We are having a problem finding clubs so I wondered how far is reasonable to travel to a training club for any training...obedience, ringcraft, agility etc....? 

Do any of you like the possitive methods and if so do you find it very hard to find any clubs who train like that or do you just use books amd DVDs etc...?  I am just having to rethink my options and decide if I just give up, use DVDs which I think I am to beginner for really, or travel a long long way which  could get too much and cost too much my other half will not be pleased about. 

i go 45 mins (each way) to club (each week) &a hour & half for private (every 3 weeks)

.....how do you find out about private classes?

word of mouth!
at shows & stuff!

you could try your yellow pages,
& look on obedienceuk & agilitynet

there are also often courses on these,(great fun) weekend or week away!

http://www.obedienceuk.com/default.asp

http://www.agilitynet.com/frontpage.htm

Thanks...I've looked through those sites and can't find anything helpful. I think it would be good time saver for people if  clubs had so specify which methods they use. Most clubs use rather traditional old school to punishment based training.... ...I really just want possitive training methods..they are what attracted me into the idea of training. I think it's hard for trainers to find available training fafilities which lets my area down.

btw.... do the GDS clubs train other breeds or just GSDs?  

Also... as well as distance how much will training cost from club to private fees? Thanks.

some do some dont.
you have to ring email & ask re methods.
what area is it?

I won't say as I've already checked out the local clubs on the lists. ;)

ok the best thing to do then is maybe pop along to some shows & ask about training.to people whose dogs look well motivated!

I tried that recently at a ,ocal show but the problem is the ones I liked lived in Bristol or somewhere daft and I'm up North! lol!  And wow what dedication to travel so far!

I met a guy I think he was called err....John or something....who is great... a very very good and talented  trainer..... so ideally I should try to track him down again and grab him!

some trainers train all over the counrty ,holding groups once a month,you may need to track one of these down.

on obuk,did you look under courses,as well as clubs?

re john,was it in ob? did he have a blue merle collie?

... I've had a memory boost!

whoops.... He's actually called Dave...err... Dave something.  He helped me out with my last dog and worked wonders just in 15 mins!  I know he runs a training club but I'm not sure where....I never had a car back then so I didn't save his details.

just been looking on obuk for corses. paddy does courses in lincoln,for ringcraft & ob, these will be VERY motivational/clicker based

i see joanna hill,not only does courses with paddy,but has a monthly group in nottingham

Pat & herbie (who i go to) have monthly groups in north wales & coventry

Angela White at Doncaster(well near Doncaster), Janice Jackson at Barnsley both with years of experience & neither is a punishment trainer

i love janice! she cracks me up!!!!!

LOL she's a really good trainer are Georgie's heelwork iu to die for

all her dogs have lovely hw. & with character too!

MM where is Angela White these days, do you have an address or website? She isn't at the lcoation in Thorne she was at in the early 90's.

Angela's website link I'll be seeing her on Sunday LOl well she'll be seeing me as I'm judging again

I've know her for what it seems forever & she's never changed just like Janice. Both excellent trainers. I must get Janice to sent me her stuff for her website

Edited to add I can get help from Jan Matthews when Rjj & I are getting near competition level ;) Thank Goodness she wasn't the original World Cup judge for Crufts otherwise I'd have had to dress up & been in her team(along with Carol who's stewards for me in B !!) I don't do posh very often ;)

Thanks MM -that's very interesting because it's very close to where I am moving to in the next few weeks. :)

:D

my club is £5.00 per year membership, & between £2-£3 per class(whenever you go)
my private training is £25 for a hour, or £25 if i go on a day group

That's roughly what I've been paying for clubs.  

The private isn't so bad is it! Because in an hour you will learn a lot. 

My obediance class is good and uses possitive methods but I think we just have got stuck with that because there is no competition in the class....weve sadly been top since the pups were quite young and lovely though the trainer is we really we are just not making any progress largely because there is nothing to motivate us and no challenge.

ask the trainer where you can move on to now. does the trainer do private?
do you want to do ob shows?

That's a good idea.  She will be really really sad if we leave as we really sparked her group up no end. It made it much more rewarding for her to have new people with enthusiasm join the club. She is really proud of us.  lol.

Maybe if I can find a private lesson each month to boost us we can stay there and also get the little extra we need.

you could still go & you might get more out of it,if you are stretched elsewhere.OR she may up her game,if she knows you are bored.

She already upped the training...she has really tried to stretch us and started scent work... but we are not tight or reliable enough on the basics ... there is just not the competition from the rest of the class so we look like we are doing well... but really we are not at all compared to those who are more competetitive.

set your own standards then!!!! ;)

...I was mostly thining I will have to find a new club because it is the same club as agility but run soooooo differently!

Also I'd like to compete but with so few in our class we are not geared up to it...so we will try in some local shows and I love the idea of finding a really great trainer for once a month...or even a weekend course once in a while would be a great idea. I'll have to make sure I do that ths year!    

im at a show at ripon on monday.
is that near you?

You at York Mish ? I'm there LOL might be at Ripon as well chasing up entries for our show

There is a show at Ripon and York?

We are so new to this we don't even have a clue how to find out where shows are!  Are these two the kind of shows where you can't take your dogs with you to watch unless you have prepaid to enter them into things? 

I had hoped my club would tell me all about shows and all that but you are expected to know these things. WE just aren't great at getting to grips with all this. lol. :rolleyes:

I really wish I has a social and active and helpful club!  I'm trying out a new  ringcraft soon so I hope they will  be more helpful.

There is a show at Ripon and York?

We are so new to this we don't even have a clue how to find out where shows are!  Are these two the kind of shows where you can't take your dogs with you to watch unless you have prepaid to enter them into things

York City is at Askham Bryan on Sunday & Ripon is on Ripon Racecourse on Monday

Officially only entered dogs can be present, but unlike breed shows who are much stricter no one checks at obedience shows unless the dogs are obviously very under age. you can enter dogs not for competition(at our show it's free0& loads of people take non working dogs to shows

Schedules for lots of shows are on ObedienceUK website but you have to join & pay £4 or so a year to open & download them

Thanks.  I'd wondered what 'not for competition' meant. So for that you enter them in advance and they gains them permission to attend the show with you?  I've not gone to shows because I don't want to leave my dogs home all day...... so really we could do that if we liked as so far we've never been to an obedience show. 

Thanks for the link..it will be well worth the £4.

OKay can I ask about the different shows...I've been looking through the Schedule list.

I know the companion shows are mostly fun shows or practice shows for anyone at all to have a go at.   I'd guess the Champ shows are for proven experts....But who are the  the open and  limit shows for...? What standard do you need to be to enter these type of shows? Thanks.

lso when you need to book in advance to enter a show how long in advance do you need to do that normally?

open & champ shows are muchthe same,only the CH shows have a "ticket" class, CHC, & the opens dont.

you dont have to be good to enter a CH show,there are pre bees/begs just the same.

it will say on the scdhs when entries close,you need to enter by then! different for different shows.

limit shows may be limitedto breed/or/membership/or/where you live, varies.

i think it would be VERY useful for you to come & have alook. ripon is at the racecorse.

i have a pink/burgandy tent & a  small white van

Oh thanks for all that... you've been very very very helpful! 

I will try to get to Ripon show if I can... even if I can just manage it just for a short time it'd be intersting to see what goes on in an obedience show.  I expect there will be nice things for sale to eat too.

yep!!!!!!!

no,at lichfield,then travelling up to ripon to camp

LOL you will miss my new retrieve articles then ;)

I travel 20 minutes each way to agility. There is an unregistered club 5 minutes down the road (but their equipment didn't seem very stable or safe) and another club 15 minutes away who's waiting list I've been on for two years (I get the impression unless you're a proven successful competitor/close friend of someone who runs the club you won't get in). The club I do go to isn't the best, very Border Collie orientated and the people are utterly confused by why I bother to use a clicker, but at least punishment methods aren't used. I've learnt far more from books and information off the internet about agility than from the club, I ony go because I can't afford or fit any equipment in my garden!
For heelwork to music there's a club 15 minutes away. The class is perfect: small size, really friendly, helpful people, experienced trainer, and very clicker-savvy. I would reckon it's pretty lucky to have such a decent HTM club nearby! Saying that, I still have a number of books and DVDs on this subject which I find useful to experience different styles of working and find different ways to teach moves if one way isn't working.

aaaaaagggggh!!!!!

For heelwork to music there's a club 15 minutes away.

Now I'm outrageously deeply envieous!!!!!!!! lol! Now I regret posting this thread!  How dare you have a good HTM near you!

I ony go because I can't afford or fit any equipment in my garden!
yes..that's what I'm finding. I wondrer if it is ever possible to hire a field or something...even once a week.  I've tried playing fields but other dogs just run up and join in and it all very quickly goes totally pears haped!

But the agility club set my dog to do something I knew he could't do just so they could scream at him and chuck a chain at him. They made it clear they were not going to hurt him  but they scare him and me half to death when they jump out of nowhere and bellow foll volume! My dog does that cartoon character think where his hair stands up his eyes open wide and he leaps off  sideways into the air.  It s just not how I train and undermines all the obedience work we've done last year. I can't take much more from that club...they are very loud and dominant and we are just big softies. I tried standing up to them on one issue but the other club members joined inand nahgged me down ... they seem to forget these are my dogs!

Anyway..I've managed to contact some trainers so far for ideas and I hope they come up with something. One sounds good but it's a long difficult drive away.

just been looking on obuk for corses. paddy does courses in lincoln,for ringcraft & ob, these will be VERY motivational/clicker based

i see joanna hill,not only does courses with paddy,but has a monthly group in nottingham

Pat & herbie (who i go to) have monthly groups in north wales & coventry

Hey Michelle I go to Paddy's classes! :)

cool!!!!!!

I agree Paddy is an excellent trainer, she knows her stuff and is both highly experienced and motivational.
If I lived further up country I'd go to her, definitely :)

I must admit I'm in the same boat in a way - i refuse to go to classes where dogs are still hiked round on chokers and yelled at as i'd personally feel so depressed i'd be like it all week, so it's not worth me even trying. I've trained my girl to a reasonable standard by myself, with special occasional visits to trainers for a specific problem (eg I've travelled over 2 hours to get a problem sorted out because I really liked the trainer :) ) and have used books, videos etc.

Lucky people live in an area of the country where they have motivational trainers who are close to them! :D

Lindsay
x

I travel just 10 minutes to my normal pet training class once a week, but that will be increased to 40 mins when we move. Then I travel an hour to the competition class, either once a week or once a forthnight depening on when hubby works -I don't drive unfortuantely so have to rely on him.

Wow!  10 mins is very close! 

.... out of interest what do you do at pet training class that is different to competition class?

( at the moment I drive 15 mins to obed and 30 mins to agility.    ....maybe I think I should have a practice drive to the different clubs I find and see how long the drive really is. )

The pet training is just aimed at general good manners, the Bronze, Silver and Gold GC tests, whereas the competition class is aimed at competing in obedience so a lot more emphasis is put on doing everything exactly right -i.e. a pet is okay if it comes when called, but a competition dog needs to do a recall in the correct way to not lose points, etc. So really the pet classes I go to (have been going for 8 eyars) is mainly for socialisation and a bit of fun as far as I am concerned.