The role of Training Director. Expectations?

[alexav]

Questions for all of you that are members of Sport or Schutzhund clubs.
1) Does your club have one TD that handles both bitework and Obedience or does your club have a TD and an OD?
2) What are your expectations of your TD? Your OD?
3) How much help does your TD or OD give you with obedience training? Does he or she actually teach seperate lessons for each club member on practice days?
4) How much do you think is fair to pay for a monthly club fee?
5) What should be included for this fee?


Thanks in advance for taking the time to answer.

[lblax]

Originally Posted by alexav

Questions for all of you that are members of Sport or Schutzhund clubs.
1) Does your club have one TD that handles both bitework and Obedience or does your club have a TD and an OD?
2) What are your expectations of your TD? Your OD?
3) How much help does your TD or OD give you with obedience training? Does he or she actually teach seperate lessons for each club member on practice days?
4) How much do you think is fair to pay for a monthly club fee?
5) What should be included for this fee?


Thanks in advance for taking the time to answer.

1.ours handles both
2. to know all see all and feel all
3. we all work together and watch each other and interact accordingly
4. this depends on lots of things like if the grounds have to be rented and maintainance of grounds but usa schutzhund clubs are to be NON PROFIT and should not charge for private sessions and should not give private sessions if everyone works together and puts there ego's aside then everything can get accomplished in 2 tyraining sessions a week.
5. we pay 200 dollars a year plus 25.00 for every dog past 1 this includes everything and if we go over budget and need equipmant we all chip in.. everything is included in this fee. we make extra money for our club by having cgc testing /trials/hogroast. i might add that members from other area clubs are always welcome to come train at no charge and we travel to other clubs once a month... the usa is seriously going to come down on clubs that run as an enterprize and thier td's that are charging per session..

[alexav]

Thanks Larry.
One more question for you...OK, one and 1/2...
If your club has a new member that is a complete novice, are they taught exclusively through the club or are they encouraged to seek outside help? Is it the TD's job to teach this person as part of the club dues?

[lblax]

Originally Posted by alexav

Thanks Larry.
One more question for you...OK, one and 1/2...
If your club has a new member that is a complete novice, are they taught exclusively through the club or are they encouraged to seek outside help? Is it the TD's job to teach this person as part of the club dues?

they should learn as they go that is the idea of a club it is important to NOT seek outside help because clubs that act as clubs try to train on the same sync. not nessarcarily at the same pace.. it is everyones responsibility to help everyone else in a club just not the training director they are just oversee the progress and help as needed ..i realize that there are many clubs that dont want newcommers and there td's work one on one for a fee but that really isnt a club now is it lol. i think before you decide what a td should do i think everyone should think about what kind of enviormant do you want to train in. do you want to train where ego's abound and big bucks buy big titles from a td that is god and a ledgend in his own mind.. or do you want to train your whole dog in a fun family atmosphere actually learning as you go and maybe even picking up some impressive titles along the way?? our td keeps track of our weakness and our strong points and makes suggestions along the way also tracks our goals for the year no pressure thats what its all about..

[blackandtan]

#1 ours does both

#2 a good trainer is a trainer that can get other people to be successfull. I have seen plenty of good dog handlers and people with tremendous amounts of knowledge and insight who are not good trainers. There are also a lot of so called trainers who never trial, put titles on their dogs, or even compete for scores with an already titled dog. Yet they are full of advice. Be aware of that.

Training also includes not only training the dog, but the handler. Don't ask only about the dogs the trainer has titled, but also how many people has he helped titled dogs. A good TD can title of variety of dogs with a variety of issues. A lot of handlers call themelves trainers because they have had success with a dog they own that is awesome. But how are they with other dogs? How are they with dogs that are not "awesome"? How are the people doing with their dogs that are being trained by the trainer? We have 5 people trialing at USA Regionals next week in Phoenix (2 of the dogs are rotties who will compete against all the GSD's) from one of our organizations including us (wish us luck). We are all from S. California. Most of the others will come out to support us. Does the training director foster an atmosphere where people help and support each other? It helps tremndously if they do.

#3 Some clubs do it one on one. People wait their turns. This has plusses and minuses. You get the individual attention, but training night can take forever. At one of the clubs we train at, we hang around until the last person finishes even if we go first out of respect and support. Some clubs do things as a group and there are some valuable things you can gain by doing it this way. For protection, its always one on one unless you are doing puppy cirlcles.

#4 At our club, its $25 a year, then you pay $10.00 a session. A lot of clubs are around $300 a year and that includes training. On top of the club we train with a private trainer and its pretty expesnive at $60 a session. The caliber of training with our private training is phenomenal and the trainer (Al Banuelos) is worth it. We spend over $3,000 a year to train with a dog that has alrady earned his titles. We do this simply to maintain and build up his performance. Private training and club training each have their advantages and disadvantages. We are fortunate in that we enjoy both. But we pay dearly. I think if you are a beginner and have just the needs to get a title, around $300-400 a year is fair. We train RELIGIOUSLY 3-4 times a week. Before a trial it could be more. Most clubs can not support that level of training or frequency. I would say that if you dont train at least 2 times a week, it will be hard to achieve titles. If your club can has a good training director and can provide the resources you need, you should definately just train within the club. But I have yet to find one of those clubs (in my area). People also will tell you how they drive 400 miles to train (barefoot, in the snow). People may do that, but if its not convenient and easily accessible, people will probably drop out. If you find a club like this, you should be very gratefull as there are not that many. A lot of times you will not appreciate a good club until you have experienced some crappy ones.

#5 Imagine how hard Schutzhund is and how much the commitment is. Have that idea in your head? Now multiply that by 10. Thats about how it is in reality. I dont care if you title your own dog or buy one already titled . Its a ton of work and you will hear that over and over again. (People used to give Bob Steinel crap about Dunja. Dunja is one of my favorite dogs in the world. She won the Nationals 2 years ago. People would post a talk crap about how he didnt title the dog himself. He would joke around that "Ya, I bought her with titles and I just take her out of her crate and she just does the routine. I never train". In reality that guy trained harder than anyone I have seen. He also was DOING. A lot more than his critics were doing. And believe me, Even though Dunja was already a SchH III, she had a TON of issues that needed to be worked out. You will spend so much time training in SchH if you are serious regardless if your dog is crap or awesome.)

We have people in our club that imported titled dogs and work harder with their dogs than most people and are at the club more than people who are trying to put on titles. We have people that bought titled dogs that show up irregulary and are not that serious. We have people who are trying to put on titles. The people that put in the dedication get more from the trainers than those that don't no matter what kind of dog or experience level you have. Once you go beyond getting the titles and start competing for points, its a whole new level of commitment, time, and dedication. If you show the initial level of commitment, you should expect that your TD shows you the same. But that level of commitment is earned not just given out. If I started a new club tommorow and a bunch of people showed up with puppies and dogs. Chances are only 5-10% of those people will stick with it and be there at the same time next year. A lot of clubs dont throw out the red carpet for new people because they constantly churn through. If you show the commitment, the training and interest in you to title you dog is the thing that should be included.