I went to a trial at the nearest Schutzhund club to me this past week-end , that I am thinking of joining .
1. Was there the week before the trial.They acted like I was crashing a private birthday party . No one would come up to me and atleast say hi I had to search out whoever I needed to talk to ( had to wait an hour for him to get done wiring up a light)and even then they acted like I was bothering them .
2. Charged me 25 bucks for a five minute evaluation of my dog.

At the trial
1. All the dogs seemed like they had just a bit of hesitance before the sleeve bite .
2. Some dogs missed a blind or would take a moment to sniff around a few feet behind a blind .
3. Acted happy to see the agitator in the blind when they got to him (wasn't close enough to hear if he said something to them to get them to start the bark and hold , but it looked to me like thats what happened)

This was the first time I have seen any trials or dogs working in schutzhund in person . I have only seen dogs work in several videos from Leerburg .
So does Mr. Frawley only show the best of the best in his videos or is what I saw normal for the average schutzhund dog. And the helper was the same helper that the dogs train with.I was under the impression that in a trail the helper is suppose to be a stranger to the dogs.
There was a visiting SV judge (Helmut Rueppell) and yet these dogs scored in the 90's .Is what I saw the norm for schutzhund or should I consider doing my own training with the help of the Leerburg video library ?
Thank-you from a green new trainer :rolleyes:
Rob

rob, only a few weeks ago i posted a message myself regarding the miserable way that newbies are treated at some clubs (not all). i'm not sure if i can be called a newbie since i've been at it for 8 years, but just not with the intensity or success of other folks. more of a hobby and for enjoyment. bottom line is: you have to be tough and determined to make it if you want to train with some of those folks. they are going to cut your dog to shreds every chance they get and maybe you too. if you and your dog have the fortitude to stick with it, you can gain some valuable experience from these folks.....if not you will be like 100's of others who went along the wayside. it's kinda like a weeding out process. on the other hand, remember that not everyone who claims to be an expert actually is, so you do have to trust your own judgement to a point. if their methods seem questionable to you or you are hesitant to implement them on your own dog, then there is probably good reason. i got suckered into a 25 dollar evaluation once, too, by a guy whose opinion wasn't worth 5 cents! good lesson. haha. good luck to you, rob. you and your dog may have to do some "checking-out" before you find a group you work well with. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Well, not that I know very much, BUT, I would say that it would be sad if that kind of treatment was expected to be normal for a dog sport club of ANY kind, and that you should stay far away from a club like that.
I would look for a club that is happy to accept new members that are serious about learning with their dog.
Why would people feel the need shun newcomers who have the same love of the sport and dogs?? To me that doesn't say very much for them, as sport competitors or as people in general!

This is a common problem with Schutzhund clubs. While not all are this way, I am finding the attitude of some clubs are beyond belief. There always seems to be a "click" and they are the most stuck-up SOB's you can meet; for what I don't know. Half of these people can barely get a leash on thier dogs, let alone train.

I would not be a part of this club, so consider your loss of money a gain in knowledge, and don't go back.

I would not get the idea that this is what all club's are about; they are not, but you have to pick and choose. If you are going to pay for training, go find a coach. Any club that cannot have one of its Officers talk to an observer for five minutes......... (trial week is always hectic and busy though) I would not want to talk to them.

Bear in mind that some clubs do not except new members, as it is hard to have a big club with the time constraints that most of us have upon us,(And I do not think there is anything wrong with this) but it is the duty of people that have been around for a while to at least take 10 mintues (free) and explain the sport and answer questions. This is how membership overall grows and newcomers become old-timers.

Also bear in mind most of Leerburgs videos are either training video's of the best of the best (German Nationals, USA Nationals, etc) What you saw were the nuts and bolts of the over-all organization, the club trial. This is a lower level of competition then what is on alot of his tapes. Also check your PM's.

Rob

Please check your PMs.

I know the club Rob is talking about. My experience has been very positive. It's a club with a good mix of ages, skill levels and interests. Some of the people in this club travel a couple hundred miles to participate. The folks have been quite friendly and the club helper has a rep for doing a good job bringing along young dogs.

I had good recommendations from other people on this list whose opinions I respect about this particular club.

It's a bit unreasonable to show up on the last training day before a trial and expect to be fawned over. Like any other organized activity, its really up to you to get involved and to introduce yourself.

I am on of the people that travel 100+ miles to train with the club mentioned. I sent Rob a PM that he may feel free to post here. As with all organizations, the temperments of the people involved vary, but for the most part we have very helpful and friendly members.

The training director has been very busy getting the training field ready, and therefore has been pressed for time. We just moved to this facility in January, turned the field, planted turf grass, installed lights, built a pavilion with deck, installed kennels, and continued training all with club member labor. That's quite alot to accomplish in 9 months.

Is it a common occurence that people are charged 25 bucks for someone to tell you their opinion of your dog??? Sounds scary to me, but this is just my opinion....I don't have a broad base of experience with clubs around the country.

Just curious.. Is there/what is the average # of members in a club? Obviously it depends on the area, but I was wondering if there is a usual max # of people before they start turning people away. When does a club start getting uncomfortable before they won't accept new members?

 Quote:

Originally posted by Jeannette Polowski:
Is it a common occurence that people are charged 25 bucks for someone to tell you their opinion of your dog???

Not in my experience. Usually evaluations are done free of charge. Our club had a $5 to $10 charge for visitors who came infrequently and didn’t wish to join the club.

Aren wrote:
"When does a club start getting uncomfortable before they won't accept new members?"

The club I trained with decided to put a cap on membership at one point at 25 members. That’s when it became real uncomfortable, especially if you take into account that most people have more than one dog. We limited the number of dogs to two per person. There were days when we would start at 8 a.m. and finish at 3 p.m, which was especially hard on people who had to travel 100+ miles. But we never actually turned anyone away, as the number of members fluctuated wildly. That same club was down to 4 people a year later.