I would suspect they would charge me double to fix all my "mistakes"

 Quote: steve strom

That sounds like about what I spend a year. How do they arrive at a flat fee like that Erin? Is there some sort of time frame or limit? Or do they say your dog will be trained to that level no matter how long it takes?

I'm not knocking it, but I am curious what they say you can expect.

He said it was to level one so I am assuming no time limit and the $500 is the advanced ob. I am going to email them back with some more specific questions I forgot to ask.
He gave the price after evaluating her.

Edited by Erin Croley (06/28/2009 12:22 PM)
Edit reason: to add

I would get specifics in writing. What if your dog struggles on the sch 1? Is he willing to train you for the next 12-24 months. What if you / dog get ill and cannot train?
I go to a club weekly and once every month / two months I have a 121 session - paid for individually. I would not want to pay up front, in case circumstances change etc.

Anything related to how much time would be my number one question. Second would be exactly what they mean by Sch.1 level.

Does that mean ready to trial or just knows the exercises? Tracking too ? Like Tanith said, specifics. Every dog learns at a different rate and has certain problems that come up with all the different parts of any specific training and there will be things you get right away and others you may struggle with.

I could be wrong Erin, but the whole flat rate to achieve any level seems pretty tough.

Just as a rough time frame to compare, it was around 19mos to have my Rott go from AKC style ob to profficient enough in the three phases to trial him.

I havent emailed my questions that I didnt think of yet so I will definitly include these in there. Thanks for the input, its invaluable for such a newbie lol.

i'm with the others, specifically what does "level 1" mean? that's a common PPD term, it certainly doesn't mean your dog would be ready to go to a Sch trial and pass a Sch 1.

also agree on finding out exactly what the flat fee entitles you to as owner, and what you can expect fr your dog at the end. be VERY careful. go watch them work dogs. ask for referrals. take someone knowledgeable with you to watch them work dogs. $1500 is $1500. i don't know anyone who would throw that into the wind and say "oh well", esp when it came to training their dog.

I read that to mean the dog should pass a Sch.1 trial. Otherwise, that's too subjective.

All of my comments on the subject/price were based on $1500 for a Sch.1 title...which I still say is a bargain.

I got that idea from this:

 Quote: Erin

We had Matilda evaluated and the trainer gave us the price of $1500 for level one schutzhund and advanced ob.

I didn't see anything about PPD level one mentioned at all. Erin was only asking about Sch.

I would hope that the point of evaluating her was to give the trainer an idea of Matilda's potential and so he could guesstimate how long it would take to title her. If he'd quoted Erin over the phone, I'd say he was nuts. Trying to give benefit of the doubt to the trainer in this case.


As a time frame reference, Capri got picked up from her former owner in I think Jan?Feb?. The people I got her from worked w/her awhile and then she got her Sch.1 in March. I think she already had her BH, and she'd been raised w/a Sch. goal, apparently, but she wasn't yet 2 years old when she passed her Sch.1.

It is doable in a relatively short amount of time, but it depends on how much time is put into it daily/weekly. I think once a week sounds like it would take some time...Capri, I believe, was worked daily to get it that fast. Of course, Capri was trained by people who have been breeding/training/trialing dogs for over 40 years, not a new handler. Cut yourself some slack if it takes a while. Also, I think the Germans tend to be a bit harder on the dogs and push them more at a younger age than we do here.

As long as they don't give you a TIME deadline (since you're only working once a week toward this, if I remember the thread correctly) I think you'll be ok. You will have plenty to work w/her on your own, too. Training won't stop when you guys go home.

Have the trainers/helpers ever trained a dog to a SCH1 and competed with the dog? Ask for proof. There are a lot of “trainers” that have not done that.

When is the $ due? All at once? Partial payments? What type of contract are they providing?


$1,500 is a lot; especially since you are handling the dog and the dog is staying with you. Is it private training? A lot of what YOU learn is from a group setting, watching other handlers and dogs.

Why don't you post a link to the website?

Randy, you talk like there's a million clubs around, trust me , that's not the case. A new club started in CT, very busy and not taking new members the return email stated, lol, same old same old. Another Sch club in CT " only if you bought the dog from us" etc.......

Erin please PM me who it is you're talking about. Not in Shawnee, Oklahoma by any chance????