# Invited to Observe Schutzhund Club



## Katos_Mom (Jan 2, 2014)

Kato and I have been invited to observe my local Schutzhund Club this evening. I'm very excited. I think it would be great for Kato to get involved in this. He's 9 months old. I can't wait to do these things with him. I can tell that he loves being challenged.

Just wanted to share my excitement.


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

I hope you have a good time. And remember to be patient. Your pup may not want to do much but sniff around the training area the first time you visit.


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## Katos_Mom (Jan 2, 2014)

We already go to the same place for advanced obedience training every Tuesday, so the sniffing has already been done.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Have fun! Don't be afraid to ask questions!


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## osito23 (Feb 17, 2014)

Congrats and have fun!


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## Katos_Mom (Jan 2, 2014)

I went to this last night. I know Kato would be up for the challenge. I'm familiar with the head of the club since he teaches my advanced training class. He told me that the club membership is $50 per month. Is that reasonable?


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

That is very reasonable. Go for it!


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

Yes, that is pretty reasonable. About average.


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## Packen (Sep 14, 2008)

Katos_Mom;5983634 He told me that the club membership is $50 per month. Is that reasonable?[/QUOTE said:


> How many sessions per week would this cover? If 2-3 sessions each (tracking, OB and protection) then sounds reasonable.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Hopefully it is a good club. I'd pay $50 per month if the club was a good one.


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## lalachka (Aug 13, 2013)

What's a good club to you? How do you tell?


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I know of a couple trainers/breeders in OH to stay away from....
Good club is one that has people trialing/and earning titles, and not run by one person but a group "club members". 
Though there are good pay to train clubs, but the cost of that is a bit higher than $50 per month. Those pay to train people have a well known reputation.


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## Katos_Mom (Jan 2, 2014)

They work together several times a week, for several hours at a time. They travel around to different places to work on the tracking part. I got to see 2 members working that night, preparing for a trial. The owner said he would have trials there if he had a completely inclosed fence to keep dogs from running into the road. 

This place is called North Coast K9 in Monroeville, Ohio. If anyone has comments that they don't want to post here, you can PM me.


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## Liz&Anna (Oct 29, 2013)

50 a month!!! That's so cheap!!! I pay around 150.00 a month, and before when I was training at Arrowwood shepherds I was paying almost 100 a week


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

Is that Nick and Tammy Blackford's place?


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

If it is close, you like the people and have confidence in them, and are interested, it is VERY cheap! 

I would give my eyeteeth to have someone good close, and be able to train regularly for 50 bucks a month!

Lee


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## Katos_Mom (Jan 2, 2014)

lhczth said:


> Is that Nick and Tammy Blackford's place?


Yes, and they are very close to me. Like 15 minutes away.


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

If its just club membership...it might not include helper fees. You should check if that's included for sure. Most clubs have "membership fees" that then decrease the helper costs. Like instead of paying $10 a session if you're not a member, it's $5. You do get tracking/obedience included in the membership...but protection is separate a lot of times.

Most clubs like to compensate the helpers for coming out on a weekly basis. It's a lot of their own time, and they don't really get to work their own dogs. I'd question the fact that the helper is almost working for free for some reason in this situation.


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

So far I've been a member of two clubs. 
Initially neither had helper fees.
First one was around 375 a year and 90 DVG dues. When we lost our helper, we had the option of working with a paid helper at $25 a session (which could be very short). The helper came through town a couple of times a month. Had access to the field 24/7 unless there was a seminar (they brought in trainers a few times a year). 

Second club (I moved 2k miles) is $340 a year and includes DVG dues, no helper fee charged. Both training director and president are first rate trainers so no seminars needed.

$50 a month = $600 a year. I'd want to know what it includes. If you do pay monthly, you would have a chance to try it out for a few months, you could judge if it were paying off for you, decide to take a month's vacation when you are out of town, etc. (If that's allowed.) 

On a good club -- I like the club where it is run by a person or a small group of people. Clubs with membership governance can be contentious. (Talk to people active in any dog club to hear about that.) How people train is important to me. techniques and methods - how much compulsion, etc. 

Some people train forced retrieves and now I've heard forced tracking. Not my cup o tea.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

I have been a member of 5 clubs. Only 1 was/is technically pay to play. The rest have helpers that do this because they love to work dogs and that is how they contribute. My last club did give the helpers a discount on dues which was pretty low anyhow. 

Paying helpers is not always the norm. There are some out there that actually do this for the love of the sport and because they enjoy working dogs.


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## mycobraracr (Dec 4, 2011)

lhczth said:


> Paying helpers is not always the norm. There are some out there that actually do this for the love of the sport and because they enjoy working dogs.



:thumbup: I have been a part of a couple groups. One had low due's around $450 a year, and helpers were not paid. As a matter of fact I paid for all my own equipment. A group I'm with now, is more of a pay to play. As a helper I get a break on training cost and recently have also been getting equipment paid for. I'm also with a non sport group and the helpers are paid per dog worked. I don't do it to make money. I do it because I love it! More than handling actually.


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## wolfmanusf (Apr 5, 2012)

I, personally, don't have a problem with pay to play in theory. I am lucky enough to be close to some good helpers in clubs, so I have not been forced to do it. I do make a few trips throughout the year to work with other helpers that I do have to pay for. I do this just to get a fresh set of eyes on something and to pick their brains. 

The problem with pay to play for me would be getting ready for a trial. Many times the weeks leading up to trial I like training 3-5x per week. This can be pretty cost prohibitive with pay to play, and also may be hard to schedule sessions.


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## wolfmanusf (Apr 5, 2012)

middleofnowhere said:


> Some people train forced retrieves and now I've heard forced tracking. Not my cup o tea.


Be careful because "forced" does not necessarily mean harsh training. I don't know your training philosophy so I can't comment but I would go to see the training first hand and make a decision from there. 

Good luck finding a club!


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