Training/competing direction - Page 2

@bubbabooboo - I always forget, what have accomplished in any of the sports (Ring; IPO; KNPV) in the last 5 yrs?

@COGSD - You dont have to do a club, there may be really good training groups around you, but i really do recommend that you get with a mentor in what ever discipline you decide to train in. it is NOT a MUST, but you will save yourself a lot of headaches and time if you have an experienced eye spotting you while you train. You will fall into bad habits that you are not able to see yourself and videos are great one way communication but seem to fall short when you want to ask a question.

 

 

Ask my dogs what I have accomplished ... they are the ones who know ... not people who use paper titles and plastic trophies to feed their own ego and selfish goals with the dogs being merely a tool or a toy.

Thanks for the input everyone. Always nice to hear from people passionate about what they're doing!

Bubba, thanks especially for your recommendation of Leerburg/ Michael Ellis. I've been going through their DVD's already, so it's nice to know I'm spending my time wisely!

From the general feedback I've done a quick search of clubs in the area and found one connected to DVG America. How does that group compare with GSDCA and USCA?

You might want to hold off on purchasing the DVD's until you check out Bowwowflix. They are a great DVD rental service who carry all of the Michael Ellis videos plus hundreds more. Then after you watch them and you decide they hold enough value to you to purchase, hit up leerburg and other vendors. Its always a bummer to purchase a DVD only to find that it is just not really what you wanted...

DVG is a great organization and for the most part, i would recommend that when you are comparing different organizations just look at which org holds the most events in your area. Some feel that different organizations are better than others and for some, they have very valid points in support of their opinion. But their points may not always be what aligns with your time, region and resources.

@Cutaway, already found Bowwowflix. Thanks for letting me know though, it's a great way to sift through the different stuff out there and find the real gems.

Thanks for the input on clubs too. The DVG club I mentioned trains about 10 minutes from my house! Not sure if they hold events at that location or not, but I'll keep researching.

To someone new to a dog sport it really doesn't make a difference which organization the club is a member of...UScA or DVG...etc...The Training at a club is more important...
Find a club or group that you like and get along with...
It's always good to talk to the president or training director...usually it's a good place to start...

~Bob~

Here is a great tool someone created showing all the currently active UScA clubs, maybe there is one around you that you were not aware of

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?hl=en&authuser=0&mid=16ZQxsD-mj939hJW9y82DrziNS5U

The "name" of the club doesn´t matter - but you AND your dog need to have fun!
That said the club you join should be not too far away, and you should feel well about the people AND their training methods.
IPO is fun, but never forget - not every dog is born for IPO, some are born for agility, obedience, flyball, dog diving, or whatever....and a "newby" often has a hard stand - be patient, and try to learn as much as possible while watching other people training their dogs - helps a lot.
But never forget - it´s your dog - you make the decisions - in case you feel uncomfortable, go somewhere else.

BBBB what happens when your experts disagree? I would keep training towards a goal. I would look for directions from experts but keep working. I guess you go buy another video? OP get involved and evolve. BBBB has a small, slanted vision of a great breed and past time.

The people with the small slanted vision are those who think IPO or any other dog game defines the GSD or any other dog breed.