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CCEG German Shepherd Training
Formally Cambridge Canine Education Group .
The History of Cambridge Canine Education Group 1984 – 2020
CCEG had a great run between these years, busy classes for puppies to older dogs in obedience and agility, Doggie Fun Days, Quiz and Curry nights, Kennel Club Puppy, Bronze ,Silver and Gold Awards, Our own Platinum Advance Training Award, Dog of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award and Brave Heart, Award.
We never turned a dog away and were there to help people with the not so easy to train or not the most sociable around other dogs which I believe is what the starter classes are all about.
We had dogs and owners coming to join us from Stamford, Chelmsford, Basildon, Ware, Harlow, Stevenage, Haverhill to name but a few!
Our way of running classes during these years was, according to one member who searched the web for something similar …. Unique
I decided at the end of 2020 to step back from heading up CCEG this was partly due to the travelling involved (up to 300 miles a week) from where I now live but mainly because of Rema (my GSD) suffering extreme anxiety from fireworks, gun shots and crow scares the last two often being heard at our training venue.
I’d mentioned it to the team that I was thinking of stepping back probably a year before and when I decided it was time asked if anyone would like to take over trying to be fair I offered it to each member of the team in order of their time with and commitment to the club, Jan, Pat and Tracey didn’t feel they had the time to run it Vickie however said she would like to as she was already running her own 1-2-1 dog dog, training, walking and dog behaviour business.
Even during Covid when the rule of 6 was in place the club was very busy with Puppy and Beginners classes due to many people getting ‘lock down’ puppies and dogs, Intermediate and Advance classes also had numbers equaling normal times. We coped with the extra need for more classes by starting earlier and stopping a bit later. The worse part for me was the number of emails to attend to each day to book the spaces available but weekends were a dream.
We received compliments from those working/owners in/of Nursing Homes, the NHS, and Childcare Nursery’s on how well we were running classes during this time.
And the Years to come….
These are certainly interesting times for dog training and those involved in behaviour, recently I was sent an article where it’s now looked upon as an Industry!! no longer is it people passionate about being around dogs and training people to train their dogs so dogs have better lives but about making money.
Over the last 40 or 50 years the approach and methods of dog training has changed to the point where real obedience training clubs have virtually disappeared .
Walking your dog to heel at some classes means it's OK letting your dog sniffing the ground as long as the dog isn’t pulling, roll over, give paw and go to your bed are the main stay of many training classes.
I feel (unfortunately) things have changed to a more casual approach in nearly every area of our lives, changes in every part of our culture, laws and the standard of what and how we do things and It goes without saying dog training has changed, unfortunately for dog owners I believe the dog remains much as it’s always has been which is where the problems starts, however much knowledge or experience we may have we will never get inside the dog’s head and seen the world as they perceive it and until a dog speaks to us and confirm our opinion we can only surmise.
If you would like free help and advice about care, training and/or training then please email and I'd be happy to try and help
Alan
Is an Member of the British Institute of Professional Dog Trainers. Accredited Kennel Club Instructor in Dog Training and Behaviour CD Adv. and the National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors. has been involved in dog training and training clubs for the last 53 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.
My Love of the German Shepherd Dog...............
To me the German Shepherd is the best dog in the world but owning one is not owning a pet dog it’s a way of life. If you think you have the time to care for and train one then go out to training clubs and speak to those who have them, speak to the class instructors to get a true picture of the good and bad points of such a breed.
Speaking to professional trainers is not always the best thing as they will often have skills to manage a dog that the non experienced person would find difficult to control.
Books on breeds are normally written by devotees of the breed so are often biased pointing out all the positive points like, “ has no problems living with children and other animals and is sensible, reliable, intelligent and so versatile it is able to play the piano at 6 months!!!” with no mention of the negative side, the same can be said for exhibitors at dog show (if they will speak to you).
While it is a good idea to read books of training and behaviour to gain an insight into what to expect remember your dog will never read them so won’t know how it should behave.
My approach to training is ‘Gentle in what you do, firm in how you do it’ or ‘as nice as I can be as firm as I need to be’ and before you get annoyed at those statements take a look at how happy the dogs in the pictures on this website are, nearly all have been or are a member of our GSD Crew or Boot Camp Class all started with training and/or behaviour problems now they all have fair leadership and have controlled freedom which means they are free from being told off every day because of this training.
The German Shepherd is certainly not for everyone if you haven’t the time or interest to train or give a lot of time to this breed look at something easier to manage.
I'm a member of The British Institute of Professional Dog Trainers - Accredited member at advance level with Kennel Club Scheme for Instructors in Dog Training and Behaviour & the National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors. My aim is always to offer a sensible, realistic approach to help others train their dog. I believe that each dog is as different as we are in character, temperament, and willingness to learn even within a single litter of pups many different personalities can be observed. Because of this I continue to update and revise my methods and increase my knowledge to offer the best help and advice I can while always remembering that the only 'experts' on dogs - are - dogs!
The statements on this website are in the main just my opinion and you may not agree with them, please just respect my opinion as I will yours, by exchanging ideas we learn.
Alan
Animals are, like us, endangered species on an endangered planet, and we are the ones who are endangering them, it, and ourselves. They are innocent sufferers in a hell of our making.
Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson