Helpers in America - Page 2

Our club, in Eastern PA, held a WDA training seminar and helper certification event with Steve Miller last month. I sent notice to every club for about 300 miles. Result: 7 helpers contacted me 6 helpers attended (including our 2) 4 helpers were certified, including 1 new teaching helper (Mike Andrel :) I expected at least twice as much participation. Coming from the NW Region (USA) I am constantly disappointed in how few people attend ANY seminars in my area no matter who is presented. Case in point: The Raiser seminar in Atlanta. The last one I attended drew about 200 people. This one drew maybe 50. Apparently the "gurus" who run the local clubs around here don't appreciate their flocks learning methods of training other than the few they themselves employ. Further, few want to expose themselves to criticism, however constructive, by submitting THEMSELVES to scrutiny in the presence of their respective followers. Perhaps its because so many of the club training directors in this area are "pro's" who depend on charging people for working dogs, but I think a lot of it it just plain ego. It takes a certain degree of humility, a great deal of self-confidence, and a tremendous drive to be [one of] "the best" in the sport to step on the training field with your wonderful dog and let someone who has historically done a lot better than you have in the sport tell you what they think you ought to change in your training program. Personal insecurities are quickly exposed for all the world to see. IMO too few in the sport can take that kind of heat; far more comfortable to stay home and enjoy being glorified and indispensable "at home" with the uninitiated, the ignorant, and the just-plain lazy. Hmmm... I expect this post will draw some fire. So be it. Flame away.

I think the root of the problem is we're just not doing a good job getting folks interested in dog sports period. I've had my share of young helpers, with lots of promise go by the way side, & while I think it's good to come up with helper certifications for trial work...I'm not sure I would actually want to regularly use a lot of these fellows as my training helper, that is including the so called profesionals. I really believe our sport is evolving/changing in ways that might not be what we had hoped for in the beginning. I've been around since the early '80's, & seen quite a lot of changes. Some good some bad & the helper situation is just part of this changing dog scene. So with that said, I'm using some of my experience to take a bit different approach with my youngsters. I'm confident as to how I want to approach a certain learning situation, so I'll simply do a little teaching of one exercize with one helper, & maybe something else with yet another. I'm lucky in that no one will outwardly give me a hard time, if I visit other clubs, but I wondering if that might be the way a lot of us will have to do things in the future. I also want to be clear, that I honestly believe my helpers are doing the best they possibly can. Another problem is that it seems that some of the really great training helpers were/are really personally driven to become the best. I'm not sure I see a lot of that around. I mean guys that get in shape, as well as travel to seminars, work lots of dogs (good & bad alike)& just become really well rounded.

Shelley - you said it all! It is better to create your own legend than actually put yourself on the line and show you are human - and possibly learn something...or so it would seem by looking at the way many TDs and helpers conduct themselves. Jettasmom- the newly certified helpers in your club - this happened from private paid training, working strictly thru the club on club days, or a combination of both? Having 5 certified helpers in a club is pretty impressive, experienced or not. Wondering how they all get along, or if there is a head guru running the show. If this is the case, and they have been mentored by the club and are all on the same page training wise, why would it be a problem for someone to leave and start their own club? There are advantages to having friendly clubs with similar training concepts nearby : shorter training days with more individual attention, another field and helper to work your own dogs on, another club to share judges with, people to draw for your seminars...in general, SUPPORT in working toward on common goal with similar philosopies. That is of course, unless the almighty ego gets involved and bruised, and things get nasty. If the new helpers have paid for private lessons toward their certifications, why also would that be a problem? We all hear about the legend of SchH clubs in Germany - a club on every corner, training and competing by day and eating and drinking together by night...is it real? If so, why are so many people so paranoid over here about working together? I see this as more of an issue with the people involved, not their skill level. New helpers - with a clear head - are not going to run around claiming to be experts. They will continue to learn, be open to new ideas, attend seminars, and visit other clubs. They will continue to take instruction, and be happy to get it. If they aren't, then perhaps it is a matter of the 'experienced' helpers not wisely choosing those who they mentor. Also something to consider, is that sometimes those in the sport for many many (25 seems to be the magic numer) years have developed a preference for the type of dog they like to work, and a set way of training. They are very quick to write off dogs that don't fit their 'pattern'. I know many many people who have been told by "experienced" people that their dogs will never title, only to go to someone with less experience (who is willing to try some unorthodox things and bounce ideas back and forth with alot of different people) and wind up titling the same dog really quickly with not too much problem. Not all 'experienced' helpers/TDs are like this of course, but it's out there. I think alot of this comes down to fragile egos and money, sad to say. As for people not getting involved in dogsports? That comment should be changed to "Schutzhund". People are NUTS about agility - check out those statistics. Criticze it all you want, BUT people do it because they have fun. They spend every bit as much time and money doing it as an average Schutzhunder does. Why are they having fun with that, and not with what we do? Sometimes I think our SchH sport is nothing but a cesspool of nastiness and fragile egos, with a cutthroat approach to making an extra dime.

Shelley, the lecture and theory Helmut did in Atlanta was Awesome!!!! I learned a lot and have applied a good bit of it in my training. Ive been a helper for a few years and like to think of my self as midly capable. But i remember when myself and Ray Jeffers (who has work several national events) weren't good enough to work anyones dogs. Everyone was convinced if their dog got a bad bite it would be the end of the world. At one point i even paid another helper to show me the ropes (why you would charge someone to learn helper work is beyond me). I have a sch 3 dog that ive taken to national events and am more than willing to let any new helper use to learn w/. Its a bit selfish but i know its only a matter of time before i travel to his club or ask him to come to my club and work my dog. we really need to get rid of all the political and selfish motives and encourage young helpers. If a club has 6 dogs and a new helper gets 2 bites from each dog he/she would improve 10 fold over a 6 month period. just my 2 cents as a helper who had a hard time learning

"And how are you going to make a test for qualifying "training" helpers if no one can agree on the same methods of training in the first place?" Good point, especially when a favorite phrase seems to be that no one else knows anything! A start might be a publicly accessible database of what dogs the helper has titled themselves (especially ones from puppies), and what titles their club members have achieved. A different list for dogs that have been titled by private paying clients, and yet another one of imported dogs that they have gone out and repeated the titles with...

"Many breeders have strings of breeding females that are sitting on their butts and would die for a couple bites from a newbie." Sad life for many of these females - high drive, yet relegated to sitting in a kennel waiting for the next round of puppies. Letting them work will keep them in shape and keep them mentally healthy. They don't need to be precise, clean, take corrections...Let them work and have fun! It helps the new helpers too, and since most of them aren't competing anymore, a training error isn't going to ruin any careers.

LaPorte, No money has ever been exchanged for training the helpers we have in our club. Our vice president of our club saw the potential in these young men. One of our guys I would have never guessed wanted to learn to become a helper, he watched for about 6 months before even putting on a sleeve and now he is doing awesome. The same for the rest of them. Having 5 certified helpers is awesome,the helpers are able to have their dogs worked and we can actually end our club day early. We may have one guy work puppies and one do older puppies and one do reg dogs all at the same time in diff areas of course. You mentioned "why not go and start their own club" They would never do that and why would they when they belong to a great club already. Now if they decided to work at another club they would only do that under the watchful eye of our TD's and if they feel they are qualified to do so.

"The main problem is helpers who have 20+ years of experience put alot of time and effort into teaching new people who want to become helpers, once they are certified they never see them again and they go on to train other peoples dogs with out having the experience to do so. Because of this experienced helpers do not want to put the time and effort into new people." (jettasmom) That's why I asked about new helpers starting other clubs - why this has to be a problem. I think if it is all done with right way with the right people, starting a new club is not a bad thing, but could be a good thing for all involved, especially with gas prices as they are. You could have 2 clubs with people training basically the same way and supporting each other. I would imagine that most new helpers, if they appreciate the mentoring, at least for a while will give back into the club that helped them get on their feet. Some people do move on, and that shouldn't be always be taken as something bad and a reason to not mentor people. If the right relationship is there, all clubs can benefit. If it turns into us vs. them and lots of critical BS, then there is a problem with the people involved in the first place.

Once again, Shelley did not hold back, LOL. It is what it is and ain't going to get any better. You have clubs that kick you out if you miss a certain number of training sessions. You have handlers that consistantly want to leave after working "their" dog. I am fortunate to have been and continue to be mentored by a man that is very knowlegeable about the sport and law enforcement k9 training. He tells me to go to check out the seminars. See what training techniques are being used. If you are going to be a helper you can not be a one trick pony. Not every dog is the same. This type of training is not cookie cutter. Working gifted dogs is a blessing, fun and enjoyable. Working dogs that are low drive and don't bring a lot to the table is a challenge. Working which type of dogs will make you a better helper? What would motivate anyone to be a helper if no one wants their dog worked by the new guy. It's easy to bash a helper. But if they are the only one willing to step in the blind, why not pay to send them away for training? Why not reimburse him for gas? Why not pay for a sleeve cover. If you are a new helper pay attention and take notes. Have someone video tape you working a dog. Video is so telling, you may feel that you are doing one thing but are actually doing something different. Learn how to manipulate drives. Learn how to recognize when too much pressure is being put on a dog. Learn and listen to what the different type of barks mean. Learn how to develope a lesson plan for each dog you are working. New helpers should not be afraid to ask questions. Foot work for new helpers is done without the dog. Practice presenting the sleeve in front of a mirror. An atmosphere for learning has to be created. Nothing is more frustrating than to have to repeat yourself over and over because folks are BSing instead of paying attention. Kyle

Kyle is right on all points, as usual. Many clubs, particularly the larger ones, pay at least some of their helper's expenses for gas, equipment, seminars, certifications, etc. It's THEIR dogs who benefit from all of the above. 'nuff said.