What to look for in a GSD Club? - Page 1

There're three GSD clubs in my area. Can someone advice me what to look for prior to join them? Kobe

Hey Kobe, When you say GSD club are you reffering to a schutzhund club? If yes, then you are fortunate to have so many in your area. Some clubs want to see what kind of commitment you have to training by your frequency of attending training sessions. You may want to do some research into the training directors of each club i.e. accomplishments and or experience training. Is the training director also the only helper? If yes, then what happens when they can't make it. Each club kind of has its own personality. Some clubs are not looking for new members. Some clubs only want members who are seeking to compete at a very high level in the sport. Some training directors are tough when it comes to communicating with handlers. Meaning, when a handler makes a mistake they communicate by yelling. Some training directors don't provide a lot of feed back during training. In the USA some clubs are for profit and a sourse of income for the training director. Some clubs are for socialization with the bulk of the funds going to maintaining the organization. You have to figure out what you want out of joining a club. Good luck in your search.

I would say, don’t jump in to either club click too soon. Observe as neutral , to give each club time to show true personality and EGO`s… clubs are full of them. And yes you are fortunate to have three in your area to choose from. Many have to except what ever is around or do with out. Good luck. Clubs are tricky.

Kobe, Also remember that it matters to some clubs about what lines your dog is. Some shun show dogs. Some shun working dogs. Some do show/ring training along with schutzhund, every week. So it depends also on what lines you have and what your goals are. That can make a HUGH difference in your experience with a particular club. Best wishes for you and your dog's future!

An awful lot of these clubs will have you come out and see if you "fit" in with the goals and members of said club...I know our "DVG" club would want you to come out and even train with our club for awhile to see if you are really interested and fit in with what is going on in the club before they would even let you put in a membership application...sometimes they will have you pay a minimal fee for training...like $10.00 a session...I know our club doesn't really care what kind of dog you have or,if it is a GSD, whether it's a show line or working line...that to us is a personal choice...our goal is to make every dog better then he was when he first came to the club and to title the dog if that's the owner's goal...Good Luck.