After calling and emailing a few local dog trainers to volunteer, I was delighted to receive a call back from Sue Evans at Alpha Dog Training, who invited me along that Sunday.
Alpha Dog Training run classes from Finsbury Park and also puppy classes at a number of vets within the local area. Sue was definitely top of my list of people to train with, she has an immense amount of experience and an incredible reputation. She offers affordable training for all dog owners. She achieves this by taking on volunteers like me, who she passes on her wealth of knowledge and over time sends them on courses until eventually they become qualified trainers and help to run the service. Therefore, all the trainers work on a voluntary basis, which highlights their dedication and love for our canine friends.
The Sunday classes at Finsbury Park start at 10am with the introduction class, which forms the first part of a six week course costing £40. At 11am those that have finished the six week course but want to continue developing their skills attend sessions to achieve their bronze, silver or gold Kennel Club good citizen awards. Finally at 12.30pm those attending week 2-6 sessions arrive. These classes are all organised on a drop-in basis. There is a maximum of eight dogs for the introduction class but from what I could see there can be as many as ten in the other classes. The number of owners and dogs in attendance was incredible, that day there must have been somewhere in the region of 40-50 dogs. This instantly highlighted the popularity of this particular training facility, a few couples were even turned away from the introduction class and recommended to arrive a little earlier next Sunday to avoid disappointment. Some people also appeared to be travelling quite a distance to attend.
As some one who has spent my career managing logistics, I was impressed by this system. Firstly, it entails less administration, which is time consuming and costly but it also ensures that the largest possible number of people can join the sessions each week. If people paid and booked in advance they would possibly cancel last minute and forfeit the charge, but it would also mean that the class would potentially only be half full. It is so obvious that the motivation here is not financial, it is about ensuring the service is available for as many owners and their dogs as possible.
Sue is the trainer for the introduction class and says that the session is predominantly about getting the dogs to settle in an environment with seven other dogs. Although, if you are listening she very subtly manages to pass on a wealth of information, tips and recommendations. As most people will be aware, these classes are really about training owners, which means focusing 100% of our attention on them and not the dogs. I was aware that this would be the case when I asked to volunteer and therefore, for me personally, the biggest challenge on this first class was always going to be controlling myself around so many gorgeous dogs.
As someone who has spent a lot of time around a variety of dogs, much of what was being recommend was exactly what I had been shown to do in the past. The difference was that Sue was able to add the psychology behind why you treated dogs in certain ways, which was fascinating and added a completely new dimension to my understanding of dog behaviour. Just like children, dogs benefit from consistency and boundaries and I loved the fact that Sue started off by saying that there is no such thing as a naughty dog. This immediately forces owners to reflect on what behaviours they are actually teaching and reinforcing with their dogs.
Details of exactly what I learn will be posted on my blog soon!