Last night I received a disturbing e-mail (well, disturbing for someone who's moved 2,700 miles across the country for dog training). Long story short, there's the potential our club might fold and it made me realize, realistically, any club anywhere can fold just like that.

I've got a (I hope) great little superpup coming as a FR/Mondio/PSA prospect. He'll have a solid environmental and beginning bite work foundation put on him until March. After that, I had hoped to be training 3 to 4 times per week with various folks up here in the Pacific Northwest. But all it really takes is a club folding and one or two guys retiring before I am left with nowhere to train within a 5-hour drive radius.

So it got me thinking, how far can a GOOD dog realistically go in sport with protection training limited to maybe one weekend every couple of months, and a seminar here and there? Please note, I am specifically talking PROTECTION because Obedience has never been a problem to set up and train alone.

Logic (and experience, however non-competitive) dictates that a good dog taught to target properly and out reliably shouldn't need much more than mere exposure a few times a year (plus trials) to work well in these sports. Maybe not win the Nationals, but show up at trials, hold his own, and title. Because when you break it down the dog either IS or IS NOT comfortable working in environmentally stressful situations. And he DOES or DOES NOT go in for the bite confidently and properly. And he DOES or DOES NOT out. Every exercise (at least at the beginning levels, and with the exception of multiple attackers in PSA) is a combination of these basic skills.

I realize that there are always going to be lessons a dog only learns through experience. But I'm talking how far can a good dog get in a worst case scenario. Thoughts?

I think a good dog can go a long way. The key is that the dog needs to have what it takes to do the chosen protection sport genetically. Dogs with confidence issues, or poor grips are not going to be successful without regular sessions on a decoy. (and even then they may wash out)

My young dog is going to be a year old in a few days, and he's biting the legs well and outing with his only bitework training done at Michael Ellis seminars.

He had one seminar at 10 weeks, one at 4 months, one at 5 months, one at 10 months and one at 11 months. He will see Michael again this weekend and hopefully will be put on the suit if all goes well.

I think IF you have the right dog and access to a really great trainer who can progress your dog when you do get together to train you can title your dog.

did you really move for the sole purpose of the traing of your dog? If yes, just move again to another area with a good club.

Michelle, the answer is yes. I moved here to pursue ringsport, not necessarily for the training available HERE but just that it is the closest Canadian city to available training in the U.S. It so happens that this is also the Canadian "hub" for ringsport... Both clubs of us!

Moving around to an area with better training is an option for you folks in the U.S., but in Canada we are pretty well limited to 4 major cities where it is possible to make a living: One of which is French speaking, one of which has BRUTAL winters, one of which is where I left, and one of which is where I live now.

If I could relocate to somewhere in the U.S. I would.