We are a Kennel Club Listed Training Club, and run their
Good Citizen Dog Scheme.
This means that you can work towards earning certificates and rosettes whilst training you dog in a really good fun way.
If you want to train your dog to behave nicely, or have fun with training in obedience, scentwork,agility, we are here for you.
If your dog is badly behaved, we can help you. Recall, walking on the lead, listening to you, are all problems we deal with in a sensitive, positive way.
Behaviour problems need to be dealt with in your own home, as behavioural techniques are different from staightforward training.
We also train up enthusiasts to do what we do, but you do have to be dedicated, and work hard. We train up instructors in both theory and practical skills, according the individuals current skills and knowledge. This is an individual process.
We help people with dogs they have rescued, and with new puppies.
We help people with pet behaviour problems, and with pet relationship issues.
We have fun! To join us, phone or email we will be
pleased to speak to you.
We abide by the Kennel Club Code of Conduct, and Christine assess candidates for KCAI, the Kennel Club's Scheme for accrediting trainers, and is also currently on the board of that scheme.
Choosing a Dog Training Club
So, you’ve hunted around and finally bought a puppy, inoculated it, and maybe attended a puppy party at the vets. Or maybe, you’ve toured the rescue centres, found the dog for you, and been approved as suitable to adopt. Let the fun begin!
Unless you have behaviour problems with your new pet, you might be looking around for a dog club which will suit you and your dog. This should help you to build your relationship, and teach you how to communicate more effectively, as well as creating effective training skills. However, if you do have behaviour problems, you will need a one to one specialist to help you with this.
Dog clubs are not all the same, and even being listed by The Kennel Club is no guarantee of standards of tuition or ethics. Before you sign up and commit yourself and your money, do ask if you can visit without your dog, and watch a class. If there is an objection to this, ask why. If you are invited along, turn up on time, introduce yourself, and then sit quietly in the corner, observing the tuition, taking in the atmosphere, and noting the training methods used.
When the instructor is teaching, is he/she trying to teach too many people in a group, so that no-one gets individual help? I find that teaching more than six people in a group extremely challenging if they are all novices, as people learn in different ways.
When teaching a new exercise, does the instructor follow a proper teaching method of demonstrating, explaining, justifying and coaching? In other words, do you see the exercise, hear how to do it, understand why you should do it, and then see handlers being helped as they try the exercises out? Because we all learn in different ways, a good instructor will go through all the learning steps, to give everyone a fair chance of success.
Consider the atmosphere; are the club members happy and relaxed? Are the dogs happy and working willingly? No aggressive dogs should be in the group; for everyone’s peace of mind these dogs should be helped individually. If there is a lot of shouting and negative feeling about, quietly leave the hall and run as fast as you can!
All training methods should be firm and fair; old fashioned check chain yanking and shouting at your dog (or even the instructor shouting as handlers!) should have been left behind long ago. We all trained this way in the sixties, and unfortunately some people still ‘train’ this way. Some trainers encourage the use of food, and some absolutely won’t allow food to be used.
Let me explain about using food. It is a brilliant way to move a dog around without pushing and shoving. It is a strong motivator for most dogs, and makes training more interesting for the them. However, you must remember that you are trying to get your dog to listen to you not a biscuit or a sausage! Once your relationship has built up, treats must be dropped off, with your dog working for the reward of your praise. Until that point is reached, use whatever works!
A top gundog trainer once asked me why pet dog trainers used food when gundog trainers didn’t have to. I told her that she had answered her own question. The people she works with are interested in training, and their dogs are doing the work they are bred to do. My pet dog owners are often not at all interested in training, they just want a well trained dog, and their dogs are not being trained to do anything they were specifically bred to do.
In order to help both dogs and owners to learn, the exercises should be fun and relevant to everyday life.
I use mini agility for control and fun, and scent work to build up understanding and communication between dog and owner. Heelwork is learned by getting the handlers to understand that the dog is not pulling on the lead, it is them! By gaining control of the dogs nose, you can control the whole dog. If your dog’s nose is on your leg, then your dog is walking to heel, (hopefully, the dogs nose will never leave his body!). No lead needed! This is where food or toys come in, along with the ‘ministry of silly voices’ and ‘the ministry of silly walks’. If you are observing a training class where none of this is happening, and enthusiasm is lacking, leave quietly and politely, and look elsewhere.
I assess instructors for The Kennel Club’s Accreditation Scheme, and see many different styles of instructing. Sometimes, the instruction is fine, but the style doesn’t suit the individual dog owner. Again, you will not learn in this environment. I also see instructors who have a limited amount of exercises, and are very set in their ways. The thinking is, ’I have been doing this for twenty years, and people come every week, so why bother to change?’ These days we look at professional development, and learning new methods and new ways of teaching. I have been training dogs for nearly fifty years, and still try to learn something new each year. In fact because I teach instructors, I pick up new ideas from my students all the time!
Some clubs run The Good Citizen Dog Scheme, hosted by The Kennel Club, and owners can earn certificates at bronze, gold and silver level. Others prefer to run six or seven week courses, and separate classes for puppies and maybe for agility or flyball.
Venue is important, as a suitable learning environment will aid learning. However, it is becoming harder and harder to find halls which will accept dogs, and the British climate is not sufficiently reliable to work out of doors all year around, although I know of one club near Manchester which achieves this. Slippery floors are a big ‘no no’, as are overheated halls. I am lucky enough to rent a barn, but even so, it is not ideal. When it is cold, I have to keep dogs and handlers on the move, and modify exercises to suit.
So, find a club near you which offers sound, encouraging tuition in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere and join up as soon as you can. Make every effort to be on time each week, practise every day, and you will soon learn to train your dog.
Do click on to our 'about us' page for more information
Christine Woodall
Tasley Dog Training Club
01746 764332
01746 764332
High Trees Farm, Tasley, Bridgnorth
WV16 4RE
