Committee and Instructors
Bendigo Obedience Dog Club Volunteer Committee
| Meredith Marshall President |
Denise Chrystal Vice President |
Alexandra Gartmann Secretary |
Sarah Crocker Treasurer |
Committee Members
Jodie Bajada, Dale Cousins, Nicole Crameri, Julie Fainges, Merle Hopman, Rob Hopman
Clive Hughes, Sian James, Deb Wain, Bryn Wedgeford
Bendigo Obedience Dog Club Volunteer Instructors
Denise
Has been a member since 1973 and instructing since 1974. Denise has held many positions at the club including numerous committee positions, trial secretary for multiple disciplines, founder of our newsletter “Recall” and author of Thirty Years of Community Service 1963 – 1993 Bendigo Obedience Dog Club Inc. Denise also manages the club awards and is the club historian. Trialled German Shepherd Dogs, Cocker Spaniel, Pug and Papillons in Obedience, Rally Obedience, Agility, Tracking, and Track & Search. Also Conformation showing. Have attended seminars in multiple disciplines run by internationally renowned experts in their fields of dog behaviour, competition and training and conducted tracking training workshops for various clubs and is an ANKC Tracking and Track & Search Judge.
Meredith
Dogs have been a part of my life right through my childhood when our Border Collies were trained and shown by my dad. Then, after a 20-year gap without dogs, I came to the BODC to help me socialise and train my new pup, a Murray River Retriever. With the immense and diverse knowledge base and support of the instructors and other club members, I developed an interest in understanding my canine friend better and decided to take on some new challenges. Together, my dogs and I have trialled in Agility, Rally Obedience, Tracking, and Track & Search events. Trialling takes you to all sorts of places, in all sorts of weather for a small piece of cardboard which is your reward for weeks, months, and years of training. We have attended courses run by world renowned instructors in Australia, participated in trials run by La Trobe University and generally just had a wonderful time together. Now I love helping other people succeed with their training challenges. Each one is unique, whether they go on to trial or want a wonderful canine companion.
Alexandra
I have been an instructor for a year. I have two kelpies, Ruby and Murray, and we are training and trialling in agility, scent work, tracking, tricks, obedience and herding.
Rob
I joined the Club in 2021 with my Aussie Shepherd called Ben. I took up instructing as a way of giving back to the Club. As a former teacher, it felt like a natural thing for me to do. Ben and I are focusing on giving Obedience and Rally Obedience a go and hope to start trialling soon.
Merle
I joined BODC in 1990 training my shelties, Jemma and Bonnie. I instructed for several years before taking a break. I returned to club in 2018 training Jesse. In my role as instructor, I really enjoy seeing the progress of both the handlers and the dogs. It’s amazing what a little bit of consistency can achieve. I became an instructor because I wanted to be able to share what I had learnt with others and as a former teacher, I enjoy running a class. My main focus in Dog Sports is Obedience and Rally Obedience, I trial in these two disciplines and enjoy helping others become proficient in these areas as well.
Greg
I joined the Club quite a while ago, in 2008. Becoming an instructor has been great because I get the enjoyment of watching the handlers work with their dogs. I get to see the way they improve through consistent work and how much they can achieve together. I’m currently working with my German Shepherd, Quin and we focus on Rally Obedience and Obedience.
Sarah
When I joined BODC to train Mac my Border Collie cross in 2008, I received so much support and understanding from the instructors about training a dog with many issues, that it made me want to give back to the Club that gave me and Mac so much. So I ended up becoming an instructor, joining the committee, and being a trial secretary whilst continuing to train and compete in most performance sports with my dogs. My focus has always been on having fun and developing great partnership between my dogs and me. I love the friendship and comradery that the Club has and that we get the “go ahead” to try new ideas to make training fun and interesting for our classes.
James
I have been instructing since 1990, and have trained dogs to UD and Masters in agility, plus been an agility judge. Along with Erica, we own Sheree, Chewie and most recently Smoke, All White Swiss Shepherds, and are working on scent and obedience at the moment. I also assist with agility training and regularly set out agility courses for training.
Nicole
I joined the Club in 2023 when I was struggling a bit with my puppy, Bob’s behaviour after he’d had a bad experience. Thanks to the Club, and particularly to Tricks training, Bob found his confidence and I jumped at the opportunity to help with instructing. It’s so rewarding to see people and their dogs grow and learn.
Clive
I joined BODC after getting Sasha at 8 weeks old from a farmer in the back blocks of Echuca. Both her parents were working dogs. We started off in the puppy pens, then trained right through to Class 5 in obedience. Our training with BODC has enabled us to do, and enjoy Obedience, Agility, basic Tracking, and Scent Work, and because of this Sasha has gone on to become a Delta therapy dog, and a conservation scent detection dog with La Trobe University.
Sian
I originally joined BDOC in the early 2000’s to ensure my grumpy shepherds knew what other breeds of dogs looked like. I had been training dogs since my teens and some of the methods used, were cringe-worthy. My motto is: when you know better, you do better. There are many ways to train dogs, however, building connection through engagement, enrichment and biological fulfilment will build the best connection and therefore develop a deeper relationship. I joined the committee in 2022, to give back to the club that’s always been there for as many Bendigo dogs as possible. I knew how much work was done behind the scenes by volunteers. My dogs and I (Team Collie: Badger and Maggie) compete in most dog sports: Scent Work, Tracking, Tricks, Sprint, Lure, Rally, and Dancing/Heelwork to Music. Most of all my dogs love Herding as this gives them biological fulfilment. I like helping other find this joy as well.
Sarah
I first joined BODC with baby Pippa in 2018 for puppy classes. I rejoined with big girl Pippa in 2025. I became an instructor because there’s something profoundly grounding and honest about the way dogs communicate, love, and live in the moment. I found my passion in creating connection between dogs and their people – building trust, reducing fear, and fostering genuine partnerships! At the heart of it, I instruct to empower dogs to feel safe, confident, and understood – and to support their humans becoming the calm, consistent guides they need. That’s where transformation happens, and it’s a privilege to be a part of that process. We are new to the competition world but have dabbled in Obedience, Tricks, and Scent Work.
Assistant Instructors
Max Donovan, Jodie Bajada, Bryn Wedgeford
Contact
Bendigo Obedience Dog Club Inc
For enquiries please contact: [email protected]
Training Ground: Finn Street Recreation Reserve, Bendigo Vic 3550
Postal Address: PO Box 2396, Bendigo Mail Centre, Bendigo 3554
facebook.com/BendigoObedienceDogClub/
