Instructors

At present there are no formal training or qualification required to become a dog club instructor. There are however many courses offered and organizations to join to help the would be instructor. One is The Kennel Club Accreditation Scheme for Instructors in Dog Training and Behaviour. the scheme launched in 2001 aims to establish a national register of qualified instructors, the scheme offers personal ‘accreditation’ by written, oral and practical assessment. There is no 'fast track' way of gaining Accreditation with 2 to 3 years being the average time between joining and assessment. Lastest News In March 2010 the scheme was Awarded City & Guilds status'

From courses and books a ‘tool box’ for training and behaviour methods, ideas and problem solving can be gained which is always useful but in my opinion the vital quality to have is ‘hands on’ experience. The ideal class instructor being the person who not only can train his or her own dog successfully but also has the ability to teach and help others to do the same. CCEG have sustained over the years the same team of Instructors due to teamwork, dedication, enthusiasm and mutual respect for each others approach to training and behaviour.

Our Team  of Instructors currently taking Classes are -

Alan Cole	Tracey Usher	Jan Burrell	Pat Wells

Alan – is an Accredited member of The Kennel Club Scheme for Instructors in Dog Training and Behaviour. Member of the British Institute of Professional Dog Trainers and the National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors. He has been involved in dog training and training clubs for the last 42 years. Over those years he has attended over 80 Courses on training, instructing and behaviour. Many of these were with former Met/Police Dog Trainer/Instructor Roy Hunter first as a Course member and later helping to run and plan Courses. He also attended 4 five-day Courses and ran his own 5-day Courses for five years in the Yorkshire Dales – and completed the Animal First Aid Training Course. Special area of interest: GSD care, training and behaviour management.

Tracey – has been  Instructing for 11 years. She has attended Courses on Training, Instructing and Behaviour including 3 five-day Courses. She is an experienced 'hands on' horse and dog person and knowledgeable trainer. Tracey has completed an Animal First Aid Training Course and is a non-accredited member of The Kennel Club Accreditation Scheme for Instructors in Dog Training and Behaviour. Special area of interest: Puppy & GSD Training.

Jan - has been Instructing for 12 years. She has attended Courses on Training, Instructing and Behaviour including 4 five-day Courses. She is interested in all areas and methods of training and is a very knowledgeable companion dog trainer. Jan  has also completed an Animal First Aid Training Course and is a non-accredited member of The Kennel Club Accreditation Scheme for Instructors in Dog Training and Behaviour.  Special area of interest: Puppy & Advance Training.

Pat – has been with us for 14 years and instructing for the last 10. She is interested in all areas of training including obedience, agility, tracking,  fun & games. She is an outstanding trainer and compassionate dog person. She has completed an Animal First Aid Training Course and is a non-accredited member of The Kennel Club Accreditation Scheme for Instructors in Dog Training and Behaviour. Special area of interest: Obedience, Agility, Practical Training.

Anita Crundall	Mick Yallop	Martin Gowler	Vickie Arkesden

Anita - Joined us in 2008-Having an BSC (hons) in Animal Behaviour from ARU, she has also completed a Cambridge Institute of Dog Behaviour Training (CIDBT) course in basic care and behaviour and is a APDT (01061) member. Having always been interested in dog behaviour and training she has owned and trained dogs from an early age. She currently just has one dog; a 2year old black Labrador called Skiba. Special area of interest: Behaviour Problems & management.

Mick – is one of the original instructors of the group. He has attended around 20 Courses held by Roy Hunter (former Met/Police Dog Instructor) first as a Course member and later helping to run Courses Mick has also completed the Animal First Aid Training Course. Special area of interest: Labradors & training the basic control exercises.  

Martin - Is the latest member of the team joining us in 2009. He took up training through necessity in 1995 when he gave a home to his first rescue dog Bella, with all the baggage that they can sometimes come with. A second dog Tetley followed a year later. The opportunity to become an Instructor at The Dog Club St Ives came in 1998. His main motivation was to help pass on to others what he had learned, in the hope that it would help their dogs to never need to become rescue statistics. He is a Grade1 British Institute of Professional Dog Trainers  Instructor gaining this in 1999. He has also attended a Training Through Play & Games Course with Dr Ian Dunbar and a Basic Animal First Aid Course. Weeknights he Instructs at ND's K9 Academy in St Ives. Special area of interest: Care,Training & understanding the rescue dog.

Vickie – started training dogs in her teens and after attending college and completing a Course in Animal Care, she joined and became a trainer with Hearing Dogs.She has15 years 'hands on' experience 11 of these instructing completed an Animal First Aid Training Course, is a COAPE Puppy Class Instructor, running early socialisation classes for nearly 3 years at Hughes-Parry Veterinary Clinic and is a non-accredited member of The Kennel Club Accreditation Scheme for Instructors in Dog Training and Behaviour.
Special area of interest: Puppy Home Visits and 1 to 1 help

And the rest of the team who Instruct, offer 1to1 home visits & help out in doing all kinds of jobs when needed are -

Nat Wells	Carol & Alan Hooper	Gail Stafford	Sarah Leary

Nat – Who this year gained a First Class Honous Degree in Animal Behaviour started dog training at 10 years old - Now 21 is a very experienced trainer and able instructor. Nat is often available for one to one help with obedience and agility at weekend sessions. Special area of interest: Obedience, Agility & Behaviour

Carol - with her husband Alan have given home to 6 Border Collies over the years all from rescue centres. Carol has 18 years 'hands on' experience of training and has attended 2 five-day training Courses plus the Animal (Dogs) First Aid Training Course. Carol is not only our 'standby' instructor andbut together with her husband give a lot of help at training sessions. Carol also works as a volunteer on the Blue Cross telephone support line for bereaved pet owners (see Memory Page for more details) Special area of interest: Care & Training of the rescue dog.

Our new team members Assistant Instructors Gail & Sarah -  will be helping get all the puppies to gain their Kennel Club Puppy Foundation Award.
Gail I started training about 3 years ago mainly because of behavioral problems with my Yorkie Charlie, and have been loving it ever since, all the trainers at CCEG have been fantastic and incredibly helpful to me, I've learned a lot from them. I've done an Open University course about The Life Of Mammals, and a COAPE course called You and Your Dog which was about owning and caring for your dog, and also  I've nearly finished another COAPE course called Study Dog which is about canine psychology and the dog's mind. I'm currently training  my second dog the lovely Bambi.
Sarah is an Experienced handler attending various dog training clubs since1992. Having trained her two previous German Shepherds to a high standard, she is at present working her 3rd Sasha up through the grades. As well as her love for German Shepherds, over the last 11 years she has also gained valuable experience training rescue dogs. Special area of interest: Care & Training of GSD's & rescue dogs

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Courses Attended

The 5-day 'Canine Conventions' Courses attended by Jan, Tracey, Carol, and others from all over the UK held in the Yorkshire Dales for 8 years included speakers, instructors and trainers from HM Customs & Excise – HM Prison Dog Training Centre – Thames Valley Police Dog Section – Hearing Dogs – Dog Trust – Blue Cross – Search & Rescue.
Alison Rowbotham of the APBC – John McNeil of the BIPDT
Lectures covered areas such as Calming Signals – Shaping – Clicker Training – Instructing – Training & Behaviour problems.

Practical Sessions included training methods and approaches of teaching informal basic obedience in puppy classes through to exercises taught in advance classes. Also covered were Agility - Tracking - Search & Find.

Canine Convention held in the Yorkshire Dales

Graphic from www.cybergifs.com/dogs & www.fuzzyfaces.com