History

A brief history…
The Southern Miniature Bull Terrier Club was formed in 1997 by the Doyen of the breed Diane Berry of the famous Zedbees Kennel (it is one of her dogs in our logo) and had applied for Kennel Club registration twice. The Club had grown in 2008 to in excess of 147 with over 80 members in the South of the country. We applied once again for Kennel Club recognition in 2007 and were granted this in January 2010.

The Aims of the Southern Miniature Bull Terrier Club
The Southern Miniature Bull Terrier Club’s aims are to promote a friendly, helpful club which is accessible to the ordinary Miniature Bull Terrier owner rather than focus predominantly on the showing fraternity.
The club is very active for its members to promote the Miniature Bull Terrier breed and benefits to the members include:

Training Seminars and activities
The Club held a “taster” training seminar at it’s Companion Show in September 2008 which was hosted by a recognised trainer with content which included how to tackle behavioural problems and solutions, positive reinforcement training methods and breed specific issues. The Southern Miniature Bull Terrier Club feel very strongly that specific breed related training is important in the current climate regarding Bull Breeds and the Dangerous Dogs Act and are extremely keen to promote responsible, well informed ownership.
We plan to host informative seminars including KC exams and judges’ breed specific seminars. Please keep your eye on our “Chances to Learn” page.
We held an extremely important and successful PLL seminar in 2009 following breaking news of a DNA test having been developed for PLL by the Animal Health Trust, which was attended by candidates Worldwide.

Dog Shows
Prior to KC recognition, the club previously held annual Companion Dog Shows which included a “mini match” at the end of the show judged by a Miniature Bull Terrier specialist judge. These enabled the club to send generous donations to the Animal Health Trust for their research into the specific Miniature Bull Terrier inherited condition of Primary Lens Luxation to the order of £200. Our then President, Zelda Lewis (RIP), was recognised for her hard work and that of the Club by being made a “Guardian of the Animal Health Trust” and we were very proud to be awarded this prestigious title.
We now hold one open show a year to promote up and coming judges and the prestigious “Miniature Bull Terrier Trophy Show” culminating in the “Miniature Bull Terrier of the Year” being crowned. This is judged by two CC awarding judges. In 2015 we were awarded a set of Challenge Certificates (CC’s) and our first Champ show on September 6th 2015 was judged by Juliet Shaw of the famous Badlesmere Kennel. We have held an annual championship show since in addition to our open show.

Health Related Issues
The Southern Miniature Bull Terrier Club are aware of their responsibility to the breed to educate their members regarding the genetic conditions which are relevant to Miniature Bull Terriers. Information is available to our members and we have a Code of Conduct regarding responsible breeding that encourages all members who intend to breed to become “assured breeders” under the Kennel Club Scheme.