Dear Members of the Adelaide Sportdog Club,

Up until this point many of you will not know much about the “doggy” history and experience of your president. Heavy workloads and “life” have until now prevented me from developing my personal profile for you the members of the club.

It is important for the membership to know the history of those whom are helping steer the ship, and it helps break the ice. The following is a bit of an updated resume that Schutzhund Australia asked both Mike and I to produce as part of the clubs affiliation with what is now our national governing body.

I hope it gives you some insight into my background and sheds some light on what makes me tick and where my involvement with the canine community outside ASC has been focused.

What I would like to say to you the members is that no one trainer has all the tools for all the people, and that our club is about sharing knowledge, giving and receiving information. To help each member strive to attain their personal goals, and above all to promote fun, sportsmanship and enjoyment not just for the humans but the animals without whom this wonderful sport could not exist.

If any one wishes to ask any questions regarding myself, thoughts ideas and history please feel free. Oh and before I forget, some other important things that you may need to know about me are as follows

·        I am six foot ten in the old money or 208cm tall

·        Yes I did play basketball

·        No I do not play football and I don’t have the time to come play for your local team, but thanks for asking.

·        I have a wonderful son that at the time of writing is 9 years old going on 19 years. Many of you may have met him at times at training.

·        I love hiking in the Swiss Alps and bore my friends regularly with my memories of my travels, especially over a beer.

·        On the topic of beer I love a good Dutch, German, or Italian beer to accompany good German and Dutch food.

·        I am a professional fire fighter with the Metropolitan Fire Service, and a heavy rescue technician with the South Australian Urban Search and Rescue Taskforce.

·        I love training my dogs to the best of my abilities and pursuing knowledge and skills that make me a better trainer and just as much I love to share my knowledge and to help train others to become better / happier dog handlers and to achieve their own successes.

Adelaide Sportdog Club Resume

Name: Alex Withers

Position: President and Vice Training Director

Current as of December 2009

·        I have been involved specifically with the training and testing of working dogs for past 15 years, both in Melbourne and here in Adelaide.

·        Commenced my working dog career with Australian Dog Training as an Assistant Instructor and Trainee Bite Helper 1995.

·        I have been a member of the Australian Swiss Search Dog Association since 1995

·        Throughout my career I have been heavily involved with the training of Search and Rescue dogs in the following disciplines

-         Wilderness area Search

-         Avalanche / Alpine Area Search

-         Disaster Search

·        The training of search dogs has been based upon the application of ‘Positive Motivational’ methodologies in all phases of training and development.

·        Gained USAR Search Dog Suitability Test in December 2003 under Peter Effler ASSDA Technical Committee Assessor

·        Elected to ASSDA Technical Committee and instated as ASSDA Deployment Coordinator 2004 - Current

·        Gained USAR Search Dog Operational Test, May 2004 under Her Elias Kalt, Chief of Deployment REDOG (one of the first of three internationally endorsed USAR search teams in Australia).

·        Endorsed by ASSDA Technical Committee as USAR Search Dog Instructor 2004

·        Canine Team Leader, Operation Labyrinth 2004, National USAR Exercise Melbourne Victoria. This was the first time dedicated disaster search dogs were used in support of state and national based Urban Search and Rescue Taskforces.

·        Qualified USAR Search Dog Operational Test assessor under REDOG in Switzerland in October 2005, and have currently trained and assessed teams in/from South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia.

·        Qualified as an internationally recognised K9-Team Leader under REDOG in Switzerland in October 2005, and have regularly acted in the capacity of team K9 leader during several National and State USAR Exercises since this time.

·        Assessor ASSDA, Fundamental Skills Assessment and Basic Operational Test, Brisbane Queensland June 2006.

·        Gained USAR Search Dog Basic Operational Test (recertification test to maintain operational status), August 2007, under Elke Effler and Peter Effler, ASSDA Technical Committee assessors also trained under REDOG.

·        Foundation member and current state representative to the NUSARWG (National Urban Search and Rescue Working group) K9 technical subcommittee (formed in 2007) for the development of the National Canine Policy Framework and the Australian Urban Search and Rescue Canine Capability Best Practice Guidelines

·        Returned to the Sport of Schutzhund in 2007, as I was undertaking a “drive development” program for the advanced training of Search Dogs and wished to pursue the personal goal of training my search dogs to contest Sportdog trials. This desire was born from personal observation overseas in Europe that a successful Sportdog exhibited sound physical and mental characteristics much needed in the rigors of wilderness and disaster search work.

·        Attended Eagle Heights Schutzhund Australia National Trials and Training Workshop July 2007

·        Assessor, USAR Search Dog Basic Operational Test, Adelaide May 2007

·        Instructor, assessor USAR Search Dog workshop Queensland April 2008.

·        Lead assessor, USAR Search Dog Basic Operational Test, Adelaide May 2008

·        Attended Eagle Heights Helper Training Workshop July 2008

·        Foundation Member of the Adelaide Sportdog Club of South Australia, and hold the position of President and Vice Training Director.

·        Canine Team Leader and lead instructor National USAR training workshops Adelaide November 2008 and May 2009.

·        May 2009 developed and delivered first USAR Canine Search Specialist meeting the requirements of the Australian Urban Search and Rescue Canine Capability Best Practice Guideline. Delivered to members of the South Australian, Victorian and Western Australian Search Dog Community.

·        Current advisor and Capability Coordinator for Disaster Search Canines Responsible to the South Australian USAR Taskforce.

·        October 2009 Achieved BH qualification with Marko Adelaide Sportdog Club inaugural Trial under Schutzhund Australia internationally Qualified Judge Luc Cendac