CCEG1.
 

 The History of Cambridge Canine Education Group 1983 – 2020.

 CCEG had a great run between these years with busy classes for puppies to older dogs in obedience and agility, 

I love all dogs, so CCEG was always a club open to all dogs. My own passion is the German Shepherd sure that came as a surprise!!

CCEG started in 1983 in St.George’s Church Hall in Chesterfield Cambridge. Originally it had been called Dog Training Section Cambridge affiliated to The GSD {Alsatian) Club of the United Kingdom, who encouraged GSD training clubs to offer mixed classes for all breeds. In late 1983 came a change of rules and only GSDs were now able to join. Not wanting to conform to this new rule I went solo and CCEG was born.

As the club grew, four members showed a desire to help with classes and trained to become class instructors. The original team was made up of Mick, Tracey, Jan and Pat 

Jan and Pat are still teaching classes with cceg21 and are in MHO the very best of instructors and trainers at all levels and excel at Puppy training classes.

Vickie who took over the classes, now runs CCEG21. Vickie had started coming to the hall with her mum and their Dalmatian and a few years later with her own dog to classes. She later returned and became a member of the team of instructors.

Others came and went on to open their own clubs or to become behaviourists etc. In 1986 we started using an outdoor venue in Impington to incorporate agility and obedience classes. These classes were held during the daytime at weekends, something not done before, certainly not in Cambridgeshire 

We offered Kennel Club Puppy, Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards, Our own Platinum Advance Training Award, Dog of the Year, Lifetime Achievement and Brave Heart, Awards and held Doggie Fun Days and Doggie Quiz and Curry nights,

Well known and respected dog trainers, behaviourists visited the club to give talks including Roy Hunter, Terry Ryan (USA) , John Rogerson and Turid Rugaas.

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 in and around Cambridge and also further afield like Stamford, Chelmsford, Basildon, Ware, Harlow, Stevenage, Norwich and Haverhill, to name but a few!

With Pat I also ran Puppy Classes for Village Vets at Milton and Longstaton and with Jan PuppySteps at Caldecote.

During these years together with Alison Rowbotham and Steve Wilson I held ‘CCEG Canine Convention’ weeks in the Yorkshire Dales. A week away with your dog(s), training and talking dogs and learning from morning to night (or when the bar closed!!) Dogs and owners joined us from all over the UK.

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 equalling normal times. We coped with the extra need for more classes by starting earlier and stopping a bit later. The worst part for me was attending to the number of emails each day to book the spaces available but weekends were a dream taking classes.

 We received compliments from those working in and owners of Nursing Homes, the NHS and Childcare Nurseries, on how well we were running classes during this time.

I decided at the end of 2020 to step back from heading up CCEG. This was partly due to the travelling involved from where I now live but mainly because Rema (my GSD) suffers extreme anxiety from fireworks, gun shots and crow scarers. The last two were often heard at our training venue.

I mentioned to the team that I was thinking of stepping back, probably a year before and when I decided it was time I 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 training, walking and dog behaviour business.

Thanks to a great team of people I hope that CCEG gave as much happiness to dogs and their owners as we had offering the classes. As well as Pat, Jan and Vickie, to name a few, more long time members who made it what it became, were Tracey, Kari, Gail and John.

From a Google search CCEG is the longest running dog training club in Cambridge and equal 2^nd in Cambridgeshire, 

CCEG was of it's time and our way of running classes during these years was, according to one member who searched the web for something similar and found nothing like it …..unique!!!

 And the years to come….

These are certainly interesting times for dog training and those involved in behaviour. Recently I was sent an article explaining that 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 that dogs have better lives but it's about making money.

Over the last 40 or 50 years, the approach and methods of dog training have changed to the point where real obedience training clubs have virtually disappeared .

 Walking your dog to heel at some classes means it's okay letting your dog sniff the ground, as long as the dog isn’t pulling. Roll over, give a paw and go to your bed are the main stay of many training classes.

 I feel (unfortunately), that 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. It goes without saying that dog training has changed. Unfortunately for dog owners, I believe the dog remains much as it 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 see the world as they perceive it. Until a dog speaks to us and confirms our opinion, we can only surmise.

If you would like free help and advice about care, and/or training, then please email and I'll be happy to try and help.

alan@cceg.co.uk

I am a member of

The British Institute of Professional Dog Trainers

and a past member of

1.

Kennel Club Accreditation Scheme

I left the Kennel Club Accreditation Scheme (KCAI) when members were informed it was closing in 2025.

I was a Kennel Club Accredited Instructor at advanced level in companion dog level Training and Behaviour

2.

NADOI (USA)

I did not renew my membership of  

The National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors

because of their stance on the e-collar and prong collar.

 I have been involved in dog training and training clubs for the last 60 years.

Over those years I attended over 80 Courses on training, instructing and behaviour.

Many of these were with the late 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 shows (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.’ 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 and 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.

My aim was 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 as Roy Hunter said 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.