# Club dues, what do you pay?



## ArizGSD (Dec 24, 2009)

A local club I looked into joining was asking $800 up front to join, I thought that was excessive.
They explained that the money went toward paying for the training facility, training gear, etc. and were willing to break up the payments over the course of a few months.
Annual dues were in the neighborhood of $200 a year, but that initial fee sure seemed steep to me. I was wondering what others pay to join a club?
Thanks!


----------



## jaggirl47 (Jul 18, 2009)

It depends on the club. There are several that are more expensive. My club has fee we have to pay for the first 2 years in addition to the annual dues.


----------



## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

also depends on the club and what you get for that fee. The agility club I belonged to was 25.00 per year, (cheap) which gave members a discount on classes, as in , 100$ vs 150$ for 8 weeks of class.


----------



## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

Something you might want to consider in regards to the initial investment is that during that first year or two they are going to spend a LOT of time helping you learn to train your dog. You would spend much less than that on a trainer.


----------



## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

The obedience club I belong to charges $20 a year, then a discount on classes for members. The bulk of the expenses are paid by non-members who just take one or two classes at the higher rate which run about $100-130 for 8 wks. The $800 seems very steep to me too- once the equipment is purchased why do they need to charge so much?


----------



## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

What kind of clubs are we talking about? 

SchH club is $100/mo. I believe up to three dogs. No up front fee to join, no "class" payments. Honestly every SchH club I've looked into had a different cost and a different way of coming up with that cost. They should at least let you visit before charging $800, IMO.

My other "classes" are $115 for 6 weeks but I pay a little less since I do the training center's web site. That's way different than SchH club though.


----------



## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

I am so, so lucky. My training club dues are $20/year! Tracking is free! OB, Rally, and Agility classes are $80 for 8+ weeks. I am very, very happy with my club. Everything is AKC style.


----------



## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

Since this is the SchH section I imagine you're inquiring about SchH club dues?

This is something that can vary widely. Just in my area alone there are clubs that are a couple hundred a year, and others a couple hundred a month. The two major factors that affect cost seem to be 1) whether or not the helpers are paid and 2) field costs (if there are rental fees for the property). The going rate in this area for helperwork is around $25 per dog, per session. That's what we pay on the occasion we go to have our dogs worked by someone else and seems to be the most common charge for helperwork. So clearly paid helperwork can make things pretty expensive pretty quickly. Especially if working multiple dogs.

Our club is $400 per year, paid quarterly. We don't have field costs and no one gets paid, including our helpers, so our expenses are limited to insurance, some occasional field maintenance and equipment cost. Which means that in our case we don't need nearly that amount to keep the club running, and as such have developed quite a large club treasury. We're going to be having a meeting soon to formally discuss that we need to bring in less money or spend more, however in informal discussion the unanimous feeling so far amongst our membership is that rather than reduce membership dues, they would rather keep dues as they are and spend more money on club functions, some new equipment, devloping a club video library, more seminars and clinics, and such. So the club culture in that sense can affect membership dues as well.


----------



## Buckhunter (Nov 8, 2008)

dues for our club is $250 per year . But dont be confused that you are paying for having your dog trained ( we have had some newbies that seem to think that !) 

you will be trained on how to train your dog ................. if you are new to the sport you need more training than the dog !! ..... LOL 


actually its a bargain and I get much more than $250 a year worth of fun not to mention the training ................ take a crate to training with you ....... your dog needs crate time during a training day and not every one else will enjoy your dog being on a leash during break times .


----------



## rebelsgirl (May 19, 2005)

I pay $25.00 a month and get a discount on my classes and on dog food if I bought it from them. For two dogs, two sessions would run me 200 dollars. Sessions are 8 weeks. I can also use the agility field for free if no one else is using it. I also get a discount on my private sessions when I take them. If you have more than one dog to train it make sense.


----------



## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

Our new member fee is $200. After that it is $100/year plus $20 per month. This covers equipment, trials (bringing in judges isn't cheap), insurance, yearly USCA club dues and gas so that I can maintain the tracking fields and training field. We have talked about raising our dues. 

I have discussed dues rates with some of the other clubs in our region. One now charges $800 per year until a person has titled a dog. That rate then drops to $500 per year. Their long time members pay less. Another club is $1000 per year. Neither of these two clubs or mine have paid helpers. Then you have the clubs/groups that charge per dog/per month (anywhere from $75 up to $150).

Training groups/clubs can charge less or build up their accounts more easily because they do not have to deal with trials or organizational fees.


----------



## WarrantsWifey (Dec 18, 2010)

Membership to the TWVWDA is 400 a YEAR, classes are 15 dollars a class if your not a member.


----------



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I paid $200 for yearly dues, and there was no 'registration' fee as some other clubs charge. The helper worked for tips and we paid the owner of the facility $5 or 10 to help pay insurance costs.
Now I pay $100 a month, (this is a training group, not really a club, closed to new "members" though) we do pay $5 per session if we train inside to the facility owner. The helper/TD owns all the equipment, and he is who gets paid the monthly fee, it doesn't go into a group fund. We train on private property.


----------



## ArizGSD (Dec 24, 2009)

Chris Wild said:


> Since this is the SchH section I imagine you're inquiring about SchH club dues?


Yes, SchH club dues.
Thanks for all the responses. I guess the cost does vary widely, even within the clubs that are in proximity to each other. This club does have a nice facility, stadium lighting which is nice here in Az for training at night when temps cool off a little bit during the summer.



Buckhunter said:


> you will be trained on how to train your dog ................. if you are new to the sport you need more training than the dog !! ..... LOL


I agree with this whole heartedly!
Thanks again for all of the responses.


----------

