The Future of Dog Clubs

A dog trainer friend of mine once said, "I believe there is a place in dog clubs for non-competitive people."

This seems like a no-brainer to me, since one of the goals of an organization that trains dogs (including pet dogs) should be to mold pet dogs into good canine citizens and promote responsible ownership, which, in turn, will protect our rights to own our own dogs, take our dogs to public open spaces, compete with our dogs at various indoor and outdoor venues, regardless of breed, size, etc.

But apparently, to some, there is one focus and one focus only: winning and competing.

Hey, listen.  I compete.  I sure as heck like to win.  I am thankful to have the opportunity to train for competition-level activities with my competition-loving dog.

But recently, I heard a comment from someone that really bothered me.  A new student sent an e-mail asking whether her registration had been received for a pet obedience class.  However, she directed her inquiry to the registrar for competition classes, rather than the registrar for basic classes.  An honest mistake, but some people found this completely appalling and unacceptable, for some reason unbeknownst to me.  I'm still not sure what was particularly bothersome about it and, quite frankly, am a little surprised that a simple mistake elicited such a reaction.

Maybe it's because I'm not so far removed from those humble, confused beginnings in my dog club, in which I frequently sent e-mails regarding what classes to take, whether my information had been received or not, and things like that, but I didn't think it was a big deal at all.  The competition registrar simply directed the student to the correct person, and it was over.  No need for hysterics.

This recent exchange goes along with a series of negative things I've heard people say about non-competitive or less-competitive dog club members.. including that they are "clueless," and, my personal favorite, that "Rally is for retards" (which I don't think could possible offend a larger number of people!).

Coincidentally, another topic came up at the same time that this conversation unfolded.  Someone mentioned a kennel club that, essentially, is now defunct because the members essentially "aged out."  Now, a dog training club is slightly different than a kennel club, but the premise is the same - we need new blood!

By bringing in "pet people" (just like myself, when I started out two years ago), a dog training club accomplishes quite a few things.  For one, they make money; the money made on basic obedience classes is what  fuels the competition obedience and agility programs.  In addition to that, they potentially score volunteers to help run their events.  And, perhaps the biggest benefit of all, they stand a pretty good chance at reeling in some new people who want to train their dog in an advanced activity and can thus be active members in the club.

Some clubs don't offer basic classes at all.  That's OK - in that case, they've made their mission clear and can focus on the aspects of dog ownership that they enjoy or specialize in.  But, when a club does offer basic obedience classes, I feel that the new students should be welcomed and encouraged to participate rather than talked about behind their backs or treated as lesser.

I feel like many members of the dog training world are close-minded to new people.  Certainly not everyone is - we have a lot of dog club members who are very active in the pet training world and who handle themselves appropriately when discussing things other than competitive dog training. I don't think this is exclusive to this hobby - I've been a newbie in other hobbies before and can remember the difficulty in getting myself established, being taken seriously, and making connections with people.  But what is going to happen when my club's older member base is no longer active?  If we are not going to recruit new people, who is going to step up and help run our club?

Hoping to gain some insights from people from all different dog ownership backgrounds and have a little discussion. What does a dog club mean to you? Should it be a priority to draw new people in?  If so, how should it be done?

Being Nice

I'm in a bit of a hurry right now, so I'll leave you with this short-n-sweet post on this cold and snowy Friday:

On Sunday, at the Rally trial, Marge had the pleasure of meeting two Bearded Collie puppies and a Pyrenean Shepherd puppy.  She was hanging out by me while I was putting up scores on the easel, and saw them come in the door about 20 feet away.  She became instantly excited, and started play bowing to them wildly.

The pictures aren't great, but they're proof that she did, indeed, play with these pups.  She's usually not a fan of the young'ns.

We've Got Puppies

I had another post scheduled for today, but it can wait.  I received something special this week, and am excited and want to share it with you all!

This beautiful, hand-knitted, stack of pups was sent to me by Sue from The Portuguese Water Blog.  She sent them to me in celebration of Marge's big 2010, where we accomplished a lot of great things.

There is some backstory, here.  I thought that Sue was sending me a simple Christmas card.  However, it never arrived.  So, I asked Sue about it, and she told me that she did, indeed, send a package.

But, before I alerted her to the fact that I hadn't received anything, poor Sue probably thought that I had received it, but made no mention of it to her (which I would have never done - how incredibly rude that would have been!).

Anyway, long story short, the mystery package finally got here, somehow, after several weeks.  In the box was a nice card and a cute disc toy for Marge (which she will sample when the snow melts), along with my personal favorite item, the hand-made pups.  I think they are absolutely adorable, pudgy little guys!  And they are SO soft.

Marge was interested in them, too.  She thought that they were for playing.  She promptly knocked the poor guys over.

They're too special for her to put her grubby mouth all over, though, so they're safe and sound, high up where she can't reach them, on display (see the first photo).  Of course, I did pose her just once with them before moving them to their new home:

Thank you so very much, Sue, for your thoughtful gift.  It's so nice to have such a caring (and talented) friend.. and proof that blogs can far transcend the pictures and posts.

I'd better go sneak in a snuggle with those pups now.. it sure is cold here in NY.

Marge Gets ARCH'd

Yes, that's right.  The dog formerly known as Marge is now ARCH Marge!

We had a long two days of APDT Rally trialing this weekend.  On both Saturday and Sunday, Marge had four runs.  That makes for a total of EIGHT runs for the weekend - the most Marge has ever done in a span of two days.

We accumulated two double qualifying scores (QQ's) on Saturday.  Here is one of our runs.

Her effort in this run and an earlier run led to our designation as being the Highest Scoring Dog in Levels 1 and 2 for the morning trials, an honor known as "High Combined."

The excitement didn't stop there.  After four more successful runs on Sunday, Marge earned her APDT Rally Champion title.  Here is the final run.



Though Marge was less precise than normal with her heeling, her fronts and her finishes, she did show great control.  Our transitions in to the ring are getting steadily better and better.  And, normally the Level 2 jump (as shown in the video above) puts her in to crazy agility mode; however, she remained collected throughout the entire course... for all eight runs.

I knew Marge would get her ARCH, but had no idea it would happen this soon.  We did a lot of APDT Rally this January and it all paid off.  I think the trials were great experiences for Marge to get in the ring and have lots of fun.  I think it's clear in the videos that she's enjoying herself. APDT Rally has got to be one of the most welcoming, upbeat organizations I've ever been a part of.  I'm glad to have these opportunities to show with Marge.

Now: on to the ARCHX and Level 3.

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P.S. - Please pay a visit to Sara's blog today, she had to set her beautiful Misty girl free early this morning after a battle with bladder issues and congestive heart failure.  Run free at the bridge, sweet girl.  We'll miss you dearly - we feel as though we've come to know you so well after reading about you for all of this time. 

Day 937

That's how many days it's been since I brought Marge home.

The anniversary of this blog's inception, however, is much simpler - two whole years.

Can you believe it?  What started out as a training journal simply for my own personal use has become something much more... a place for me to connect with people all over the world, a place for me to jot down some of my innermost thoughts, a place for me to share my love of dog training, dog behavior, dog sports, dog ownership, dog love.

The main character's qualities have changed a bit, too.  I said it last year and I'll say it again: "Fear, which used to consume everything that we did, now is just one theme in a great book of adventures."

It's still there, like the familiar antagonist that keeps popping up every once in a while in a long novel, but we'd like to think we've got a better handle on it now.  I hope that you've learned and continue to learn from the experiences, successes, and failures that we've had.  I love sharing what we do with people who care about dogs just as much as I do.

Who knows what the next year will bring?  Guess we'll have to just wait and see. :) Thank you for helping make MargeBlog so special.

(P.S. - We're slowly catching back up to visit you all - it's been a long week battling this cold.  Hang in there, and we'll stop by soon to see what you've all been up to!)

Tuesday Training 43

So much for more regular posting and updates.

I've been sick as a dog for the past three days or so.  Horrible headaches, body aches, stuffy nose, swollen glands, aching ears, fever.  NOT fun.  I've cancelled a whole lot of plans in the past 72 hours (because for some reason, this "winter break" really hasn't been much of a break at all).  As such, I've had absolutely no desire to blog or do anything other than sleep.

I did, however, go to agility class on Sunday night.  I'm too tired to post much more than this, but here's one of the courses we ran:

My plan:

- Led out past 2 with Marge on my right to get her in to tunnel.
- Send her up the A-Frame, she's on my left until after Jump 8.
- Front crossed on the landing side of 8, as well as the landing side of 10 (of course, I put the number on the wrong side of the obstacle in Course Designer.. tire 9 - jump 10 should be a 180, not a threadle).
- Straight forward until the weave entrance.. and what a wicked entrance it was!  But, Marge and I nailed it on the first try.
- Then, the course ended the same way that it started.

Though this was not officially a class -- it was actually a group lesson that I organized with my teacher and some fellow students -- this was our first time training at the Excellent level (that is, with other Excellent level dogs).  We've moved on up!

Group Hike With Friends

Dear Marge,


Why are you so full of surprises lately?  Not that I'm complaining!..

My friend, whose dogs I often walk, asked me yesterday if I'd like to go for a walk with her in the woods that afternoon.  I thought it'd be fun and hoped Marge would think the same, so I loaded her little black self in to the car and met my friend at her house.  Another one of our friends from the dog club was also there with one of her dogs, a Border Collie mix.

They were all in the yard playing together, but I opted to keep Marge outside the fence and let her say hello that way.  She was a little unsure of what was going on at that point, and I figured that the excitement from an exuberant Golden Retriever greeting (Spirit LOVES me.. and, well, just about everyone) might send Marge in to snark mode.

We all got in to our cars, took a short 5-minute drive to the top of a deserted hill where we could get on the trail.

Marge had an amazing time.  Really, I didn't expect her to be so comfortable and so social with the other three dogs.

I quickly realized that the 6-foot leash just wasn't going to cut it, and let her out on her 20' line.  The other dogs were completely offleash. Eventually, I was brave enough to drop the leash and give Marge some freedom.  We reached a clearing and all of the dogs began to zoom all over the place with one another.

Allowed off leash?  In a place as fun as this? Yeah, I can't believe it either..

Yes, my shy, not-always-so-dog-friendly, squirrel-chasing, scent-loving dog was offleash on the trail, blazing alongside the other dogs.  She led the way, which was convenient because I didn't want anyone to trip over her long line.  Every time I called her name, she came running back to me like the good girl that she is.

Marge made fast friends with Ozzy, who is calmer and laid back.

She play-bowed and ran zoomies with all of the dogs.  She knows them all already, but has never had the opportunity to play with them this much!  I honestly did not know she enjoyed their company to this extent.  I think she snarked a total of one time.. at Bailey, the smallest and oldest (and, as his owner says, crankiest) dog in the group!

I am truly surprised at how much she adores Spirit.  Marge is not typically a fan of Golden Retrievers.  It's likely because Spirit is about as dog social as they get and has good doggy manners.  This is extremely encouraging, since we may be taking some trips to agility trials with Spirit and her mom in the future.

Why yes, that's MY dog sharing a sniff with a big happy Golden!

We set them up for an obligatory group pose at the end.  Unfortunately, all I had was my cell phone camera to snap with.

If that weren't enough, we all headed back to my friend's house after the fun for some hot chocolate.  Marge came inside the house.. she continued to be sociable with her new hiking mates, and got to meet one of the three resident cats. (She only nervously growled when the kitty emerged from the cat-sized cutout in the basement door.. I think she was perplexed as to how the cat appeared out of the wall!) She did put her front paws on the kitchen counter and nosed around every single room she could sneak into, but eventually settled down.

Of course, now that I know that Marge is comfortable taking hikes in a group, I'll be nagging my friends to go again soon!  What a special day.