German Shepherd dog

I am getting ready to ready to relocate to South East Michigan (Holly area).  Does anyone know of  any GOOD club that has a very experienced and excellent helper?  Is there a club that has some very competetive trainers that are pushing to compete at the regional and national levels in the area?? 

Preferably a club that might have a opening in the next 3 to 4 months. Only helpful info please! 

Thanks very much in advance!!

I gave you the wrong kennel website.  Sorry Lisa and Lee!  I seem to always do that with these two......

Here's the correct one for Lisa Clark http://www.zutreuenhanden.com/

In the Holly area there are three clubs within 10 minutes.   OG Michigan trains in Goodrich,  Mohawk John is in the same area and also Steve Robinson is in Ortonville.

You can find OG Michigan's contact person, John Evans,  in the magazine or website.  If you want Mohawk's number, PM me. 

Pat Carpenter is in Grand Blanc

South Michigan is around the Ann Arbor area( Lisa)Contact listed in magazine or website

Bellville Dogsport Assoc. is obviously in Bellevile  (Diane)  Contact listed in mag or web

The Wilds have formed their own group just outside of AnnArbor.

There is a rogue group that trains in the Metro Detroit area that if all else fails, I can give you their number.

Brian Harvey still has his club in I believe New Baltimore area.  Contact listed in mag or web

The Capital Area SCH Club is in the Lansing area.  If you look, their Contact person, Vickie Kudla, actually lives in the Holly area.  Don't be confused.  They train with Gustavo Sanchez   in Lansing.

Also, there is a club in Saginaw with AJ Slaughter.  His info is in the mag and website too.

Good luck!  You are in a good location for Schutzhund.  Outside of this area there really arent too many clubs.

The most experienced trainers/helpers in the area are Gus Sanchez at the Capital Area club in Lansing, and Brian Harvey at Der Michigan in Hudson (about a half hour south of Jackson).  Unfortunately those are also the two most expensive clubs.  Lots of experienced people and some good helpers at OG Michigan too, which trains 1 day a week in Clio and 1 day a week in Goodrich.

Training fees in this area run the gammut from a few hundred a year at some clubs, to a few hundred a month at others. Training methodologies and club atmosphere varies widely as well.  So your best bet would be to spend a few weekends visiting several clubs to decide what would be a good fit for you and your dog.  Also it probably bears mentioning that one of the big reasons there are so many clubs in this area is due to personality conflicts causing clubs to split and new ones to be formed.  Which in turn, unfortunately leads to a lot of trash talking and wild stories being told between some clubs and others.  So you might want to consider taking whatever you might hear about one club from anotehr with a grain of salt until you've had a chance to see things for yourself.

I would do what Wildhaus suggested and visit the different clubs/groups, get a feel for their training ideas and the club atmosphere and then make up your mind.  Most of the clubs that have been mentioned are very welcoming to visitors. 

Lisa 

www.southmichiganschutzhund.com/

www.zutreuenhanden.com