How to become a pro

[crackerd]

Darn - I saw the original poster's handle (cocker spaniel boy) and then somebody stating that it was an old thread, and finally Naj posting - and inferred that maybe cs boy had matriculated into a pro trainer and this thread's revival was Naj's coming out announcement!

Wonder, in truth, did aer kid (cs boy, not Naj) pursue his dream? In the US and Canada, where pros take on dogs instead of training clients, it would have been fairly easy to get a job at the bottom rung as kennel boy if he were serious about learning to train a gundog, most often retrievers.

MG

[trekmoor]

Perhaps its a regional thing but I learnt some great lessons by trainers who were kind to their dogs & kind & patient when dealing with an over eager novice who had more enthusiasm than sense.

Naj

I don't necessarily equate being "old guard" with being unkind to dogs or to novice humans. All I had to do to be accepted and helped by the old guard was to grow a thicker skin but I do accept that I was not of a delicate disposition.

I also agree that if someone is paying by the hour for the services of a pro trainer then the pro trainer should be more diplomatic than I often am.

About two months ago I been watching a man make an ar$e of training his lab all spring and summer despite the man regularly attending a training class. I felt the trainer was being far too "nice" in his approach to this man and that the man responded to this by being rather wishy - washy when training his dog. I offered the man some help provided he accepted that I would bully the hell out of him and he accepted with alacrity. He took every thing I threw at him , including my saying he gave directions like a little girl to his dog and he made a very rapid improvement and so did the dog.

The man's trainer is a damn good one but he had, in my opinion, mis-read this man's need for a bit of "Yes sarge, no sarge" training. Just like dogs not all people can be trained in the same way .

Wullie

[Hepe]

Training people training their dogs isn't the same as training dogs, don't forget that. What i've learned is that it's very important to ask what people expect out of the course/training if you want to give them their moneys worth. You think you know because of what you would want yourself but you have no idea. You know nothing, Jon Snow! Some want to come and have fun, some want to compete at highest level, some want to train beside other dogs and don't really care what you blabber about etc.

[Saul]

it's very important to ask what people expect out of the course/training if you want to give them their moneys worth

Yes. The ability to adjust to different learner needs/wants. The ability to adjust to different human learning styles (e.g. some people can take more or less "directness"). The ability to deliver an empirical approach based on just do it A, then B then C to one, or explain the underlying theory to another student. The insight of when to push and "lean on" the learner, and when to comfort and reassure. The ability to vary the approach that works for the teacher...and suggest different approaches likely to work for the different trainer personality/dog combos.

I guess what I'm getting at is, being personally highly expert in a field is not necessarily (and very often not) the same as being an effective teacher of the subject. I have met some international experts in various fields of medicine who could not teach to save their lives. That's not to say that one shouldn't look for some evidence that the trainer can "do it" as well as "teach it", but the "personally do it" / "teach others to do it" correlation is not as strong as believed.

Another other slant on this is what you mean by "pro" ? Anyone who makes a living by doing it is a "pro". In itself, that implies no particular qualification or standard of excellence. Doing it for the money can require compromises on standards and personal integrity. I've done work on "hobbies" which when successful morphed into "pro" paid work, and stuff I loved became stuff I hated.

Sorry, on re-reading this sounds like I'm splitting hairs. But be clear in your head whether (A) you love training gundogs yourself and want a job that will give space for that to happen, or (B) love teaching people on a subject you are passionate about. There are plenty of times that doing a not particularly beloved and unrelated "earner" job, gives money and life space for a passion.