tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087351796229141188.post7999182216068940157..comments2011-12-17T10:41:55.703-06:00Comments on Greenlight Gatsby: When I am a Dog Trainer...Raeganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04993187206192547252noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087351796229141188.post-1308358632603425652011-01-31T13:19:53.838-06:002011-01-31T13:19:53.838-06:00Hmmmm. I believe everyone should start working wit...Hmmmm. I believe everyone should start working with a clicker, right off the bat, regardless of whether they're going competitive or pet. <br /><br />Clicker training to me is not just another tool in the box. It's the way of looking at the relationship. It's fast, it's easy & it gets people hooked on training. <br /><br />Sue Ailsby's clicker training curriculum is DA BOMB. I don't see why even pet owners shouldn't get through the first couple levels & more importantly, have this fundamentally profound view of the relationship, & how to get desirable behaviours from the dog. <br /><br />& more generally, I think it's important to not make that much of a deal about differences b/n pet and competition classes. If you're clever about it, your 'pet' clients will turn into hardcore competition clients because they'll get hooked. If you stream them separately from the beginning, they'll view themselves as 'just pet' & will be less likely to really get into training. <br /><br />This is a little tangential, but a similar problem occurs in dog clubs - MargeBlog wrote about it <br />http://margebl0g.blogspot.com/2011/01/future-of-dog-clubs.html<br /><br />Really - I highly recommend just listing things as beginner, intermediate, advanced & giving people multiple options (like after intermediate basic obedience, peeps can try intro to agility, or intro to flyball - ie move laterally between disciplines.)hornblowerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11428146299208610591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087351796229141188.post-84428829551298958452010-11-17T22:41:04.673-06:002010-11-17T22:41:04.673-06:00I practically have blueprints for my training faci...I practically have blueprints for my training facility drawn. <br /><br />I did run into those problems when I was planning. There is a LOT of talking-and-not-working. But there's so much that needs to get covered! I feel so strongly that people need to understand the WHY of what they're doing and that it is missing from a lot of classes. I've thought about a two nights a week class, where one night is the "lecture" and the other night is "lab," or maybe an online component. <br /><br />I'm definitely open to suggestions! There are a lot of holes still, and I need to get farther in training my personal dogs first, but I know this is a direction I want to go in.Raeganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04993187206192547252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087351796229141188.post-11626898965435818382010-11-17T22:26:28.113-06:002010-11-17T22:26:28.113-06:00I think you are completely right about needing to ...I think you are completely right about needing to split more! Heeling especially really needs to be broken down into very small steps. I personally like teaching heeling by doing lots of pivots and little side steps before I ever take that first step forward.<br /> <br />But I think you would lose people with talking for 20 minutes out of each class. I love the idea of having dogs in crates (or on a mat) though! I think in reality it would go 5 minutes of talking, do it (1st w/o dogs for some exercises), individual feedback, next exercise.<br /><br />And if you're really looking for suggestions (I know this isn't a real guideline, but I couldn't tell if you wanted input on your rough sketch or not)<br />I would combine slow and fast topics for a week and would probably take out the long sit and long down entirely. Remember that people don't want to just work on one thing so while you will have a main focus or 2 for lecture, you will also want to do stays, recalls, stand for exam, etc in there each week or so. It's fun to dream and plot isn't it :)Laura and The Corgi, Toller, & Duckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06437492165453445126noreply@blogger.com