This is a reminder to all members of the Miniature Pinscher Club that you should at all time ensure that you are acting and behaving within the rules of the club and the Kennel Club Code of Conduct. The code of conduct has been developed to set out The Kennel Club’s expectations for all those taking part in or attending events under its jurisdiction, along with general guidelines on the use of social media.
The full code and be found https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/about-us/about-the-kennel-club/the-kennel-club-codes/the-kennel-club-code-of-conduct/
We would ask you to pay particular attention to the following guidance around People, Dogs and the use of Social Media.
PEOPLE
- Conduct – participants have a duty both to their dogs and to others to make licensed events friendly and welcoming, and are expected to be co-operative and above all to create a safe environment, so all can enjoy their time at licensed events
- Sportsmanship – participants should conduct themselves at all times in an appropriate fashion and should display good manners and respect towards other participants, show officials and to the judges
- Any verbal communication with a judge should take place after judging has taken place and must be conducted in a polite and professional manner
- Abusive or aggressive behaviour towards anyone at the show – including the judge, other participants, show management or other officials – will not be tolerated under any circumstances
- Do not interfere with any dog whilst it is being judged
- Smoking is not permitted whilst exhibiting or whilst a dog is under test or in breach of the law
- Mobile phones should be turned off whilst exhibiting or whilst your dog is under test
- If you have children, do not allow them to touch any dogs unless you have the permission of the owner for them to do so. Be aware of where your children are, and what they are doing, at all times. Take special care around benching areas where dogs may react to an unexpected approach
DOGS
- All dogs must be of the correct temperament to enable the judge to examine the exhibit, independently of the exhibitor’s assistance
- Sparring between dogs is discouraged
- Dogs are not permitted to wear muzzles of any kind whilst being judged
SOCIAL MEDIA
The rapid growth of social media technologies combined with their ease of use and pervasiveness make them attractive channels of communication. However, these tools also hold the possibility of a host of unintended consequences. To help you identify and avoid potential issues the Kennel Club has provided some examples of best practices which are intended to help you understand, from a wide range of perspectives, the implications of participation in social media.
We would ask you to consider the following when posting on social media
- Maintain privacy
- Do not post confidential or proprietary information. Do not discuss a situation involving named or pictured individuals on a social media site without their permission. As a guideline, do not post anything that you would not present in any public forum. Ask yourself, would I want to see this published in the newspaper or posted on a billboard tomorrow or 10 years from now?
- Does it pass the publicity test?
- If the content of your message would not be acceptable for face-to-face conversation, over the telephone, or in another medium, it will not be acceptable for a social networking site.
- Think before you post
- There’s no such thing as a “private” social media site. Search engines can turn up posts and pictures years after the publication date. Comments can be forwarded or copied. Archival systems save information even if you delete a post. If you feel angry or passionate about a subject, it’s wise to delay posting until you are calm and clear-headed.
- Understand your personal responsibility
- You are personally responsible for the content you publish on blogs or any other form of user-generated content. Be mindful that what you publish will be public for a long time—protect your privacy.
- Be aware of liability
- You are responsible for what you post on your own site and on the sites of others. Individual bloggers have been held liable for commentary deemed to be copyright infringement, defamatory, proprietary, libelous, or obscene (as defined by the courts). Be sure that what you post today will not come back to haunt you.
- Be accurate
- Make sure that you have all the facts before you post. It’s better to verify information with a source first than to have to post a correction or retraction later
- Correct mistakes
- If you make a mistake, admit it. Be upfront and be quick with your correction. If you’re posting to a blog, you may choose to modify an earlier post—just make it clear that you have done so.
- Respect others
- You are more likely to achieve your goals or sway others to your beliefs if you are constructive and respectful while discussing a bad experience or disagreeing with a concept or person.
- Respect your audience
- Don’t use personal insults, obscenity, also show proper consideration for others’ privacy and for topics that may be considered sensitive. Users are free to discuss topics and disagree with one another, but be respectful of others’ opinions. You are more likely to achieve your goals if you are constructive and respectful while discussing a bad experience or disagreeing with a concept or person.
- Take the high ground
- Remember that you’re most likely to build a high-quality following if you discuss ideas and situations civilly. Don’t pick fights online.