Encouragement for amateurs and pos. trainers in field trials

[2tall]

Are you suggesting that one could be an excellent trainer yet not have a titled dog? I thought that the measure of a good trainer was the titled dog.

I do believe that is possible. Some pros do not compete. Some talented amateurs do not have the grounds or money to go all the way. I think the measure of a "good trainer" is one that improves the dog he has to start with. If it is a talented dog and all the elements are in place, then of course he should title. If the dog has less natural talent or comes packing a load of issues, success can be defined by acceptable performance of the job he is asked to do.

If titles or ribbons are the only rewards for playing this damn game, I am truly wasting my time! I do it for the joy of working with my own dogs. When one of them gets something right that we have been working on, reward enough! I have one that has been to the line five times in the Q. The old boy is 7. We have not made it to the fourth series in an AKC trial yet. I had a blast each and every time, kicked myself in the butt for all my greenhorn mistakes, went home happy and continued to work on it. So yes, I am extremely happy for the guy and dog this thread started for. Go get 'em and have fun. That someone is doing that is all the encouragement I need.

Not all of us prove our "quest for excellence" by throwing hundreds of thousands of $$ or dogs at a national title.

[Bill Billups]

The proudest I've ever been of a ribbon was that first Q JAM with my first FT dog. Rorem has a nice talk about setting goals sequentially and reaching them.

Finish a trial.....then try for placements......then for titles......then qualify for a national.......then NFC......etc.

Most will be stuck at the first two but you can still love the process and acchieve satisfaction.

[Jennifer Henion]

And, he earned the RJ's..and two JAMs..4 in a row. Jennifer!, Reserve JAMS are recognition for exellent work

Certainly that shows that he and "Laddie" were becoming a team. Very nice ..that is a big deal no matter HT, FT..or level of competition. Congratulations on that...a great achievement..so hope to see more from this Team in 2013!!!

He has a FT bred Golden Retriever if anyone cares to look:

http://k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=257111 (love that hip clearance..congrats on that, too)

Thanks for going to the work of looking that up and posting, Judy! Great to see it and nice to hear your perspective on it being an accomplishment. I think so too.

Just a note to folks like Ted thinking this is not an accomplishment: This guy, Lindsay has a full-time job, a family with children and doesn't employ a pro trainer. He bought the pup at 8 weeks and he is a member of the family. Lindsay trains when he can and usually alone. It is his first trial dog and is going to the extra effort and intellectual experiment of using a different, yet positive training method. I think the guy has achieved a lot in 5 years.

So glad to hear everyone's perspective on this and hope it gives you the glimmer of hope it gives me.

Jen

[hughest]

Jennifer - I'm sorry that some folks feel the need to take someone else's view of their own PERSONAL success and belittle it. It's not like you were trying to say hey - look at this -this is why my way is right and yours is wrong. In fact, in most of your posts it seems like you are always quick to say you don't necessarily think we (I use "we" here becuase I use a collar and FF) are wrong. You've chose a different path becuase you enjoy that path. It's not the path for me, but hey, that's ok. I'm glad you are happy with it. I'm glad you and some of your friends are enjoying some success that is fulfilling to you. Isn't that all that really matters in the end? A girl spending time with her dog, enjoying it and the dog being happy and loved? Maybe not to everyone - maybe the color of the ribbons matters more than the path to some folks. Again, not my way of thinking, but hey, doesn't mean it's wrong. No matter which method you use - yours, or mine - finding your own personal fulfillment is really all that matters. Congrats to you.

[Bridget Bodine]

I AGREE 1000%, people should not gauge somebody else's success by their own...........

Jennifer - I'm sorry that some folks feel the need to take someone else's view of their own PERSONAL success and belittle it. It's not like you were trying to say hey - look at this -this is why my way is right and yours is wrong. In fact, in most of your posts it seems like you are always quick to say you don't necessarily think we (I use "we" here becuase I use a collar and FF) are wrong. You've chose a different path becuase you enjoy that path. It's not the path for me, but hey, that's ok. I'm glad you are happy with it. I'm glad you and some of your friends are enjoying some success that is fulfilling to you. Isn't that all that really matters in the end? A girl spending time with her dog, enjoying it and the dog being happy and loved? Maybe not to everyone - maybe the color of the ribbons matters more than the path to some folks. Again, not my way of thinking, but hey, doesn't mean it's wrong. No matter which method you use - yours, or mine - finding your own personal fulfillment is really all that matters. Congrats to you.

[Ted Shih]

IF I wanted encouragement as an Amateur Handler trainer I would look to someone like Robbie Bickley, who has titled two of his dogs, while working full time and raising a family. But, hey that's me. To each his/her own.

[Jennifer Henion]

Thanks Tracy! Really appreciate your post. I'll pass it along to Lindsay!

[Paul "Happy" Gilmore]

IF I wanted encouragement as an Amateur Handler trainer I would look to someone like Robbie Bickley, who has titled two of his dogs, while working full time and raising a family. But, hey that's me. To each his/her own.

Since this thread is pretty much about Jennifers' quest to learn about positive training methods and finding a few folks who've had success with the theory maybe Robbie can help her out? I'm sure she'd love to talk to him about his use of positive methods and how he acheived his success with positive training methods. Having FC/AFC on a dog with positive methods is amazing in my opinion. Maybe someone can PM Jennifer with his contact information so they could talk about his positive training methods?

[John Robinson]

And, he earned the RJ's..and two JAMs..4 in a row. Jennifer!, Reserve JAMS are recognition for exellent work

Certainly that shows that he and "Laddie" were becoming a team. Very nice ..that is a big deal no matter HT, FT..or level of competition. Congratulations on that...a great achievement..so hope to see more from this Team in 2013!!!

He has a FT bred Golden Retriever if anyone cares to look:

http://k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=257111 (love that hip clearance..congrats on that, too)

That's a great pedigree, I personally know two littermates, Roger and Kaye Fuller's "Flash" and Dave Cheatum's "Fire", wonderful dogs. I can't remember exactly but I think Flash won (or got second) in a 100 dog Open down in Texas last year, and Flash has other all age placements, while Dave won the Qual and got second in the Amateur at the Golden Specialty last September. So without wanting to deflate Laddie's accomplishment in any way, it begs the question where would he be if he had been trained conventionally?

Now I am one of those guys who imposes artificial contraints on myself to make things more fun. For example I like to bow hunt with a long bow, when a coumpound bow shoots faster, farther and can be more accurate, I like to duck hunt with an old (1907 Lefever) side by side shotgun in a time where the average duck hunter has a big magnum automatic, so I understand the concept of going against the grain, I'm just wondering what your motavation for going this route is? Do you feel conventional training is cruel? Do you believe the positive training program can equal or better the conventional metheod, if just given a chance? Or are you just trying to be a bit contrary as I am whether it is bow hunting or campaining a minority breed in field trials?

I hope you don't take my post as being critical, you know I love you and your dog, I'm just curious why you choose to go this route. Good luck and I really hope Laddie wins his next Qual.

John

[Bait]

Anyone training their first dog and competing with any level of success should be congratulated and encouraged, regardless of method.

Tim

Absolutely.