  This month we included the weave poles and it must have been those swivelling hips that did the trick.

Congratulations Lorraine you win this month’s free bag of Almo Nature Dog food courtesy of Petnutriltion.

Thanks again to everyone for your support and to everyone who helped at the Pig Roast, I hope I havn’t forgotten anyone but please forgive me if I have.  (Sorry Anthony for forgetting to thank you last month for attending the Melleiha animalfest with us – I will try harder in the future.)

All the best

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By april, May 5, 2010

PELHAMS DOG FUN PARK

NEWSLETTER NO. 4

APRIL 2010

Once again another month has shot past and our membership is ever growing.  We now have over 220 members.  Thanks to all our regulars for making Pelhams such an enjoyable place to exercise our dogs and welcome to all our new members, I hope you make the best of our facilities and I hope to see as many members as possible at the Pig Roast on 23rd May.

Tickets for the Pig Roast are now on sale in the office at 12 euros each. (children under 11 half price).  Two euros from each ticket goes to the dog sanctuaries. We are limiting tickets to 150 so hurry as tickets are selling fast.

On the day there will be a starter salad, Pig Roast with gravy, roast potatoes and couscous and dips.  We will also be providing a vegetarian alternative.  There will also be a bar selling beer, wine and soft drinks and a disco.  Please remember to be responsible for your own dogs as I will be busy that day.  The park and bar will be open from 12 noon and food served from about 3.

If  this event proves a success we shall be organising more in the futue.

This month’s monthly draw winner is member no. 61, don’t forget to collect your two free dog park sessions before the end of the month.

Once again, please don’t forget when entering or leaving the field to make sure one gate is closed before opening the other so as to prevent escapees!

Summer opening hours start from 1st June.  We will be open Tuesday – Sunday 4 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Yet again the classes are filling up really fast.  The next lot will start from 1st June at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays with an extra session on Sunday mornings at 9 a.m.

Please arrange to make payment for any classes you have booked by 16th May to guarantee your place as we have a long waiting list and can offer places that aren’t taken to others.

There will be no classes held in August as it will be too hot so we will be opening up a waiting list for classes to start again in September.

Remember, all those attending classes please ensure that you practice for at least 10 minutes every day.

A big, big, thank you to the following for coming with me to the Mellieha Animal Fest last Sunday:-

• Jenny and Roo (Husky)
• Paul and Dots (Jack Russell)
• Claire and Lu (Border Collie)
• Becky and Kaia (Yorkshire Terrier)
• Darren and Tascha (mixed breed)
• Marie and Alpilles (Golden Retriever)

Pelhams Dog School proved to be the most popular attraction when we showed the audience what can be done with ordinary domestic dogs of any breed after a few obdedience classes.

Our spot was late in the afternoon at 3 p.m. and the organisers told me that they wished they had put us on earlier when more people were there.  However, as it turned out we had the best crowd of the day and the organisers have asked us to return next year

All the dogs performed really well and I hope you can see how well your dogs have improved.  Well done, keep practising!

Work should be starting on the dog plunge pool this week so the dogs can cool themselves down in the hot weather.

I am going to try to update the website this week so don’t forget to tell your friends to check us out on:

www.pelhamdogtraining.com

AGILITY COURSE COMPETITION

Brendan the Roadrunner (Bruce) finally pips Silvester the Cat (Dora) to the post.

Well done to Brendan and Bruce with 22.28 seconds who win a bag of Almo Nature Dog Food courtesy of  Petnutrition – Many thanks again to Matthew.

Dora came a very very close second with 22.56 seconds and Didi yet again in third position with 23.15 seconds, next came Cooper the German Shepherd with 25 seconds followed by Miya the Lab and then Tasha with much improved times of 31.28 and 37.77 (with one 10 second penalty) respectively.

This months competition will give everyone who wants a go a sporting chance because Bruce and Dora will start with a 5 second handicap.  Also this month we are introducing obstacle 11 the weave polls.  All obstacles will have to be completed.  Get those hips moving!  This should make the competition interesting for all dogs.

A few people have asked me where I got the large dog bowls in the field from.  I got them from the farm shop next door to Mgarr Farmers Market in Zebbiegh.

We have also been asked about dog friendly restaurants.  We took Prescott and Blossom with us to a fabulous restaurant a couple of weeks ago. Tarazza in Spinola Bay has a large covered (heated in winter) terrace overlooking the bay.  The food was out of this world and they have a comprehensive wine list.  The service was excellent, it had a lovely atmosphere and we cannot recommend it hightly enough.  Book a table with a sea view and ask for some water for the dogs.

Now for our thank you list

Sylvester (and Dora) for the coffee!

Pig Roast

Flavio and Rodeen (with Jake) for sponsoring the disco.

Valerie (and Missie) for helphing me organise the refreshments.

Jo (with Jack) for organising the Freezer van

And May (and Toby) for lending us the tables and chairs.

Thanks also to Charles Pace (with his puppy Ace) of Pace Fire Prevention who has donated some fire prevention equipment as raffle prizes.

I should be very grateful if anyone else wants to donate a prize for the raffle – have a word with me at the school.

And finally…..

Best wishes to Gaby the labrador pup who has hurt her leg and will be resting for a few weeks – get well soon.

Best wishes also to Ben the Border Collie who at last gets the cast off his leg next week.

Thanks again to everyone

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By april, April 3, 2010

PELHAMS DOG FUN PARK

NEWSLETTER NO. 3

MARCH 2010

Another month has passed already and our membership is still growing steadily.  Thank you to everyone for helping me keep this club going and a special welcome to all our new members.  I have some very good plans for the club which will hopefully include a dog pool, cafe and much more, just bear with us.

I hope you all enjoyed the article in the Circle Magazine of 7th March.

The second round of obedience classes are now coming to a close and we are already oversubscribed for round 3 which starts on 10th April and end on 16th May.  We have started a waiting list for the next lot of classes starting in June which will be held on weekday evenings according to the summer timetable – details to follow.

All of you attending lessons please make sure you practice for at least 10 minutes per day.  Once we have enough dogs walking off-lead next to owner on left-hand side we can start doing some more advanced classes.

Please note that as from 7th April I will have a Trainee Dog Trainer, Luca Taliara who I am going to be teaching.  Luca is very interested in all animals, especially dogs, so please give him your support and as much help as you can telling him about your dog’s history, habits etc.  He will be with me on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays to observe the classes and help us all.

At the end of his 6 months’ training I will be setting him an exam, practical and theory so that he can obtain his basic Dog Trainer’s certificate and he will therefore need as much help as you can give him during this period.

We will be open on Easter Saturday and Sunday and will not be holding any training sessions so please come and enjoy the park anytime from 10 – 5.

We will be closed on Good Friday but will remain open on Wednesday 31st March.

Look out for the Almo Nature dog food advertisement on television which was filmed at Pelhams and will be going out 3 times a day.

For those of you that have not already seen it our website  www.pelhamdogtraining.com is now up and running, take a look and tell your friends.

Will everyone please ensure that when entering or leaving the field you close one gate behind you before opening the second so that no dogs can get out unless they are on a lead with their owners.  Thank you,

Our first social function is scheduled to take place on Sunday 23rd May in the afternoon.  We are holding a Pig Roast with a Pasta Starter.  Tickets will be on sale at the office (10 euros for adults and 5 euros for children) and some of the money for these will be donated to the dog sanctuaries.  The dog park will be free for those attending the Pig Roast but owners will have to be responsible for their own dogs as I will very busy that day.  There will be seating in the parking area, music and a bar serving beer, wine and soft drinks

Again, depending on weather, I will be starting summer opening hours sometime towards the end of May, beginning of June.  I will be opening six days a week, including public holidays (closed on Mondays) from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

From 1st May I am arranging to have the field sprayed regularly for Sandfly.

There was a very close encounter at theAgility Course on the last day of March when Road Runner Brendan went into first place with a time of 24.10 with his dog Bruce.  Then, at 3.15 Sylvester the Cat turned up with Dora wearing shorts T-shirt and trainers (Sylvester not Dora) and put in an amazing time of 23.66.  Road Runner Brendan then had one last try at 3 p.m.  Bruce flew around the course and we all thought that he had won but unfortunately he stayed in the tunnel for an extra second and finished with a time of 23.79 losing out to Dora by just 0.13 of a second.  All I can put it down to is the shorts and trainers!!  I am sure Brendan and Bruce will be back next month to try and knock Sylvester and Dora off the top spot.  Maybe you should invest in a pair of running spikes Brendan!!  Well done to both of you.

However, we mustn’t forget Lorraine and Didi who were knocked into third place with a (still fantastic) time of 28.37.  I think Lorraine will be training hard next month, you never know we might see her in shorts and trainers!!

Well done to everyone who took place results as follows:-

1. Dora                                        23.66
2. Bruce                                      23.79
3. Didi                                         28.37
4. Jacko                                      31.56

Also worth a mention.

1. Miya the Lab                                35.00
2. Robbie the beagle puppy       46.72
3. Tasha the cross Lab                 50.81
4. Layka a mixed breed               55.00 and
5. Thneur the pug with             1 min 31 seconds

A special thankyou to Matthew at Petnutrition for sponsoring the Agility Competition and donating a bag of Almo Nature dog food to the winner.

A special thanks also to Kevin and Judith from REMAX who are going to be one of our sponsors and are putting a banner up later this month.  Call REMAX for all your property needs.

The Pug Club continues to gain momentum with new members coming every Sunday.  Thank you to everyone for your support.

If you have a pug come along on Sundays at 11.45 or if your have friends with pugs spread the word!

For those of you that were interested in our boarding service we are getting very booked up so if you are going away and want us to look after your dogs you need to let us know as soon as possible so that we can reserve the dates for you.  We charge 15 euros per night (collection before 11 a.m.) for 1 dog or 25 euros per night for two dogs (from the same family).  Boarding forms need to be completed and these are available from the office.  We shall require copies of vaccination certificates for boarders and also a deposit when bookings are made as once we have booked your dog in we will be turning away others.

We are starting a pick up service from 1st April whereby we collect your dogs from home at a specified time in the morning and drop them back later in the day.  For this service we will charge 20 euros per day for pick ups between Mellieha and Sliema.

The winner of  March’s monthly draw is member no. 139  who wins two free dog park sessions, and a half hour one to one tuition with Marlon.  Well done.  Look out for next month’s winner in the next Newsletter.

Once again, if you have any suggestions for further services or events at the Dog Park please let us know as we are always looking for new ideas.

Before I sign off a few special notices:

Thank you to Tony Guillaumier for donating a megaphone to Pelhams and for saving my voice.

Many thanks to Joe Spitteri for the umbrella giving us some much needed shade.

Thanks to Lorraine and Roane and to Marie for donating a jar of coffee each and also to Estelle and Andy for the numerous sweet refreshments.  Not forgetting Olga for her home cooked delights!

Also thanks to Lorraine P for generously paying our son Sky for his services when he was supposed to be giving them free of charge!  Hope he doesn’t expect the same from us!!

On a more serious note I hope Molly, Judith’s King Charles Spaniel gets well after his operation.

Also good luck to Steve Zammit I hope he is soon feeling better after his accident at work and that Miya his German Shepherd is aiding his recovery.

Happy Easter to everyone and I hope to see you all soon.

Thanks

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By april, January 27, 2010

PELHAMS DOG FUN PARK

NEWSLETTER NO. 1

JANUARY 2010

Hello everyone, Marlon here, welcome to our first Newsletter.

Firstly, I would like to thank you all for your support in this new venture. We have been open now for 5 weeks and already have well over 100 members – lets hope it keeps going.

Did you see our article in The Malta Times?
If not, check out www.timesofmalta.com/dogeducation and tell your friends to have a look. Also should you feel so inclined why not drop The Malta Times an email to give them your opinion of what we are doing.

Our own website should be up and running soon – details next month.

We are hoping to be featured in a magazine and T.V. programme in the near future and we will let you know more details nearer the time so that you can come along and get your dog star billing.

As some of you will be aware I am now stocking dog food, treats, shampoos etc.

I will only be stocking one type of dog food which is Almo Nature as this is a dog food which I believe in and used to use myself in England. It has no additives and uses only human grade meat, not recycled like most other dog foods. Adult and puppy food are available in both 2kg and 15kg bags. If you need any help or advice with regard to feeding or nutrition please ask me.

Our winter opening times are:-

Mondays – Closed

Tuesdays – 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Wednesdays – 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Thursdays – Closed

Fridays – 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Saturdays – 12 noon – 5 p.m.

Sundays – 12 noon – 5 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday mornings are reserved for group classes.

Your suggestions with regard to summer opening hours would be much appreciated.

I am hoping to organise a BBQ or Pig Roast in April. It will be an opportunity for members to get together while their dogs socialise in the park! There will be a small charge for food and drink but I will give you more details next month when we have had time to get organised.

From 1st February I will be running a competition for all dogs (puppies included) to complete the agility course in the fastest time. The jumps etc will of course be set to suit the size of the various dogs. There will be a prize of a free bag of dog food to the fastest dog and fastest puppy at the end of the month. Times will be displayed on the board in the park. This is purely for fun and your dogs can have as many attempts as you like. Please come along and let your dog have a go.

As most of you are aware we also run a one to one boarding service where your dogs live with us in our home while you go on holiday or for a weekend away. This is obviously for dogs that are used to living indoors as part of the family and we only take one dog at a time (two if they are from the same family such as Prescott & Blossom) so bookings need to be made well in advance.

If you have any suggestions for services or events at the Dog Park please let us know as we are always looking for new ideas.

Finally, if you own or work for a company that might be interested in putting up an advertising board on the perimeter wall of the park please speak to me about prices. All sponsors will be included in our website and literature and it would be good to have a board displayed for the magazine photographs and TV programme.

Thats all for now, hope to see you all soon.

Thanks