So they show up with their beloved dog who is “just ball crazy”. If you have had a chance to communicate with them prior then they have a crate and a dog toy, hopefully some water and a leash. The dog is probably 5 Lbs overweight and both are totally overwhelmed with all the barking dogs and what appears to them to be chaos.So how to start????
I encourage every member of my team to take some time to greet the new person, meet their dog and attempt to make the person feel comfortable. People who are comfortable are more open to learning.
As we don’t have “beginners classes” we work their dog into our regular practice. We give the prospective member the opportunity to come to three practices for free to get a feel for the sport, get a feel for the team and for us to get a feel for them. From this we can see if the dog has potential and if the people have the self-discipline to show up three weeks in a row. After three weeks and all is going well we ask them to join as an associate member… which has dues attached.
The first few practice we will introduce the dog to the jumps, work on prey drive and teach how to teach conditioning training. I tell the prospect that most of what they will be doing in the beginning will be in their homework. I try to identify the dog’s strong points and set the person up to feel proud of their dog, but know what they need to work on.
I have found that dog owners need as much reinforcement as their dogs do and in the beginning you are really doing human training… training the human to train their dog.
A few things I’ve learned over the years… After they’ve attended a few practices give the prospect a copy of your bylaws or some other information on what your expectations are. (They may be intimidated to touch the equipment… unless you’ve told them that setting up/ tearing down equipment is expected of every teammate.) If you’ve told them your expectations and they are still sitting on their camp chair while everyone else works around them and/or they have an excuse every time there is money due you will be in a position to recommend they find a different team with whom to play flyball. Everyone knowing what is expected of them leads to a more harmonious team.
I try to get an associate member to attend a tournament in the area. They get a feel for what they are working for and what all is involved in the sport. There is always so much to do at a tournament and they can find themselves a contributing member of the team. With new folks you must always be VERY specific on what you want done in order to set them up for success. You can’t say “set the jump heights”. You must say “add one of those one inch boards lying on the ground next to the jumps to the top of the jump board on each jump and do it fast!”. For those of us with years of experience it’s hard to remember how basic you must be.
We let the associate member know what our criteria are for becoming full members and every full member has a say in whether an associate member is accepted. I find this gets associate members in to the habit of contributing to the team and reduces the propensity for personality conflicts.
When that new teammate finally gets into the ring for the first time and lets their dog go and the dog races the course successfully it is a moment they never forget. I always say that the first title is the hardest title to earn. It is reason for an entire team to celebrate.
Connie
