Training School

[animalsluvbree]

hi Norskgra,

So how was your first day at SSDTC? MrsDog told me you were there but i did not get to meet you! I hope it was ok in the heat.

Myszka and I have had many a chat about our club and the trainers, and again it comes down to personal preference when training dogs. I know of the trainers she talked about in previous thread and agree with some of her comments but that doesn't mean all the club is like that - and true there may be some inconsistencies but our club is progressing every week in a positive and unified direction.

I really do not appreciate people blantly bad mouthing clubs (any clubs for that matter) from there own experiences and second hand knowledge (i know everyone has the right to have opinions of course)..... as i think it creates a bad association even before the person goes there! You can say that you don't like a club....and then if the person asks maybe then PM them and explain but not straight away...its not fair. Sorry but please i don't do it to other club please have the courtesy to do the same.

We know we are not all certified dog trainers but we do our best and if there is a problem we have no worries about advising them to seek professional help. I've done training with Steve Austin one-on-one and of course it is much better than a big class - but i can't afford ($$-damn uni student life) to see him every week. I think we do well at our club and i think our 300 odd members think so too - but of course its not everyones cup of life......such is life!

We are just want to have fun with our beautful canine friends! Lets leave it at that!

[Norskgra]

Hi Mrsdog and animalsluvbree,

Both my daughter and I enjoyed our first day at SSDTC. The people are very friendly. It was warm but the dogs didn't mind too much. They got a big drink after we had finished.

Our 5 month old seemed to catch on quite quickly but the 22 month old male can be subborn and took longer to do as he was told. He seems to have forgotten what he had learned previously.

We will definitely be back. I registered four of our dogs this morning when we were there.

You may not have got to meet us animalsluvbree, but I am sure you would have heard our two before the class started!!!!!!

The boy only growled at a couple of dogs when we first got there and after that he was fine. He is very protective of our others. Although they go to dog shows and show training, I am sure that going to SSDTC will help him settle down.

Myszka - Although we only live about 5 minutes away from Gannons Park, niether my daughter nor I were happy with the Club. We found that there was too much inconsistancy with the training methods used by the instructors. The things you don't like about SSDTC, are similar to the things that we didn't like about Peakhurst.

The instructors didn't seem to understand that different dogs respond better to different methods of training. Some of the Instructors wanted us to praise our dogs while otgher instructors were quite nasty to the dogs. I know that we have a rare breed but we know what works better with our dogs and what will keep them interested. The instructors wouldn't listen.

Also, although it was not the Clubs fault, the last time we took our dogs there, they ended up with Kennel Cough. Luckily they had been vaccinated or they would have been alot sicker than they were. This is the only place that they could have caught Kennel Cough.

So far I am happy with SSDTC and at this stage we intend to keep going there when it doesn't interfere with showing the dogs. Two of the dogs we are taking are already Australian Champions and our youngest will be old enough to get Challenge points next weekend. Showing will always be our first choice for the Elkhounds but we are looking for something different for our Afghan. My daughter is thinking about doing Obedience with him. We will be going to Obedience training as often as we can.

Edited October 23, 2005 by norskgra

[MonElite]

Thanks norskgra.

I can not picture what instructor would be a full on stand out in the "nasty" tactis at Peakhurst, Ill be very happy to find out by PM.

Hey for what I know it could have been me

I will mention your comment at the next meeting tho.

If you were in the beginners, there are really 4-5 people that take those classes, Im one of them.... but I can not remember having an elkhound in a class.

Good luck at Sutherland, as long as any club provides what you are after than its good, I couldnt find a club anywhere in Sydney that would do what I wanted to do..... but thats another story.

Oh and good luck in the showring, I might see you there one day with my dobie... maybe.

[TigerJack]

OK - my ten cents worth - if its worth that much

First - haven't been to Peakhurst but I know several instructors and have quite a few friends who go there and report they like it.

2nd - used to go to Sutherland quite alot. Did my dogs wonders because I was going three times a week, every week. I always found the weekend class a bit frustrating as there were so many people in it and you never knew which instructor you were going to get. Some of them were lovely but there were a few really awful ones who used very negative reinforcement. I fell for the 'give me that dog and I'll show you how to correct it' thing. Scared the crap out of my dog. I have heard that this fellow is no loner there - I hope this is true.

The weeknight classes are much better. Almost like a private lesson and you always got the same instructors. The awful guy had a class these nights too and tried to force me to go into his class which got quite unpleasant. Sticking with the one instructor that I hade good rapport with was very helpful.

Only reason I stopped going was that I was only there to get to a certain level of obedience so I could concentrate on flyball which I do now.

Sunday morning classes are just too hard - the sleep in always wins.

I have thoughts of taking my new Kelpie pup to obedience and I think I'd try Peakhurst this time (because my friends go there now).)

Jo

[Norskgra]

Thanks Myszka. AT this stage we are happy with SDTC.

TigerJack - I hope you enjoy Peakhurst if you decide to go, but for us it was not suitable.

I guess eveyone wants something different for their dogs. We want a club that understands that each breed of dog, or for that matter each dog is different and that the same method of training does not work for all. We also want a club that appreciates that sometimes the owners know what works best for their dog.

[Guest Tess32]

We also want a club that appreciates that sometimes the owners know what works best for their dog.

Sorry to butt in, but this is a really important point. It's such a fine balance because so many owners *are* innocently clueless, but some of the clubs I have been to alienated me because they automatically assumed I knew nothing instead of asking what level I was up to and get narky when you choose not to do what they recommend.

Nat

[Norskgra]

Exactly Nat. That was one of the reasons I didn't like the club. They didn't even ask. As I said previously, the same training technique does not work for every dog. We know our dogs better than anyone and we know what works for them. This wasn't understood.

I can't say that SSDTC will not be the same but I am going to give them a chance.