THE PYRENEAN MOUNTAIN DOG CLUB OF GREAT BRITAIN

1	NAME AND OBJECTS The Club shall be called the Pyrenean Mountain Dog Club of Great Britain and shall be registered with the Kennel Club under that name. The objects of the Club shall be to popularise the breed of dog known as the Pyrenean Mountain Dog and to maintain the standard of breeding.

2	OFFICERS AND MEMBERS The Club shall consist of an unlimited number of members and the Officers of the Club shall include a President who shall also be a Life Member, a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, a Secretary and an Honorary Treasurer.

	2a	HONORARY VICE-PRESIDENTS The A.G.M shall elect not more than twelve Honorary Vice-Presidents. (The title of Honorary Vice-Presidents is awarded in recognition of service to the breed). Any Member wishing to propose a new name to be considered by the A.G.M as an Honorary Vice-President shall send such a proposal to the Secretary at least two calendar months prior to the date of the A.G.M accompanied by up to forty words in support of such proposal. This proposal shall be included on the Agenda for the A.G.M and if passed by a two thirds majority vote of those members attending and eligible to vote, the member thus approved shall henceforth be a Honorary Vice-President of the Club. Except that, should any member feel that a current Honorary Vice-President has acted in a manner that is inappropriate for the holder of this honour then they should write to the Secretary at least three months prior to the date of the A.G.M stating their reasons in not more than forty words. This proposal shall be included on the Agenda for the A.G.M (subject to legal opinion) and if passed by a straight majority the Vice-President in question shall be removed from the list of those awarded this title by the Club. (To deter frivolous or mischievous proposals, any member making a proposal to remove a name from the list of Honorary Vice-Presidents, shall include a payment of twenty pounds which will be returned if the proposal is proved by the A.G.M).

3	COMMITTEE The management of the Club shall (except as otherwise provided in these Rules) be in the hands of a Committee. The Committee shall consist of the President, the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman, the Secretary and the Honorary Treasurer, together with 12 other members. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Club shall be Chairman and Vice-Chairman respectively of the Committee. Six members of the Committee shall form a quorum. The Committee shall have power to co-opt from among the members of the Club to fill vacancies or for any other purpose and shall have power to appoint Sub-Committees. The Committee shall meet at least once every six months to examine the accounts and to arrange the affairs of the Club.

4	ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE The Officers (except the Vice-Presidents) and the Committee be elected by postal ballot to be held during the first three months of each year. Nominations shall be signed by two Club members other than the nominee and shall be accompanied with the Nominee’s written agreement to accept nomination together with a statement not exceeding 40 words signed by the nominee explaining his/her qualifications for the post which he/she is nominated. Any Officer or Committee member during his/her period of office shall not serve as an Officer or Committee member or run any event for any other Pyrenean Mountain Dog Club registered with the Kennel Club. Nominees and nominations shall be full members who have been members of the Club for not less than 12 calendar months on 1st January of the year in which the ballot is held. Nominations shall be sent to the Secretary not later than a date at least two weeks notice shall be given, and the Secretary shall accept every nomination which does not contravene these Rules. The Secretary shall send to each full member a ballot paper which shall list the names and addresses of the nominees, the names of their nominators and the statement of qualifications. Candidates for contested offices shall be deemed to have been nominated also for a seat on the Committee and votes cast for them in the latter capacity shall be counted if they are not elected to an office for which they have been nominated. The ballot shall be controlled by the Club’s Scrutineer who alone shall receive and see the voting papers. The result of the ballot shall be announced at the Annual General Meeting of that year and those elected shall thereupon take office and subject to termination of office by resignation or otherwise shall remain in office until the announcement of their successors at the next following Annual General Meeting. Each retiring Officer or Committee member shall be deemed to have been nominated for re-election unless he/she has informed the Secretary that he/she will not accept nomination, and unless he/she has been absent from half the Committee meetings of which he/she has received notice during the 12 months preceding the date set for receipt of nominations. No person whilst an undischarged bankrupt may serve on the Committee or hold any other office or appointment within a Kennel Club Registered Society.

5	MEMBERSHIP a). Any person interested in the breed of dog known as the Pyrenean Mountain Dog, whether an owner or not, shall be eligible for membership provided that his/her application for membership has been made in writing to the Secretary accompanied by his/her first subscription and has not been rejected by the Committee. If the application is not so rejected the Secretary shall notify the applicant in writing of his admission to membership, furnish him/her with a copy of the Rules and issue receipt for his/her subscription. If the application is rejected the Secretary shall inform the applicant and shall return to him/her the money paid as subscription. A member who joins before his/her 16th birthday shall be a Junior member and shall not be entitled to vote in the election of Officers and Committee nor upon any motion at the General Meeting of the Club. All other persons for the purpose of these Rules be full members. A Junior shall not become a full member until his/her 16th birthday or until he/she has paid a full members subscription whichever is the later but he/she shall be liable to pay a full members subscription on the first occasion on which his/her subscription falls due after his/her 16th birthday. Any full member may be elected a Life Member by a two thirds majority of those entitled to vote and voting at an Annual General Meeting of the Club but he/she shall not thereby cease to be a full member. Two members of the same family or two people owning one or more dogs in partnership may be joint members for the purpose of Rule 6 but each member of such joint membership shall nevertheless be a Junior of a full member as defined in this Rule. A Life member shall not be a member of a joint membership. The title of Life member is awarded in recognition of service to the Club. b). The Club will make a list of members and their addresses available for inspection if so requested by the members of the Club or by the Kennel Club.

6	SUBSCRIPTIONS The annual subscription after 30th September 2004 shall be; nil for a Life Member; £14.00 for a Full member who is not a life member; 50p for a Junior member; £15.00 for 2 members in joint membership. A surcharge of £2.00 a year to be added to the subscription of a Junior receiving a personal issue of the Club’s Newsletter. There will be joining fee of £1.00 charged to all new applications for membership. A surcharge of which the amount shall be determined from time to time by the Committee shall be added to the subscriptions payable to members residing outside Europe to defray the extra postal charges incurred in serving such members. All subscriptions are payable to the Honorary Treasurer on the 1st January each year, and if the relevant subscription has not been paid by the 1st February in the same year, the membership will be deemed to have lapsed. Thereafter, any person wishing to enjoy the privileges of membership must make a fresh application as if for a new membership, which will be subject to the procedure outlined in Rule 5.a. Notwithstanding the foregoing a first subscription received during the last three months of a year shall deemed to include the subscription for the whole of the next following year.

7	RESIGNATION Any member may resign his/her membership by giving notice to the Secretary notice in writing to that effect provided that if notice be given after 1^st January in any year he/she shall be liable to pay his/her subscription for that year.

8	EXPULSION. Any member who shall be suspended under Kennel Club Rule A42j(4) and/or any member whose dog(s) is/are disqualified under Kennel Club Rule A42j(8) shall ipso facto cease to be a member of the Society for the duration of the suspension and/or disqualification. If the conduct of any member shall in the opinion of the Committee of the Club be injurious to the character or interests of the Club, the Committee of the Club may at a meeting the notice convening which includes as an object the consideration of the conduct of the member determine that a Special General Meeting of the Club shall be called for the purpose of passing sa resolution to expel him/her. Notice of the Special General Meeting shall be sent to the accused member, giving particulars of the complaint and advising him/her of the place, date and hour of the meeting so that he/she may attend and offer an explanation. If at the meeting a resolution to expel is passed by a two thirds majority of the members present and voting, his/her name shall be forthwith erased from the list of members and he/she shall thereupon cease for all purposes to be a member of the Club, except that he/she may within 2 calendar months from the date of such meeting appeal to the Kennel Club upon and subject to such conditions the Kennel Club may impose.

9	EFFECT OF CEASING TO BE A MEMBER Any person on ceasing to be a member of the Club shall forfeit any right to and claim upon the Club its property and funds arising solely from his/her membership.

10	CLUB ACCOUNTS A banking account shall be opened in the name of the Club into which all revenues of the Club shall be paid. It shall be operated by the Honorary Treasurer for the time being. Cheques shall be signed or endorsed on behalf of the Club by any two members of a panel of four signatories, the panel to be appointed annually by the Committee from amongst the President, Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer for the time being. The Accounts of the Club shall be kept by the Honorary Treasurer and shall as soon as practicable after the end of the financial year be submitted for Certification by TWO qualified accountants or a firm of qualified accountants who shall be appointed at each Annual General Meeting. However a full audit can be called for at the discretion of the Committee or by the membership at an Annual General Meeting or at a Special General Meeting.

11	ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The financial year for the Club shall end on 31^st December each year, to which day the accounts of the Club shall be balanced. The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held before 30^th April in each year, upon a date and time to be fixed by the Committee for the following purposes:-

	a)	To receive from the Committee a report, balance sheet and statement of accounts for the preceding financial year and an estimate of the receipts and expenditure for the current financial year.
	b)	o consider and, if approved, sanction any duly made alteration to the Rules.
	c)	To elect or re-elect Vice-Presidents and to receive the results of the postal ballot for the Officers and Committee.
	d)	To deal with any special matter which the Committee desires to bring before the members and to receive suggestions from the members for consideration by the Committee and to discuss any matter of which prior notice shall have been given to the Secretary.

	Notice convening the General Meeting shall be sent to the members not less than 14 days before the meeting and shall specify the matters to be dealt with. No business shall be transacted at an Annual General Meeting unless notice thereof appears on the Agenda, with the exception of routine matters or those which, in the opinion of the Chairman of the meeting, are urgent.

12	SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING A Special General Meeting may be convened at any time by the Committee and shall be convened within 21 days from the receipt by the Secretary of a requisition in writing signed by not less than 25 full members specifying the object of the meeting, for any of the following purposes:-

	a)	To consider, and if approved, sanction any duly made alteration of the Rules.
	b)	To deal with any special matter which the Committee may desire to place before the members including the expulsion of a member.
	c)	To receive the resignation of the Committee or to remove any member or members thereof from office and to fill any vacancy or vacancies caused thereby.
	d)	To deal with any special matter which the members requiring the Meeting may desire to place before the Club.

	Notice convening the Special General Meeting shall be sent to the members not less than 14 days before the meeting and shall specify the matters to be dealt with. No business other than that named in the notice shall be brought before a Special General Meeting.

13	CHAIR AND VOTING At all General Meetings of the Club the President or in his/her absence the Chairman or in the absence of both of them then the Vice-Chairman shall take the chair. Every member present entitles to vote shall have one vote upon every motion and in the case of equality of votes the Officer in the Chair shall have a second or casting vote.

14	ALTERATION OF RULES These Rules may be added to, repealed or amended by resolution at any Annual or Special General Meeting, providing that no such resolution shall be deemed to have been passes unless it be carried by a majority of at least two thirds of the members entitles to vote and voting thereon and shall have been submitted to and approved by the Kennel Club. For the purpose of this Rule the Code of Practice shall be deemed to be a part of these Rules.

15	SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES Any dispute or difference which may arise as to the meaning or interpretation of these Rules or as to the powers or proceedings of the Officers or the Committee may be submitted to and determined by the Kennel Club whose decision shall be final and binding upon all members of the Club.

16	CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP Every member shall be bound by and submit to these Rules and the current issue of the Code of Practice shall for all purposes be part of these Rules. A member shall not by reason of his/her membership be under any financial liability except for payment of hi/her annual subscription.

17	NOTICES All notices required by these Rules to be given to members of the Club may be given by pre-paid letter addressed to a member at the last address which he/she has furnished to the Secretary and shall be deemed to have been given at the expiration of 48 hours after the posting of the letter except for addresses outside the United Kingdom. Members must furnish the Secretary with their addresses from time to time.

18	PROPERTY OF THE CLUB The property of the Club shall be vested in the Committee. The donor of a Challenge Cup or other Trophy shall be required to sign a paper acknowledging that such Cup or Trophy is an outright gift to the Club.

19	FEDERATIONS The Club shall not join any federation of Societies or Clubs.

20	DISSOLUTION If at any General Meeting a resolution for the dissolution of the Club shall be passed by a majority of the members present and such resolution shall at a Special General Meeting held not less than one month thereafter at which not less than one half of the members shall be present be confirmed by a resolution passed by a majority of two thirds of the members entitled to vote and voting thereon, the Committee shall thereupon or at such future date as shall be specified in such resolution proceed to realise the property of the Club and after discharge of all liability shall dispose of the assets as decided upon by the members.

21	LIST OF APPROVED JUDGES The Committee shall as often as required and in any case at least once a year prepare a List of Approved Judges of the Breed, which shall distinguish the judges approved for Championship Shows from those approved for Open Shows only. Nominations by club members for addition or deletion from such list shall be in writing signed by at least two members and may be sent to the Secretary at any time and such nominations shall be considered by the Committee as soon as practicable thereafter. The Secretary shall invite nominees for addition to the list to reply to a questionnaire setting out their experience in judging dogs in general and Pyrenean Mountain Dogs in particular and the Committee shall not authorise such addition without having considered such reply. Amendments to the list shall be announced to the members as soon as possible.

22	ANNUAL RETURNS TO THE KENNEL CLUB (note; In this Rule only, the word "Officers" means " The Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer"). The Officers acknowledge that during the month of January each year Maintenance of Title fee will be forwarded to the Kennel Club by the Secretary for the continuance of registration and that by 31st July each year, other returns, as stipulated in Kennel Club Regulations for the Registration and Maintenance of Titles of Societies and Breed Councils and the Affiliation of Agricultural Societies and Municipal Authorities, will be forwarded to the Kennel Club. The Officers also acknowledge their duty to inform the Kennel Club of any change of Secretary of the Society which may occur during the course of the year.

THE CODE OF PRACTICE

PREAMBLE This Code of Practice is intended to serve as a standard of behaviour for all Club Members in any activities connected with the Pyrenean Mountain Dog. Compliance with it is a condition of membership of the Pyrenean Mountain Dog Club of Great Britain, and failure to do so not only contravenes Club Rules (see Rule 16) but could result in an individual member being involved in litigation under common law with any member of the public with whom they have dealings.

SECTION ONE All members are recommended to abide by the following.

1	Each member who breeds from his/her bitch or uses his/her dog at stud shall keep accurate records of stock, matings and pedigrees.

2	Each breeder shall select sire and dam with an eye to conformation and temperament after a careful study of the Breed Standard, the relevant pedigrees and the basic principles of genetics. Each stud dog owner will satisfy him/herself as to the suitability of the bitch and acknowledge their joint responsibility for the resultant litter.

3	It is strongly recommended that all potential breeding stock be examined under the BVA/KC scheme for the control of Hip-Dysplasia whilst taking into account of the advice of the Club’s information leaflet on anaesthetics available from the Secretary.

4	For his/her own protection and that of his/her buyers, the breeder should provide proof of sale and of any guarantees given. Further, it is recommended that breeders obtain individual Certificates of Health of their puppies as near as possible to the date the puppies are due to leave.

5	Breeders are recommended to have all puppies tattooed, or microchipped, or any other acceptable means of identification to help reduce the possibility of Pyreneans being abandoned without any means of their owner/breeder being identified.

6	It is strongly recommended that breeders selling puppies primarily to pet homes should consider, when registering their puppies, using the Kennel Club endorsement R with a view to controlling the perpetuation of serious faults in our breed.

7	The breeder shall arrange for the individual Kennel Club registration, with transfer form signed, to be sent to the purchaser with the least possible delay. A puppy may be sold without registration papers provided it is understood and agreed to in writing by both parties.

8	Each breeder should safeguard his/her bitches from matings which are not carefully planned.

9	A maiden bitch should not be mated after her fifth birthday without veterinary advise being sought.

SECTION TWO All members must follow these procedures:- (This to include partnerships where both signatures are applicable in canine affairs.

10	Each member/breeder shall plan each mating with the paramount intention of maintaining the standard of the Breed and shall breed only when he/she is in a position to give proper care to both bitch and offspring.

11	Breeders shall breed only from stock which is free from known defects such as monorchidism, crytorchidism, epilepsy, entropion, ectropion etc. As black pigmentation is a requirement of the breed standard only animals with apparently good pigmentation should be used in breeding.

12	Breeders must be careful as possible to ensure that their puppies go to good homes and therefore must not sell them through pet stores or dealers.

13	No puppy shall leave the breeder until it is eight weeks old, and exports must comply with DEFRA regulations. Upon releasing the puppy, the breeder shall follow these guidelines. A. He/she shall supply a pedigree of at least four generations. B. He/she shall provide written instructions on the future care of the puppy along with a diet sheet giving details of how the puppy has been reared and fed and must provide a "Club Puppy Pack" which consists of a copy of the Club’s handbook together with current information sheets on the use of anaesthetics, owning a Pyrenean Puppy, Club membership application form et cetera. Each pack available from the Secretary at a cost of £3. per pack. It is also advised that additional information would be gained by reading the book entitles "The Pyrenean Mountain Dog" which gives full information on all aspects of Pyrenean ownership.. C. He/she must stress the importance of worming and inoculations and shall provide records from the attending veterinary surgeon detailing inoculations given, including their dates and type of vaccine used and the date of which any future inoculations are due.

14	In all their activities within the breed, members should have uppermost in their minds that the Club exists to maintain the standard of breeding, and conduct of members.

15	The more experienced owners and breeders shall be ready to give advice and assistance to members who seek it and shall make their knowledge and experience available for the good of the breed.

16	Members shall be diligent in handling their dogs in public places in order to reduce to an absolute minimum the risk of danger to humans and other animals.

17	Members must recognise their responsibility to protect the reputation of the Breed and shall not allow their dogs to roam at large unsupervised, or to become a public nuisance, or to be a charge upon an Animal Rescue Society or Dogs Home.

18	In all questions of ethics relating to the Breed, whether covered by this Code or not, each member shall act solely in the best interests of the Breed and shall willingly help any Pyrenean owner to uphold those interests.

19	No owner shall actively encourage, advertise or assist in any way the use of the Breed in Great Britain as stock guardians for commercial purposes or the use as a guard dog for commercial premises.

20	All members must ensure that registration of their puppies is accurate and any information reported to the Committee which casts doubt upon any registration or pedigree shall be reported to the Kennel Club.

21	No bitch shall be mated before it is twenty four months old, nor should a stud dog owner allow his/her dog to be used on a bitch that is less than twenty four months old. In addition, a bitch should not be mated after its seventh birthday.

22	No bitch shall be mated if the puppies will be born within twelve months of its last litter, and similarly no stud dog owner should allow their dog to be used for such a mating without first ascertaining the date of any previous whelping from the bitch involved.

IMPLEMENTATION

23	Any member wishing to report an infraction of this Code shall do so in writing to the Secretary and shall include supporting evidence in writing. To deter frivolous or malicious complaints any such report must be accompanied by a payment of twenty five pounds which will be returned if the Committee decide the report is justified.

24	On receiving such report the Secretary shall submit it to the Committee. If the Committee decides that it is of sufficient substance to warrant investigation the Secretary shall communicate its content to the alleged offender, inviting his/her comments in writing, to be received by the Secretary within one month. This shall be communicated to the Committee as soon as possible. If no such reply is received then the matter will be brought before the next A.G.M for their decision as to what further actions the Committee should take. The alleged offender, whether a Committee member or not may apply to attend the relevant part of a Committee meeting to support their written response. Following each attendance neither the alleged offender nor the complainant shall be present during the Committee’s discussion on the alleged complaint and shall only receive the Committee’s decision. If the alleged offender or the complainant is an Officer or Committee member he/she will be required to retire from the Committee meeting for the duration of the discussion. If a complaint is upheld under Section Two the member shall be informed in writing that the infringement has been proven and the letter constitutes and contains a severe reprimand and warning to future behaviour. This action will be retained in the Club’s records and if any subsequent complaint is also upheld then the Committee shall use its discretion in deciding what action to take and in appropriate cases initiate action in accordance with Rule 8.

25	Any complaint must refer to infringements that occurred during the previous two years.