The Amateur / Pro Debate
Part 1
I'd like to tackle a big misconception about training competitive retrievers, and that is that a Pro can do a better job than an Amateur. I hear it often. Amateurs are told they have to send their dog to a pro for their basics. Or they feel they are limiting their dog's potential because they want to train the dog themselves.
I've dug into this debate, trying to understand why Amateurs might feel this way. Their reasons varied, but it all boiled down to one thing. They felt they didn’t have the knowledge or skills needed to train their own dogs as well as a professional could. And quite frankly, that just isn’t true!
Now, I was a professional trainer for years. And certainly, sending a dog to a pro may be a great option for some amateurs. But I strongly believe that amateurs have several advantages.
Amateurs that are successful are not super-human. They’re just good students who work really hard. The truth is, you can be one of them too.
Today's video is Part 1 of 3, and discusses the path to training a competitive retriever (get the Flow Chart download below!) In the coming days, we'll dive into the details of these steps. The details are what make you successful. Overlooking them will lead to holes in your foundation, the inability to do effective advanced training and the potential for career limiting faults.
When you commit to digging in and ensuring your dog truly masters each skill - THAT is what will set you apart, and enable your dog to be competitive against professionally trained dogs.