I'm hoping to share ideas with others who are getting clubs / training groups (we're not officially a club) off the ground. I realize that different groups form for different reasons, with different goals, breeds, and experience levels involved. I'll share our "story" in the hopes that other club / group members will share theirs. While all ideas might not fit for different groups, I hope we can all share and recieve a few relevant ones from each other.

*Through a series of unplanned events, we had an opportunity to engage Dave Blank as our Schutzhund trainer in our local area. We are in Joliet IL, and Dave is from Harvard IL, approx. a 2 hour drive each way. Joliet Schutzhund was born in late May 2006.

*Gary (my husband) is a techie guy, so our first step was creating a web site to promote our group http://www.JolietSchutzhund.com.

*We worked with our initial (small) core group to agree on a mission which generally ended up as an offer of Schutzhund training in all phases (but no other types of training i.e. Personal Protection, etc.) to all experience levels (dogs and handlers) of any breed of dog.

*Since Dave works a full time regular job, and also hosts a home Schutzhund club and training business, Gary and I handle all of the group communication, administration, organizing, etc. I do my best to handle incoming inquiries whether by phone or e-mail.

*We offer training in the obvious phases of Tracking, OB and Protection, but have also included the terms "Puppy Foundation Training" and "Dog Evaluation" to our list, which has helped for conversation / explanation purposes. "Puppy Foundation" generally refers to the initial drive building work for the youngsters. "Dog Evaluation" generally describes Daves first few times working with a "not baby pup" dog and handler to evaluate the dogs potential for the work. Dave is very honest - after he has an opportunity to work with a dog/handler a few times to get a clear picture, he makes recommendations which might include "your dog isn't cut out for this for these XXX reasons based on what I'm seeing." He also recommends what he thinks might be more suitable activities and/or more suitable training situations.

*People are invited to come out and watch a few times and ask LOTS of questions before they decide to engage.

*We implemented a subscription type e-mail list to the web site. People can self subscribe and unsubscribe. Using this group list makes it INCREDIBLY easy for me to send out weekly updates about the training schedule. If anyone out there feels bogged down with list management and group communication, let me know - I can find out from Gary what product he used to set that up. If you would like to see how we use this list in practice, feel free to subscribe at http://www.JolietSchutzhund.com. (no charge, of course) The unsubscribe option comes with every group message.

*We have well established and well communicated ground rules. No chit chat on the side lines while other teams are training - we encourage the value of everyone learning from Dave and each other at all times. (that's the biggy) While we OF COURSE have a little "after glow" when training is complete, this is not intended to be a purely social event - we discourage people from coming here ad nauseum who do not have an apparent intention of training with us. (no free lunch learning from Dave, and no hanging out for no apparent reason)

*All fees are paid directly to Dave by the handlers.

*Dave recommends "home work" for each team each week.

While of course people come and go - Schutzhund ain't for every person and certainly not for every dog, our group is shaping up as we had hoped. Our "regulars" include both working and show line GSD's, a Malinois, a Beagle for tracking only (mine! ), several working line Boxers, and most recently a Hovawart who showed very nice drives on his first outing. (I had never heard of that breed before!) We also have Rotties, Dobies, and a Giant Schnauzer "in the wings" who might turn up one day. We really enjoy getting to know such a variety of breeds and people.

I hope some of this helps somebody else, or even helps a prospect for JS better understand what we're about. Mean time, here is where I could use some help. Gary and I got involved in this via the GSD route. So I'm familiar with the WDA and UScA trial agenda, but am not familiar with other organizations, who hosts trials, etc. Most of the people who train here (with the exception of the Boxer guys) are beginners, and just looking to learn more and go as far as they can with the dogs they have right now. What organizations should I be looking at to help non-GSD people identify appropriate trial opportunities for next year? I'm sure at least a few of these folks could get there if they stick with it.

Many thanks!!

Beth
http://www.JolietSchutzhund.com
Training@JolietSchutzhund.com