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 Have
you ever thought about teaching dog obedience classes? If so, I
recommend you read Silvia Kent's
Take the Class, available in both downloadable ebook and
regular book formats.
Take the Class begins by talking about what personal qualities
are needed in a good dog obedience instructor. Of course, you must
love dogs -- but just as important, you must love people! Most of
your work will be in teaching people to do the training of the dogs
themselves.
Rosana's Ramblings:
The phrase dog obedience is itself a bit dated, implying
that you will decide what to do and make the dog do it. I prefer
to think of it as dog training, which is never really a one-way
street. I've never met a dog who hadn't trained his or her people
as well! |
Silvia Kent reports, with many a bittersweet-funny story, that
the people in your class will at times try your patience. For example,
she says:
I was once found by my fellow instructors in the kitchen, sitting
on the sink, my class left safely with an assistant whilst I was
striving for composure. A middle aged woman had shouted at me,
when I routinely tried to show her how to put her dog into a sit:
“I didn’t come here for you to tell me how to train
my dog.“ I remember well at the time that words failed me
completely, and I walked off to cool down.
What is covered in Take the Class?
 Silvia
Kent says:
"Real classes with grumpy owners, howling spaniels, aggressive
rescued dogs, kids at the end of a lead attached to a Rottweiler,
in tiny halls with slippery floors, in windswept fields, with
unhelpful bystanders... you name it - we've done it!
We learned the hard way and I've written down what I know so
you can save yourself time, money, trouble and heartache and get
to be as confident as we became after a few hundred training classes
with a few thousand owners and their individual dogs... in
much less time!"
This comprehensive guide was first published in 1993 and revised
in 2001.
Section 1 - All About Dog Obedience Instructing
Difficult Owners, Difficult Dogs, Venues, Equipment, Class Patterns,
How To Teach, How To Practise, Safety, Fun & Games, Enjoyment,
Basic To Competition Classes, Articles, Dog Behaviour & A Whole
Lot More!
Section 2 - The A-Z Of Dog Obedience Instructing
From Advanced Heelwork to ASSD, From KPT To Flat & Kill, From
Box Training To Sendaways, From Companion Heelwork Corrections to
Four Different Methods To Teach Three Different Finishes, From Footwork
to a full Scent Progression & A Whole Lot More!
Section 3 - Trouble Shooting Foundation Exercises
From what to do when a dog won't go Down to what to do about paddling
on the Stand Stay; From Slow Returns To Overshooting Retrieve Presents;
From Shaking Articles To Lagging On Heelwork - And A Whole Lot More!
Take the Class is available as an ebook...
The ebook comes in PDF format so anyone
can use it, whether on a Mac, Windows, or any other operating system.
With the ebook, you get a bonus that isn't in the physical book:
the complete collection of Silvia Kent's one-page reminder sheets,
to give students each week, with the right to reprint and use them
yourself. These are for the beginning, intermediate, and three levels
of advanced classes. They summarize what was covered in the class
and give suggestions for practice at home.
Click
here to purchase Take the Class as an immediate ebook download,
for $28.87.
If you are interested in teaching dog obedience, I think that the
whole Silvia Kent ebook package would provide you with a tremendous
amount of useful information for less than $20 more.
This collection consists of Dynamic
Dog Training, Overcoming Dog Behavior
Problems, Your Dog and Your Baby,
Take the Class , and The Harmony
Program. The links take you to my pages reviewing each title,
or click
here to buy the entire collection for $47.87, which is about
a 40% reduction from the $78.55 they would cost if ordered one by
one.
Rosana's Ramblings:
I have taught many adult education classes but never dog obedience
classes, and after reading this manual I have a much better idea
of what I or anyone would need to know before teaching such classes.
If you aren't planning to teach a class, would this be useful
to read? I think its main use would be in giving you an idea what
a good dog obedience class could be like, so that you would better
be able to evaluate whether to take a particular class you were
thinking about.
And, sadly, when I look back over the various dog obedience classes
that I have taken with various puppies of ours, I can see some
of the problems in those classes all too clearly.
If you can find a good dog obedience class in your vicinity, it
can be an excellent way for you and your dog to learn.
But if you live in a remote area (as I often have), or have a
schedule that makes attending classes difficult, or if you don't
feel good about the classes that are available, then I think you
are better off to practice at home, with the help of the videos
and books I review on this site. You will be practicing at home
in any case. No dog can learn everything its people need it to
know just during class time.
I used to think that classes were really important for socializing
your puppy or dog, that is, getting it to meet other dogs. And
no doubt, they can be very good for that.
But if no classes meet your needs, then you can socialize your
dog in other ways, with friends and neighbors and their dogs. Just
be attentive when the dogs are allowed to interact at first.
If you love dogs AND people, and are friendly
and reasonably well-organized, teaching dog obedience classes could
be a part-time career for you. It isn't typically all that high
paying, but could also lead into individual dog behavior consulting
as well.
If you are thinking about a career of training dogs, this ebook
collection would give you a lot to think about. If you decide after
reading it, that teaching dog training classes is not for you,
the ebooks come with a money-back guarantee, so there isn't a risk.
|
 Take
the Class: also available as a book
Dogwise has it, and the spiral binding is nice. (With ebooks, I
usually print them out and put them in a 3-ring binder.)
Click
here to buy the physical book for $36.95 plus shipping from Dogwise.
Some recommendations for Take the Class:
"
I am keeping Take the Class in my office and I am using it regularly
as a reference."
"Take
The Class! has been proved so useful to our club in so many ways."
"
Take The Class! is a great source of reference."
"
I recommend that this book should be read, indeed must be
read, by anyone who is involved in teaching dog obedience."
"Invaluable
for many years to come."
"
All obedience instructors should be made to read it!"
"
I refer to it every week when I set out my plan for training."
"A
good buy this, and an essential part of the kit for every trainer,
every class, no matter how long it has been running."
"
I call it "my instructor's bible"!"
Click
here to buy the entire ebook collection for $47.87.
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