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TRAINING OUTSIDE THE BOX
A Time For Change in Class Structure
by Joan B. Guertin

"If you keep on doing what you have always been doing, you will keep on getting what you have always been getting" A Universal Law of Life

The above quote is what has had a major impact on most of the important decisions of my life. As a result, when things are not going the way I want them to, I explore options to make positive changes that will better bring me what I truly desire. Thus, when I realized how frustrated I was as a result of my dissatisfaction with my training classes, I had to examine the reasons behind that frustration. My goal was always to give my students my very best. And, it wasn't always happening.

Living in the "new age" of dog training, we have more tools at our fingertips than ever before. As trainers, we have more resources,, more opportunities to network and certainly a wealth of written materials that keep us up to date on new and exciting discoveries in our chosen profession. The one area, however, that was a major source of frustration for me, was the way we traditionally structured our classes. For me, the traditional, week-to-week, linear format, just wasn't working. There were countless problems within that structure.

The structure, itself was frustrating for many of my students as well. Lifestyles, work issues, family issues, were just a few of the reasons that people gave for not being able to attend consistently. Absences created problems relative to the continuity of material being presented. A missed class often was parlayed into a drop-out situation. A missed class meant a dog and owner were a week behind when they showed up, making catch-up next to impossible. With only an hour to present lessons, often students didn't hear everything that was presented. Or, their interpretation wasn't what I meant. Taught with incomplete or faulty material led to frustrations when the dog couldn't "get it right".

I didn't know what the answer was, but I knew that my frustration was leading me straight into burnout by 1995. Then, a chance encounter in Branson , MO opened an exciting and endless vista of opportunity. I was introduced to the Levels structure of class composition. Not new, but obviously not widely promoted, the structure allowed the students a large block of time to complete a prescribed number of skill levels.

With several long discussions with the trainer of the program, and armed with his manual as a guideline, I returned to my California classes with a new vitality. I saw a way to rejuvenate my program and in a structure that allowed for time for the students to stay in each level as long as they needed to be there. It would afford me the opportunity to make sure that dog and handler were "on the same page" so to speak, before moving up to another skill level. There was time to teach, review and proof each set of exercises very well before moving the teams to the next Level and new skill challenges.

I have now been utilizing the Levels concept for nine years. The benefits have been so astounding that it is hard to believe that nine years ago I was ready to quit. Making the shift was not easy. In fact, moving outside of ones comfort zone, stepping into uncharted waters, can be daunting. However, the benefits were evident right from the beginning.

Once I launched my new program during my Saturday classes in the Spring of 1996, I almost immediately saw new benefits on a weekly basis. First of all, with Levels, I had a payday each week as new dogs started in Level One every Saturday morning at 8:30am . Generally the dogs were only in that level for two weeks. It was simple stuff, the food lure exercises, attention and focus, dealing with jumping and teaching some "recall games". The students went home the first week with some very workable exercises. The next week they came back to the same level and heard the same material which was being presented to the new Level One dogs. But, the second-weekers brought with them a weeks experience! They also often heard something that they might have missed during the first session. The pups were much more focused the second week. So those dogs were able to move on to Level Two the next week. If a dog or owner was having problems, they could stay another week in that level. No dog or owner was moved up until they were working comfortably. Then they moved to Level Two, which was at 9:30am .

There they were introduced to several new exercises that were a logical progression from what they had learned in the first level. There they stayed until they had mastered the skills. In our program, with up to six months to complete five levels , they could be working on the skills for four to six weeks, and so on. Again, I was teaching to the new dogs that were moving into the level. The existing students were hearing it all again, getting it more firmly set in their minds. As we progressed, I noted that the dogs that were there for some time were being worked competently while I instructed the newer dogs. Those were the owners with dogs ready to move on up to the third level. And so on.

The benefits to teaching this type of format grows the longer I do the program: For example, *the student trains at his/her own speed. *Absences become a non-issue as the team is never behind, they just come back to their same level. *This, I discovered, removed a tremendous amount of stress from the students shoulders as there was no guilt, fear of being behind, no pressure to play catch-up:

*If a dog that was moved up, needed a refresher on lessons taught in an earlier level, the team could drop back to the level for a refresher.

*If students were having problems with a particular exercise in a level, or an unrelated behavior problem, there was time to digress and deal with it.

*If it was an off-day and students were distracted, we could digress into some fun games.

*There was always time to discuss other issues such as management of situations at home, or issues regarding responsible pet ownership, diet, health, etc.

*If a method isn't working when teaching or practicing a new exercise, the trainer has time to explore other training options.

*The student can opt to stay in a level as long as they need to in order to feel comfortable with the skills.

Two very big benefits to Levels is that the student can start when ready, with Level One offered each week, new students can start each week and that leads to the second huge benefit, the Payday! They come each week!

The Levels or structured content within blocks of time versus the more traditional, linear class, in no way inhibits the choice of material taught or the methodology used. It is merely a more efficient means of presenting the material for maximum learning. And it affords the student the ability to learn in a more relaxed, less stressful atmosphere. Certainly, as a trainer, I enjoy having a more relaxed atmosphere in which to ply my trade. And, it affords the opportunity for the human half of the team to hear what they need to hear, often enough so that it sinks in! This is what allows the "human" learning to take place.

I am not suggesting that the traditional week-to-week class structure is obsolete, I still do an occasional traditional class when students can't attend my Levels program, but they aren't nearly as successful overall. Also, a Levels program may not be workable for trainers without their own training site. A community with the availability of a large client base makes the program more successful.

Although I started the program on Saturdays, in recent years I have chosen to do my Puppy Levels on Saturday (Three Levels with 12 weeks to complete the program), and I conduct the Adolescent/Adult Levels (Four Levels with Six Months to complete) divided between Monday and Tuesday evenings. I conduct Level One at 6:30 Tuesdays followed by Level Four at 7:30 . This allows the Level One dogs to watch the Level Four's in action. It is a great motivator. Level Two and Three are on Monday evenings, 6:30 and 7:30 respectively. This structure has allowed for a great many satisfying teaching experiences.

The Levels structure isn't limited to obedience work. There is no reason why trainers teaching Agility, Free Style, and Rally-O can't develop a Levels format.

Of course, no system is perfect, and Levels may not appeal to all trainers, but it is definitely time that we as trainers stay open-minded and be willing to try new class structures as a way of offering more variety to our students. They deserve the best we have to offer. If we don't succeed in the training process, the dog will be the one that suffers. Absenteeism leads to frustration, frustration leads to drop outs. The end result may be a dog that ends up being tied in the back yard or worse yet, abandoned to a shelter.

A new class structure may be the key to greater success in the number of dogs successfully graduated. That, for a dog trainer, should be a win-win situation!