ULTIMATE INSTRUCTORS – What does it take to make a really good instructor?

As a highly qualified teacher, LLB Law degree student, full time instructor and business manager understanding how to find and work with an instructor to make the best progress is something I am more than familiar with in many different capacities.

Whether you are looking for the best possible instructor to take you to a new level in competition, or are instructing yourself and want to be the next Big Name on the ever-growing international circuit, read on for Lauren’s thoughts on what it takes to make the best instructor.

All of us have known the challenge of finding a really good instructor. We may start with who ever is closest and available at the times we are free to train, but unless we’re lucky enough to have an international trainer on our doorstep, who trains 24/7 at the local location and doesn’t take months off to train abroad, pretty soon, we’re going to start looking further afield.  With the world to choose from, and no longer limited to location and time, what are our next criteria when it comes to spending our hard-earned money on what is, for most of us, a hobby?

With a plethora of names and training styles and a broad range of costs, we need to know how to look for the best, and how to recognize when we’ve found it or we’ll spend months, if not years, ricocheting around the country from class to class, confusing our dogs and ourselves looking for the person where the chemistry clicks, the ‘perfect instructor’ who gives the most to her or his classes, keeps sane under pressure, stays refreshed, keeps on top of all the latest developments in the sport and in training theory and is excited every time they see you  – and everyone else they train.

So what makes a top instructor?

• Is a successful competitor automatically a successful instructor?
• Is it their love of people, communication and  how to teach agility, or simply the understanding of how to teach; the application of learning theory to people as well as to dogs?
• Is the instructor balanced and fun in what they do with a good grounding and knowledge of the sport?

For myself, when I am looking for a good trainer – and seek to increase my knowledge base, then the athletic ability – or otherwise – of the instructor as a competitor is far less important than her ability to train a dog – and not just my dog – any dog.

I remember a friend being told early in her career that her dog was just not the type the instructor liked -  which was the end of that relationship.  ‘One breed’ instructors may be good if you have that breed, but there’s probably a reason why they don’t dare stretch their own boundaries, and they may not be able to stretch yours.

As important as the ability to communicate with a variety of dogs, is the instructors skill – and passion -  in her or his communication with people.  I have never really thought about this in depth. But when I was working with a good friend/colleague of mine he commented on my absolute passion for people. It really made me re-think what I’m doing: after all, every dog trainer likes dogs but how many dog trainers really enjoy their owners?  I’ll leave you to ponder on that one…..

The other compromise I think you may have to consider as a true competitor is the balance between the love of winning love and the joy of teaching.

Sometimes this can be compromised, I am not saying often or even for every instructor but it is certainly a consideration for all instructors/pupils. Years ago, when I had individual lessons with Greg Derrett, I made it on the 2006 FCI GB team when he did not which must have been a hard pill to swallow, but he was not only immensely gracious, but thrilled at my success and my respect for him as a trainer grew as a result. He has been the best and certainly the most giving and honest trainer I have had the pleasure to train with to date.

So is your trainer going to cheer you on when you step beyond them? Or are they likely to hold back a little, to be sure you don’t outshine them?

The more lessons I share the more I seem to learn and the more doors that seem to open for us here in Devon so for me personally sharing all information is what we strive to do.

So if you’ve found the Perfect Instructor, the next question is the type of lessons you want. Most people nowadays offer a mix of 121 or group lessons and both can be valuable. Your choice may be limited by when you can train, but if you can manage it, I’d encourage you to try both: not all dogs thrive in a group setting, while some only really come to life when there’s that sense of competition that other dogs give them.

How does your trainer divide your time when you’re training?  In groups, do you spend three quarters of your time standing in a queue while ten other people run the course you’ve just done? Or are you split into pairs or threes and given time to practice in frequent short bursts with enough down time for your dog to absorb the latent learning, but not so much that it becomes bored.  In 121 lessons, is your dog pushed hard for a full hour, far beyond its capacity to learn? Or are you and it taught in bite-sized chunks that you can absorb, with a change of pace in between?

If you’re the instructor, then your role is to ensure that learning is optimized both for groups and singly.  In groups particularly, you have to balance your time carefully across the group so that you’re not spending too much time with one student.  You need to remain pro-active and punchy, and yet you need to understand that not all people learn at the same rate and if one student is consistently slow to take their turn, you need to understand the reasons for that.  You need to be sure you have clearly articulated the criteria and goals for the lesson and that you have a structured lesson plan before you start.

Which brings us to a major point that seems to be lost along the way: an instructor is essentially a public speaker who can multi-task: someone who is confident leading a group and has the ability to monitor the owners as well as the dogs on a number of different levels.  If you’re making the transition from being a student to being a trainer, it’s worth remembering that it will be a lot more draining – but at the same time, it’s a privilege and a joy and if you’re not learning with every lesson you teach, it’s time to do something else.  Remember too, that new blood protects you from burnout, so make sure you go on training events, camps and have fun training yourself too. Look after yourself so you can look after others…..

So: as a pupil in what we might call ‘live’ training, you need to be sure that you understand your instructor, and that you are being taught at a level that stretches you enough, but not too far, by someone who loves teaching you and your dog and who genuinely understands what makes you both tick.

As an instructor, you need to love the job, and have eyes in the back of your head (!)

Online instruction takes a different kind of commitment on the part of both those constructing the courses and those taking them.  The material needs to be presented clearly, and to cover the widest possible range of abilities, both of dog and owner. It needs to express the basics of learning theory – why we are doing what we’re doing – as well as the detail of the current lesson.

On the part of the student, it takes the commitment to read and learn and practice, often without the immediate positive feedback of the trainer as well as the ability to sift out those parts of the lesson that above or below your current learning standards.  You need to be sure, also, that it’s not contradicting the lessons you are taking in real life, so that you and your dog are not confused.

With courses such as the Ultimate Handling course and the new up and coming Ultimate Foundation course, there is always going to be an element of ‘one size fits all’ so you need to be aware of the times when you might need to ask individual questions of the trainers and they need to be able to answer the question that was asked, not the one they would have liked you to have asked!  That’s the ultimate test of a good instructor: do they listen?  And  the test of a student is: can they hear? With the Ultimate Online courses Greg and Laura have answered all of the questions that have been raised in relation to the course no matter how difficult or challenging they have been. This seems to be keeping the clients (YOU) very happy and is certainly the single most complimented aspect of their thorough and crystal clear online tuition.

And at the end of the training day, online lesson or seminar, have you both learned, have you both enjoyed it, and is your understanding of how you and your dog make a team greater, deeper, stronger than it was?

That’s what makes the best instructors – and the best students.

Food for thought, have a good training session…….