of the Dog - Association of Pet Dog Trainers

Teaching Classes
Safety First
Joan B. Guertin
It Iis hard to believe that it was just a few months over 50
years ago when I, a well-meaning but inexperienced pet
owner, blundered into the chaos that was my first dog
training class.
Kadee, the first of our German Shepherds who would
live with us over a period of 18 years, was, at 4 , extremely
well behaved compared to the rest of the dogs at the city
park in Phoenix, that first night. But, having been raised
with dogs, and already being the mother of one active little
girl and with a second child due imminently, I apparently
was the only one on the field who understood that children
and dogs should mind their manners, and that ultimately,
I was the pack leader!
Thirteen weeks later, with diploma in hand and
an invitation to return to the Grand Canyon German
Shepherd Dog Club as an apprentice trainer, little did I
know that the die was cast for the rest of my life.
While turning out well-behaved dogs was always the
primary goal of the many classes I taught over the years,. I
discovered that the sentence wasn’t complete until I added
“in a safe environment.” Today, when I monitor classes,
the first thing I note is just how safe is that environment.
By the mid-1980s I became aware that students were
arriving at classes with more behavior issues and fewer
skills to deal with them and less experience with the
animals that they had invited into their lives. I deduced
that our more transient life styles which changed
drastically following the Second World War, had led
to more gravitation from the farm and/or small town
living, to the big cities and our city dwellers often grew
up in apartments and hadn’t been raised with dogs.
Thus, inherent skills no longer existed. In addition their
education in dog behavior was generally gained through
watching Lassie and Rin Tin Tin on TV.
This is when I began formulating my plan for
conducting safe classes for students with little or no
practical experience in dealing with an animal on four legs
with teeth, and all too often convinced that Rover, Fifi or
Bruiser were just children with a fur or hair coat.
At first, my training team and apprentices, were skeptical
of the need for safety drills. The majority of the classes were
held in parks in sunny Northern California. There was
lots of space so we could keep dogs a safe distance apart.
However, during any class period, invariably students
would group closely so they could chat! Then, there were
those who were convinced that Rover, attentive at home,
would continue to respond as well in the open park, so
they would show up with the dog off leash. Add to that
those who would show up with unruly children vying
for the parents’ undivided attention. It all was obviously
a recipe for disaster. It was time to apply the same sort of
order in the open air class room that I would employ in a
school class room. It seemed to be the best way to avoid
fights and bites!
And, unfortunately, working outdoors in open areas,
there was always a risk of loose dogs. We had to develop
strategies to keep the classes safe regardless of the situation.
As a result, we established the Saturday morning meeting
ritual.
Following the classes we would meet for 30 to 45
minutes to review our day. It became the ideal time to
develop and work on some strategies should there become
a “worse case scenario.” At first the team really thought
I was being an alarmist! Later, they understood my
reasoning as the “worst case scenario” became reality!
A woman brought her Bull Terrier to class so that we
could do an evaluation. She was to arrive after the class
with dog properly leashed. I even took the time to explain
that both leash and collar should be on the dog prior to
leaving home so that she would have a secure hold on the
dog. I also requested that she leave the dog in the car until
the field was clear. However, the dog spotted the class upon
arrival and when she opened her door, he pushed past her.
He had no leash and no collar. And made a beeline for my
class group with eyes glued to a small Dachshund!
All I said was “loose dog” and immediately all three of
my trainers (each with their own group and an assistant),
gave a group Stay which meant the assistant took charge
of the class. The trainers converged on my class, with the
lone male focused on the freight-train of a Bull Terrier
who was determined to have a “weenie dog” for lunch.
My trainer closed in on the rear end of the terrier, grabbed
his hind legs and lifted them off the ground. He held
him suspended there until the owner joined us and put
collar and leash on the dog and returned him to the car.
The entire incident took place in about five minutes. My
team worked quietly, no hysterics, no yelling. The majority
of the classes had no idea what had taken place. And the
team never again scoffed at my request for “worst-casescenario”
drills!
I cannot stress enough, the importance of drills. You
may never have to implement the action. However, you
will not be taken by surprise if you drill in advance and
have your basic strategy worked out. It allows the trainer
and anyone else working with the class to remain calm!
Most disasters are born out of the panic that can surround
an incident. Preparedness allows those on site to deal with
such incidents calmly and thus with little or no tragedies.
Later when I moved to the Midwest and was training in
smaller venues with dogs and handlers in closer proximity,
it was necessary to institute some additional safety
practices. I firmly believe that providing students a safe
environment in which to learn is every bit as important
as getting them into class in the first place. Following are
ideas that we employed to keep both [continued on next page]
www.APDT.com 23 w The APDT Chronicle of the Dog w November/December 2008