how to pick a trainer or training facility

[sit,stay]

Originally Posted by Yoschi's_Pet_Human

She does have a room,literally, filled with trophies ... she said we were only going to work on basic obedience and tracking...

A room full of trophies means nothing if she hasn't had a part in training the dogs who won those trophies.

Look at it this way. Would you let someone do open heart surgery on you if the diplomas on their wall had been earned by someone else?

I am not saying that your broker doesn't have training experience. I don't know her, so I couldn't say. But if she buys her dogs already titled, where does her work play into it? Other than a room full of trophies that she may or may not have earned through her personal effort, you need to discover what her training experience is.

This is not meant as an insult, but you don't sound like the most experienced dog owner. Would you be able to tell the difference between someone who talks a good game but can't back it up and someone who can actually train dogs? Perhaps you would be better served by dealing with a trainer who can point to their personal accomplishments as a trainer.

Would you be able to ask the one club that got back to you if they could recommend anyone for you to work with while you wait for a spot to open up with them?
Sheilah

[Yoschi's_Pet_Human]

Originally Posted by sit,stay

A room full of trophies means nothing if she hasn't had a part in training the dogs who won those trophies.

Look at it this way. Would you let someone do open heart surgery on you if the diplomas on their wall had been earned by someone else?

I am not saying that your broker doesn't have training experience. I don't know her, so I couldn't say. But if she buys her dogs already titled, where does her work play into it? Other than a room full of trophies that she may or may not have earned through her personal effort, you need to discover what her training experience is.

This is not meant as an insult, but you don't sound like the most experienced dog owner. Would you be able to tell the difference between someone who talks a good game but can't back it up and someone who can actually train dogs? Perhaps you would be better served by dealing with a trainer who can point to their personal accomplishments as a trainer.

Would you be able to ask the one club that got back to you if they could recommend anyone for you to work with while you wait for a spot to open up with them?
Sheilah

According to her she did train all her dogs that won those trophies. Her dogs were all owner trained. According to her and her website she has 30 years of professional training experience... you're right, I don't have any real experience training dogs in a competitive manner.... I did ask the club that responded to me for suggestions,, they haven't gotten back yet. I also asked them if any members would be interested in helping me one on one if I paid them. But for the moment, I can at least get started. All the places that advertise for specialized training want a minimum of $75 an hour for private and on up to $1800 a week for in house training. Seems Austin has dozens and dozens of dog training group classes and very few options for schutzhund without spending a fortune.

[Liesje]

If your goal is SchH I would focus on finding a SchH club and not paying a private trainer for obedience. I can't believe joining a USCA, DVG, or WDA club would end up costing more than $75/hr. Most clubs are a few hundred dollars per year.

[Yoschi's_Pet_Human]

Originally Posted by Liesje

If your goal is SchH I would focus on finding a SchH club and not paying a private trainer for obedience. I can't believe joining a USCA, DVG, or WDA club would end up costing more than $75/hr. Most clubs are a few hundred dollars per year.

Of the clubs I've contacted, only one responded with a brief email stating they aren't accepting new members... the others aren't responding... I've been looking for a month now.. I've sent emails and phoned every club within a two hour drive of here.
Fyi it cost me $75 just to get him evaluated...

[sit,stay]

Originally Posted by Yoschi's_Pet_Human

According to her she did train all her dogs that won those trophies. Her dogs were all owner trained.

Sorry, my confusion! You said she has "never titled a dog in schutzhund". I wasn't sure what that meant, and when I asked you said you believed she purchased her dogs already titled.

Training beyond a simple companion-type obedience class can be very time consuming and expensive. There is no getting around that.

Good luck with your puppy.
Sheilah

[Yoschi's_Pet_Human]

Originally Posted by sit,stay

Sorry, my confusion! You said she has "never titled a dog in schutzhund". I wasn't sure what that meant, and when I asked you said you believed she purchased her dogs already titled.

Training beyond a simple companion-type obedience class can be very time consuming and expensive. There is no getting around that.

Good luck with your puppy.
Sheilah

I realize I'm in for a long haul financially,, which is why I'm trying to get the best bang for my buck... but, I have to admit, it's been an up hill battle just getting started.. once I get started, I'll feel better about all this, right now I'm mildly frustrated .... reminds me of when I first got into koi and a lot of people in my circle of friends as well as online said I was in over my head... until I came home with three trophies from my very first show

[sit,stay]

Hey, nothing wrong with getting more bang for your buck! I am all for saving money when I can. Just make sure that you aren't cutting corners. In the long run that will never save you anything! In fact, it usually ends up costing you more.

Remember, too, that dogs are not fish! You really can't equate screwing up training a dog with screwing up training a fish.
Sheilah

[Yoschi's_Pet_Human]

Originally Posted by sit,stay

Hey, nothing wrong with getting more bang for your buck! I am all for saving money when I can. Just make sure that you aren't cutting corners. In the long run that will never save you anything! In fact, it usually ends up costing you more.

Remember, too, that dogs are not fish! You really can't equate screwing up training a dog with screwing up training a fish.
Sheilah

Lol... with koi it's all about obtaining and maintaining water quality and nutrition.... you almost have to be a chemist to raise show quality koi... I built my pond myself. If I had screwed that up it would have cost me tens of thousands of dollars in dead fish and a rebuild. You would be blown away in knowing how precise you have to be with water parameters. For pond grade fish, not so much. For show quality fish it takes perfect water to bring out the colors and to allow for optimal growth and conformation. I test my water every other day to check all the levels. I also change out more than 50% of water a week to dilute dissolved organics and growth limiting pheremones... all the while I have to keep an eye out for parasites and bacterias that can be brought in from the local wild life.. when problems arise, I handle it myself. I have had to do some fairly advanced surgeries and treatments on very expensive fish.... yes, it is different,,, but what they have in common is the requirements of knowledge, the attention to detail and the willingness to put in the time to do it right. Trust me,,, I'm a competitive person by nature... I know what it takes to win. I just need the knowledge.

[martemchik]

Tell you the truth...I was once in your shoes. My boy is my first dog, and when he was around 6 months old I was really interested in Schutzhund training. I saw that my closest club was an hour away, and that I just didn't have the time in my life right now to travel that much and commit a whole day of training to my dog. I have other commitments, other hobbies, other interests and Schutzhund isn't something you do once in a while, or skip 2 weeks out of 4 every month because "something came up."

I currently do AKC obedience, rally, agility, and am getting into tracking. I'm with a GSD club in my area which is about 20 minutes away. I go there about 3 times a week to train in the different venues. When I first started...I wanted an obedient pet. So I didn't correct for straight sits, I didn't much care about 100% focus, I wanted my pup to enjoy his life and to listen to me eventually. Well when I really got into trialing...I had to fix all the things I let him slide by on. I had to reteach him all the exercises that he just wasn't doing quite perfect enough.

So the reason I'm telling you this is that you really need people that know what they're doing to show you how to do thing right from the start. I was able to fix mistakes...but it took time, unnecessary time that could've been used training something else. So even a lady that has trained in obedience and tracking will probably set you back some because she doesn't know the intricacies of the sport and the scoring. If you really do want to title and excel in the sport, the best thing is to really work hard on joining a club...and if you don't think you can, don't feel obligated to do Schutzhund because your dog can do Schutzhund. My dog can do Schutzhund, but he's perfectly happy doing AKC stuff.

You won't get a leg up on anyone in the club by teaching obedience under someone that has never done Schutzhund. All the members of the club...start training their dogs for Schutzhund the moment their 8 week old puppy walks through their door. Your'e at a disadvantage because you don't know what to do...but the worst thing you can do is assume how easily skills will transfer from one venue to the next. You do need to get obedience on the dog...but you really need to do it with the end goal in mind.

If Schutzhund isn't a possibility now due to finances or time commitments, you might want to think about the other things you can do with your dog. Personally, I'd love to watch my boy get his Schutzhund 3 one day...but it won't happen. I'm at a time in my life when a 4 hour round of golf on Sunday in the summer and the football games in the winter are more gratifying to me than driving 2 hours round trip and training in Schutzhund. I'm not ready to make the commitment that is required yet, but one day I will be and it doesn't worry me that it might be on my 3rd, 4th, or 10th GSD.

I'm not trying to push you away from the sport either...but it seems like to me the current circumstances are stacked against you. One of my club members and the people I'll be getting my next dog from, train in Schutzhund and drive about 2 hours each way to train. They don't like the place that's an hour away. It's the commitment they've decided to make. But that's what Schutzhund is, it's not a do it once in a while hobby. It's not a, birthday party came up on Sunday afternoon so I'm not making it to practice. It's not a, I stayed out late drinking on Saturday so we're not training on Sunday. I'm sorry that the one club isn't accepting new memebers, Schutzhund is very much an "old boys club" (girls as well) and some clubs aren't as open to new members. Mostly due to the members not being able to make the time commitment Schutzhund takes, and the "just want to try it attitude."

[Yoschi's_Pet_Human]

I had two training sessions with my breeder,,, I wasn't, at all, impressed.... I went ahead and bit the bullet,,, signed up for 1:1 private lessons with a Schutzhund trainer,,, not cheap,, but it'll get me started on the right track!!
I paid for six weeks in advance ... hopefully by then I can get on with a club... ill be attending the regional championship in Houston in February as well... be able to meet a lot of the clubs there.