In the
Beginning:
My husband, Fred, and I had been
training with another Schutzhund Club that was located approximately 75
miles from our home, we often wondered if other people in our area would
be interested in training in this unique sport, but at that time ... it was
just an idea.
The Brazos Valley Working Dog
Club got its start when I was talking about training to a friend of mine,
Carol Smith. Carol was also training in protection work with a small
local group at that time. In the course of the conversation, we realized that
there were several young people in our Brazos Valley area that wanted to
train there German Shepherds. So in April 2000, I invited Josef Pflaum and
Juergen Gerbel, some good friends from Germany, to come to Texas and help
instruct us in the German dog sport of Schutzhund. Josef and Juergen
stayed in Texas for a month. And that was our beginning.
Developing
the Club:
Josef came to Texas again in November
2000, and also in late September to October of 2001. We continued to
train and work together weekly. We developed our club Bylaws and Code
of Ethics and membership guidelines and the charter membership voted on
all issues. We unanimously decided to develop our club as a GSDCA-WDA
club first, then later consider becoming a dual club with the United Schutzhund
Clubs of America. The deciding factors on this issue was that GSDCA-WDA
requires "club insurance" and "does not require an annual trial".
On September 29, 2001, we conducted and passed our Affiliation Trial and
therefore became an official club in the German Shepherd Dog Club of
America - Working Dog Association! We continue to train weekly,
and plan to hold our first club trial in the Spring of 2002.
Our Club
Goals Today:
We continue to train on a weekly
basis, and work together to improve our handling and training skills as
trainers, as well as to teach our dogs in the sport of Schutzhund.
Our club membership firmly believes in "teamwork" and helping each other
reach our training goals... whether those goals are just to obtain some socialization
and basic obedience for our dogs.... or to train a dog to the Schutzhund
3 level. All German Shepherds... both working AND conformation lines
are welcome in our club. Other breeds that are capable of training
in schutzhund are also welcome and encouraged. It is also our policy
to encourage EVERYONE who wants to participate in our club, without prejudice
to the level of training they desire to reach. We feel that the most
important points we can make by having a "dog club" is to encourage the following
points overall:
* Family Participation
(Without encouraging young people, this sport won't
last too long ... since us older folks are just getting older .. with a few
more aches and pains)
* Have Fun (This is a SPORT, and we encourage everyone to do the best they
can in their training... but working with your dog and having a good time
doing it ... is important!)
* Realistic Goals (Set realistic training goals for yourself and your dog... that
can be reached quickly. This way you will reach a goal, then can set
a higher goal, and that way you will climb the ladder of success.)
* Teamwork (By working together as a team, we will gain strength from each
other and share knowledge as we learn)
Training
Methods for You and Your Dog:
The BVWDC encourages "positive
and motivational training methods" in our sport. Safe
training methods for both the trainer and the dog is emphasized. We
realize that EACH DOG is an individual. And since all dogs are individuals,
they must be trained accordingly. Each dog is evaluated on his own merits
... for temperament and trainability. We encourage socialization of
ALL dogs.
Books, videos, etc. are wonderful
"tools" for training advice, but realistically speaking, each dog has his
own strengths and weaknesses and it is quite normal that there may be something
in the book, that just does not work for your dog. So, we use these
tools along with advice and suggestions from other sources to work through
training snags. We do not limit ourselves to "one training
theory or method" or "one person's ideas". We invite "guest speakers"
to conduct training seminars in different areas to enhance our training skills.
Teamwork plays an important part
here... sometimes, someone else has worked through the same "snag" in their
training. Also, by utilizing many professional sources of information
and guidance, and maintaining an "open mind" in our training
program, we feel that this will maintain a level of growth in training for
both ourselves as handlers and our dogs.
|
