When I decided I was going to open my own school, I had two major goals in mind. The first one was to have a competition-only program — a school that did not include general or everyday dog training. The second one was that I wanted to have time to train and develop my own dogs. I opened Companion Dog Training on March 06, 1996. We had a General Dog Training Program as well as a Competition Program. I think it was 2003 or 2004 that we dropped the General Dog Training Program, and part one of my goal was achieved. As for part two….
The reality is that there is so much background “stuff” in running a business, that I find I have very little time to train my dogs. In 1996 when I opened my school, I had my dogs, I lived in a basement apartment not far from the school and I taught maybe 3 classes in a day. I also was very disciplined about scheduling training time for the dog I was campaigning. I actually booked a block of time for myself in which I didn’t book any privates or return any phone calls.
As time marched on and, luckily, the school has grown, I generally teach 4-6 classes a day, three days a week, and have one day set aside for office stuff and errands. On Fridays I am usually traveling to a dog trial or judging assignment. The school is now located on a farm, which has its own life. I have raised up a son and been married. All of these things have pulled me away from goal #2. They are awesome things. And trust me when I say that I am aware that I have a pretty great life. But is it sort of ironic that training my own dogs is the last thing I make time for. No, that’s a lie. The last thing I make time for is gardening, I don’t like gardening.
Currently I have three dogs that I am training/developing. Ribbon is getting ready to start working on her GMOTCH title. She has had about 6-8 months of some injuries small and large, but she is now completely healthy and ready to rock’n roll. The GMOTCH (Grand Master Obedience Trial Championship) is a journey of its own. You need to pass open and utility 10 times with scores over 195 under 10 different judges. You also need a high in trial from each class. When I train I like to go in with a plan, so I usually spend some time training only open and then only utility and then only fronts and finishes.
My second dog is Jill. She is a Border Collie that I do ISDS herding trials with. In order to expand our teamwork I take lessons a few times a month and I have 6 sheep on the farm so that I can pop out and do some stuff with Jill.
My third dog is Jett, who if you read my last post “Introducing Jett”, you know that he is 8 months old. He is simply growing up enjoying his life and building a relationship with me. What he needs is short sessions of heeling, games and anything else to keep it fun for him and develop his love for the sport.
Since getting Jett I have been much better about putting my dogs further up my to-do list. My new goal is that I train all three dogs every other day. I feel rather pleased with myself when I accomplish that. The other day in class I threw my arms up in the air and said, “I trained all three of my dogs today!” It also serves to remind me that I love spending time with my dogs. It is so fun to watch them learn new things, and the satisfaction of being able to communicate with another species never gets old. I still have to do all the background stuff with running my dog training business and for now every other day is going to be a dog day at my house.
Happy Training!
