The first Charlie Chatter
This is a copy of the 1st issue of The Charlie Chatter November 1985....
INTERIM OFFICE BEARERS OF THE KING CHARLES SPANIELS CLUB OF VICTORIA
PRESIDENT : Ms Trish Lamb
RMB 5375
Bunyip, 3825VICE PRESIDENT : Mr John March
PO Box 178
Altona North, 3025
SECRETARY/TREASURER Ms Wanda Mitka-March
PO Box 178
Altona North, 3025
COMMITTEE :
Mr Terry Lamb
RMB
Bunyip, 3825
Mr R Wood
PO Box 97
Launching Place
Ms Pam Bagnall
5375 PO Box 27
Greensborough
Mrs J Howden
28 Short St
Moorabbin, 3189
Miss T Roscrow
PO Box 366
Preston, 3072
Mr S Buzza
183 Barkly St
St Ki1da, 3182
NEWSLETTER EDITOR : David McCullough
Lot 4
Fogarty Road
Tynong North 3831
LIST OF MEMBERS : All the above PLUS :
Mason, Miss D (VIC) Henry, Mr/s B (VIC)
Booth, Mrs M (VIC) Lynch, Mr J (VIC)
Brown, Misses J & I (VIC) Goodwin, Mr A (VIC)
Mortens, Mr/s L (VIC) Hollingworth, Mrs K (VIC)
Bannister, Mr/s J (QLD) Fieldhouse, Mr/s C (NSW)
Briscoe, D & G (QLD) Verco, Mrs W (S.A)
Ball, Mr K (NSW)
OVERSEAS MEMBERS :
Thomson, Irene (NZ) Christofferson, Angela (NZ)
"CHARLIE CHATTER is the official magazine of the King
Charles Spaniel Club of Victoria
ISSUE No. 1 (November 1985)
Presidents Report
I am overwhelmed to be chosen Interim President of the first Charlie Club in Australia, The King Charles Spaniel Club of Victoria.
The interim Secretary Wanda March must be praised for the dedication and work she has put into the laborious task of preparing paper work to get this small Club accepted and affiliated with the Kennel Control Council. Wanda is ably assisted by Pam Bagnall Shane Buzza, Bob Fergusson, Jenny Howden, John March, Ron Wood, Terry Lamb, and Thelma Roscrow - all very informative and knowledgeable people who have agreed to form the interim Committee. I humbly thank you all for your support. .
My hand of welcome goes out to the King Charles Spaniel enthusiast and supportive persons who have helped get the Club "on the road", last but by no means least the editor of this newsletter "Charlie Chatter", David McCullough.
I am looking forward to meeting all in the very near future.
Trisha Lamb
Newsletter Guidelines
It is intended that the newsletter be produced 3 times a year - March, July and November. The deadline each time will be the first of the month in which the publication is due out - i.e.. Deadline for March newsletter is 1st March. Whilst this inaugural issue contains no advertising it is hoped that advertising will become a part of the publication ( which will greatly assist Club finances)
Full page Adverts $5 ½ ~ page Adverts $3
Litter Notifications & Expected Litters $1 per insert
Free Notices will include : New Champions, New Imports & In Memoriam
Any articles on the Breed or breeders notes/advice are welcomed.
Letters to the Editor will give you the opportunity to express your own views - please do let us know any ideas or thoughts you may have regarding the Club or Breed.
David McCullough
KING CHARLES SPANIEL BREED STANDARD
General Appearance: Compact and cobby, on refined lines, chest wide and deep, legs short and straight, back short and level. Tail well flagged and not carried over the level of the back. Movement free active and elegant.
Head and Skull: Skull massive in comparison to size, well domed and full over the eyes. Nose black with large wide open nostrils, very short and turned up to meet the skull. The stop between skull and nose should be well defined. Jaw: muzzle square, wide, deep and well turned up. Lower jaw wide, lips exactly meeting, giving a nice finish. The cheeks should not fall away under the eyes, but be well cushioned up. A protruding tongue is objectionable, but does not disqualify.
Eyes: Very large and dark, set wide apart, with eyelids block square to face line, and with pleasing expression.
Ears: Set on low, and to hang quite flat to cheeks, very long and well feathered.
Coat: Long, silky and straight, a slight wave allowed, not curly. The legs ears and tail should be profusely feathered.
Colour: Black and Tan : A rich glossy black, with bright, mahogany tan markings on muzzle, legs, chest, linings of ears, under tail, and spots over eyes. Tricolour : Ground pearly white and well distributed black patches, brilliant tan markings on cheeks, lining of ears, under tail, and spots over eyes. a wide blaze between the eyes, and up the forehead. Blenheim : A ground of pearly white with well distributed chestnut patches. A wide clear blaze with the 'spot' on centre of skull. The spot should be clear chestnut with the mark about the size o f a sixpence in centre of skull. Ruby : Whole coloured, a rich chestnut red.
Weight and Size: The most desirable size is 81b to 141b.
Faults: The presence of a few white hairs on the chest of a Black and Tan or Ruby is undesirable, but a white patch is a major fault.
Members Comp's
Three dates have been set for Members Competitions for the remainder of 1986. and 1986. They are : Thursday 27/3/86
Thursday 26/6/86
Thursday 23/10/86
All Competitions will be held at the Showgrounds, Epsom Road, Ascot Vale and will commence at 7.30pm.
The schedule for the first official Members Comp. appears elsewhere in this newsletter. The judge on that occasion being Mrs Glenda Cheney "Kweznay", we hope you will a11 support the Club's first Competition as this will no doubt reflect the support we will receive in the eyes of the K.C.C. for future activities such as an Open Parade and eventually a Championship Show.
Australian History
In the second issue (March '86) it is hoped to be able to print history of a King Charles Spaniel imports into Australia.
You assistance if off course an essential part of this project. The information we require is :
Name of Dog. Year Imported. Sire & Dam. Colour.
Bred by. Owned By.
Another project we would like your help with is the compiling of a list of Australian Champions.
The information required would be the same as above.
Let's get the records straight for the Charlies and have them recorded in print for future use.
Did You Know?
The English King Charles Spaniel Club celebrated its Centenary this year. What a coincidence that 1985 is also the year of recognition for the first King Charles Spaniel Club in Australasia.
The following article is part of a feature which appeared in 'Dog World' Colour Magazine - September1984 - was written by ALICIA PENNINGTON
THE CHALLENGE OF THE CHARLIE
The King Charles spaniel is, I feel, the most aristocratic of all Brit-ish breeds, handsome in appearance and loveable in disposition. In the Royal Palaces in our own country these spaniels have been associated with members of the Household for generations. Their lives have correspondingly "fallen in pleasant places", being more at home in the drawing room than the kitchen.
The aristocrat is inherent in each of them - they cannot be otherwise. The noble knight Fitz-Ralp, in the thirteenth century returned from the crusades to his home in Pebmarsh, Essex, bringing with him from Italy, a race of small intelligent and beautiful spaniels. Possibly these were of Chinese origin, as at this time Italy carried on a brisk trade with China along the silk routes.
From then to the Lime when Pepys was castigating the King 'for playing with his dogs a11 the while, and not minding his business', no one gainsay the right of the royal title to the King Charles Spaniels.
Lovable, courageous and exceptionally intelligent... the Reverend Id-stone remarks on the extraordinary instinct developed in these spaniels, almost human.
He tells the story in 1838 of how his little King Charles was sitting in the room where a lady to whom he was much attached was moaning with pain. The little dog seemed to sense the emergency and pulled the bell rope to summon help!
Idstone remarked how his King Charles "would at once permit approaches of my friends at first sight, and were singular still, be understood and appreciated a dislike I did not venture to express, and would always dive at the legs of a couple of New College chaplains towards whom I had no cordiality."
Horace Walpole was another admirer of the King Charles Spaniel and in 1739, while doing the Grand Tour, he lost his beloved King Charles, Tony to a marauding wolf high on an Alpine pass, when he stopped his chaise to take air.
Thereafter followed a succession of much loved King Charles. Rosetta a little black and tan, saved her masters life by warning him the chimney was on fire. Rosetta and another King Charles of considerable character were both buried behind the chapel at Strawberry Hill.
Richardson in 1847 valued a good King Charles at from 150 to 200 guineas and the Daily Courant of January 9, 1720 ran an advert " whereas a black and white spaniel of King Charles breed, about six months old (the white on her neck had been lately burned) broke loose out of Mr Nash's shop in Bishopsgate St. on Thu. Last about 8 o'clock in the morning with a piece of red worsted garter about her neck. Whoever has taken up the bitch and will bring her to the sign of St Martins in York buildings shall have 5/- for their pains" A small fortune in those days.
By the early nineteenth century the breed had evolved over the years to the present day King Charles as we know it. By natural selection the face was shortened over a period of time.
I do not believe any distinct cross was used or would have been necessary. There are too many paintings from Pacopa de Empoli, Veronese etc to dispute the King Charles depicted there are short muzzled round headed little spaniels. Evolution and selective breeding over the centuries, culminating in the more intensive breeding in the nineteenth century, would the standard for today.
On looking at photographs of the imported Pekes of 1860 and the Pugs of that time, they would have been considered bossy by today's standards.
Nor has the King Charles lost any of its distinctive features over the decades, the four colours still and always breed true; black and tan the original, followed by blenheim and tricolour and then ruby - but it is fascinating to note that both blacks and black and whites appear occasionally in Cavalier litters.
The webbed or fused foot, still appears with unfailing regularity, sometimes on just one foot, sometimes all four, but still is a legacy inherited from the little black and tan Pyrame, brought over from the courts of France in the seventeenth century.
The fused foot occasionally appears in the Griffon, the King Charles Spaniel being an ancestor of the Griffon, but strangely does not appear in the King Charles' very modern cousin, the Cavalier.
The nineteenth century saw the birth of dog breeding as we know it today with the as we know it today with the advent of dog shows and the formation of breed clubs. The King Charles Spaniel Club was founded in 1885, the centenary show to be held on Saturday, June 15, 1985.
Edwardian England saw the zenith of the King Charles Spaniel with CCs on offer in a11 four colours, with the great prefixes Ashton More and Lavanderway emerging before the first World War.
A gift from the then Duke of Marlborough to Mrs Raymond Mallock in 1924 of a truly beautiful flat faced blenheim, richly marked and complete with spot, known as Toby on the Blenheim estate where he was bred and raised, became the great Ch Ashton More Crusader. A11 our present day King Charles go back him in some marked degree.
The two World Wars took their toll and it is thanks to the dedication of a small band of breeders who kept going in difficult circumstances, that the breed emerged after the war with a nucleus of quality dogs.
To breed King Charles Spaniels is challenge. Quality and soundness must go hand in hand. The beautiful head of the King Charles must never be lost.
It is up to present day breeders to preserve the lovely breed and to ensure that the breeders of tomorrow have a future on which to build. To the many new adherents to the breed, study the lines carefully, visit the dogs and breeders in their own homes. Un-fortunately the show ring is not the best place to see the King Charles, it is as members of the family in their own home that they excel.
Ensure that you only breed from the best and most typical specimens of the breed, avoiding fine bone, slipping patellas, roached back and Pom temperaments. Never breed from the same fault twice, quality at a11 times rather than quantity.
Once you are owned by a King Charles, they dominate your life. No breed is as capricious, courageous, devoted or demanding.
They are the ideal family dog; my own children remember Melanie, a little black and tan King Charles, who could not bear to hear them cry and would rush and collect one of her biscuits and push it through the playpen bars.
Stronger in character than the Cavalier, the King Charles chooses his friends care-fully but once chosen never forgotten.
Schedule
NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER KING CHARLES SPANIEL CLUB OF VICTORIA
(Affiliated with The Kennel Control Council)
MEMBERS COMPETITION
DATE : Thursday Evening 27th March 1986
VENUE: Royal Showgrounds, Epsom Rd, Ascot Vale
TIME : Entries 7.30pm Judging commences 8.OOpm
JUDGE: Mrs Glenda Cheney (Kweznay)
(For those dogs which have not achieved the title Aust. Champion)
Residents of Victoria must be financial members of The Kennel Control Council (Victoria) to exhibit or judge. Membership expires November 30 each year
CLASSES:
Baby Puppy Dog
Baby Puppy Bitch
Puppy Dog
Puppy Bitch
Junior Dog
Junior Bitch
Intermediate Dog
Intermediate Bitch
Open Dog
Open Bitch
ENTRY FEE $l .00 per entry payable on the day.
PRIZES GIVEN FOP ALL, CLASS WINNERS & BEST EXHIBIT IN COMPETITION
BEST OPP. SEX IN COMPETITION e BEST BABY PUPPY IN COMPETITION.
SUPPER will be served at the conclusion of judging - members a plate
would be appreciated.
Social Get Together
JOIN US FOR AN AFTERNOON TOGETHER TALKING CHARLIES.
MAKE IT A PICNIC OR BAR-B-QUE LUNCH (Bring your own food, drinks)
DATE : SUNDAY 8TH DECEMBER TIME : FROM 12 NOON ONWARDS
VENUE:
Trisha Lamb's
Iona Road
Bunyip
it's not hard to find...
just ask one of the committee for directions
if you're not sure where to go.
The Club does need support - let's all get together and talk about what can do to make sure
our Club will be a lasting one, and what we can do to promote our breed.
Annual General Meeting
The date has been set for The Annual General Meeting of The SPANIEL CLUB OF VICTORIA as the 13th March 86
Time: 8pm
Venue: Cunningham Room, Royal Showgrounds, Ascot Vale
All members will be sent notice of the meeting along with procedures for nominating and election of Executives & Office Bearers.
Please mark this date on your calendar as one not to be missed.
Membership !!
As a newly formed Club, we are in desperate need of more members.
This will aid us both financially as well as ensure the future existence of our Club.
Please pass this membership form on to a friend/s.
A list of members will be published in each issue of "Charlie Chatter" so you can all follow our progress.
THE KING CHARLES SPANIEL CLUB OF VICTORIA - APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP.
The Interim Secretary
PO Box 178
Altona North, Vic, 3025.
I/We wish to apply for membership in the above Club in the following category:
Single $5.00 Dual/Family $10.00 Supportive Member $2.50
Joining Fee $3.00
Donation $ (Voluntary)
I/We enclose cheque/money order for the amount of $..............
NAME.
ADDRESS.
POSTCODE...........
Membership Categories :
Single entitles one person to participate in all Club activities with full voting rights -.no matter what age that person happens to be.
Dual/Family entitles two or more persons living at the same address to participate in all Club activities but only each adult has full voting rights.
Supportive entitles members to receive regular newsletters and is intended for people who have no Charlies but wish to support the Club. These members do not have any voting rights.
Joining Fee: is payable to all new members.
