How to find a good club?

[LuvourGSDs]

Major newbie here as I have never done any Sch, but looking for more advanced obed work & would also be interested in tracking.

My main question is, how to find a club? A good club? Looking for a friendly down to earth group/club. I am fairly close to the Columbus, OH area if anyone can lead me in a direction. Thanks much........

[Liesje]

I would visit any ones you can and then decide. Sometimes the closest isn't always the best. There are five other clubs/groups/helpers that are closer to me than the club I currently train with (and I used to go 2.5 hours away instead of 1.5, the whole club moved closer). What I personally look for are people that are focused on training and trialing, people that have goals and at least a few clubs members who have experience trialing/titling. It doesn't have to be run like the military but I like to see regular commitment and attendance from everyone and see everyone helping everyone else, not just coming to work their dogs and going on their way.

[Chris Wild]

Like Lies said, the best thing is to visit all of the clubs in the area a couple of times to get a feel for them. Each club has a different "culture" in terms of training methods and philosophy and the personalities of it's members, so not all clubs are good fits for all people and the only way to find out which is a good fit for you is to meet them.

In Columbus definitely make sure to check out Mid-Ohio SchH club. Great group of people there and it would be a good place to start.

[wolfstraum]

As Chris said - around Columbus is Jim Alloway's club or private training with Dean Calderon....further afield you have Cincinnati, Akron and Cleveland areas...

Lee

[LuvourGSDs]

Hey, Lies, Chris, & Lee, Thanks SO much for the reply with info! The mention of a place to start was just the direction I was looking for. Anyone else comes to mind, please share. Any other pointers also. Lies, Yes, a club willing to help one another is important to me. Thanks!

[mareg]

find a place you can have fun with your dog. Your are about to embark on a journey that may bring you great joy or misery.

You will be spending many hours with people you may have never picked to be a "friend" other than for training your dogs.....so be aware of any potential problems that may arise when you are picking a club.

I would say pick a club that has people you like first then consider the training second....keeping in mind you want safe and effecient training of your dog.

Remember, some clubs do not want new people.

When you visit a club for the first time do not take your dog. Arrive when they start tracking and leave after the last bit of training is finished. Are the members happy and having a good time during the training day? Do they seem like they work well together? Help each other? Do they seem like they have a developed program and get things accomplished in an effecient or timely manner? Are they control freaks or do they not help at all?

Are they a club that only cares about competing? mainly a social group? Somewhere in between enjoying time with their dogs? You have to decide what level you want to go to.

[Liesje]

You'll have to feel out the culture like Chris said. Some clubs are OK with people coming and going, or people only doing one or two phases. Some expect everyone to be there the entire time and train all three phases (or at least stay and help out even if not training that phase). Some kind of give you the cold shoulder at the beginning and want to see you prove that you want to be there, others are accomodating to the detriment of their own training. Some clubs have very limited resources (not good land, not all the equipment, not enough helperwork).

[Jason L]

It really depends on you. I've a 2 yr old dog so what I look for in a club (systematic training, club/team atmosphere, full field with six blinds and standard equipments, 2-3 excellent helpers, lots of land for tracking) may not be what you want or need at the moment. But like everyone said, first and foremost, find a place that you LIKE because SchH training sessions (even if they say "Let's keep it short today") last FOREVER! So if you are not out there having fun, what's the point?

[LuvourGSDs]

MANY good points mentioned on the last 3 posts! Thanks all....

[Liesje]

LOL Jason we only had four people on Sunday and did we get done early? Nope! Schutzhund training can be a 6-8 hour day with the travel time. When you consider your dog is working maybe 3-4 times for 5-10 minutes it sounds crazy but often when I'm there it's like where did the time go?