Clean Run Magazine - January 2008 - 24

Trainer’s Forum By Brenna Fender Webb Anderson I wrestle with this predicament myself. As a professional trainer, I offer ringside coaching, video analysis, and several other services that require the dedication of signiﬁcant time and attention to other people and their dogs. But at the same time, to be a successful trainer, I need to maintain a level of success in the ring with my own dogs. This can create quite a dilemma! My advice is to be really clear about what your students can expect from you at trials and what you expect from them. My students understand that I am there as a competitor as well as a coach, and they are very considerate of that fact. They know that I am available to help them at any time, except in three circumstances: I have a dog on the end of my lead, I am walking the course with my earphones in, or I am working with another client. Once I’m done I’m an instructor and I run two dogs myself. I ﬁnd it really hard to support my students at trials when I need time and mental energy for my own runs. I’d like to know how other instructors deal with this situation. Webb is an AKC agility judge and currently competes with Nigel, the #1 AKC agility terrier and #1 Schnauzer. Webb is a full-time agility trainer and coach. Contact him through his website at www.performanceplusk9s. com for seminars or lessons. walking the course for my own dogs, I don’t mind helping students. The way I signal my availability during the walk-through is by taking off my earphones. As an instructor, you naturally want to help your students whenever they need you. Most will understand the fact that there are times when you need to focus on yourself and your own dogs. The easiest way to eliminate confusion is by developing some signals that let them know your availability. For me, I spend more time working than not at trials. So, it is easier to let my students know when I am not available. If they don’t see a dog with me, my earphones in, or a client with me, they know I am available. You may want to have some kind of signal that shows when you are available. For example, you may tell your students that if you are sitting in your chair by the crate, it Susan Cochran First, I am always pleased when my students request my help at an agility trial. It is nice that they trust me to be able to help them in the “real deal” and also that they find me approachable. I handle this student/teacher situation from a few different angles including time management, communication, and then there are the years of experience that help. I always take care of my personal needs and those of my dogs before the day’s events begin. I get up early enough to exercise the dogs, feed them, and stretch them as well as doing the same for myself. Once the course maps are out and I have them in hand, I head back to my RV or setup and study the maps by myself. Studying the course maps gives me an idea of the Susan is an agility instructor and the 2004 USDAA 26" World Champion with ADCH MACH Aiko, MX, MXJ, a four-year-old Border Collie. Contact Susan at gr8dogs@pacbell.net. ﬂow of the courses and the skills that may be required to get my partner through the sequences. I also check the running order early on. If I am at the top of the running order, I start warming up my dogs before the walk-through and arrange for help to keep them on their feet while I walk the courses (I won’t run a dog if he is not warmed up and stretched out). I do plan ahead and I convey to my students to also respect my time. A clear understanding with your students makes it all work out. dogs not being ready or that I haven’t had enough coffee or tea. And I don’t have to search out numbers on the course since I have reviewed the course maps and know the general ﬂow. I can go straightaway and walk the courses with total concentration and with an idea of course handling plans. I can quickly look for anything I may have missed in my map review and plan my ﬁnal course strategy, and then begin walking for muscle memory. All this early morning preparation allows time to help others since I can formulate my own plan in a shorter period of time. When dealing with students requesting help, I am very upfront with everyone before we ever meet at a trial. I tell them face-toface that I am willing to help but I also ask to be given a few minutes to nail down my own handling strategy during my walk-through. So after about ﬁve minutes into the walkthrough, students are welcome to approach and ask for help. If I need more time, I simply say, “Give me another minute.” Everyone By getting all this taken care of early in the day, when I begin my walk-throughs, all I have to think about are the courses themselves. I don’t have to worry about my Brenna Fender is a freelance writer with an undergraduate degree in mass communications and a masters degree in elementary education. She lives with her husband, two young children, a Vizsla, a Whippet, and a cat. The dogs are collectively titled in agility, obedience, conformation, hunting, rally, and lure coursing. The cat, husband, and children are lacking in this regard. Contact Brenna at BrennaFender@gmail.com. 24 Clean Run | January 08

http://www.performanceplusk9s.com http://www.performanceplusk9s.com

Clean Run Magazine - January 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - January 2008