I have had my good friend Dave Munnings and lovely Dan Shaw to stay this week, they had lots of their dogs plus fosters. I really, really admire the foster work and it was great walking all 12 dogs in the woods, very funny! Dave asked to watch a few classes and as a teacher this is sometimes intimidating initially as I know Dave and I do things differently however it is also useful to both Dave and I. For me I like to have feedback so after he watched I asked him what he thought. His answer really made me think about the way Devon Dogs was set up and what I wanted to achieve. As a teacher I always wanted to empower the learners and his feedback very much linked to that. He said our cstomers have a wealth of information invested in them and they all know how to work harmoniously around each other. This is something I most definately intended I sometimes wonder now for our newer customers how we ever got to this stage. I was happy to hear that though - exactly the learning community I enjoy.
I have watched some great lessons from Mandy, Kim and Vivienne this week and although I am nearly 20 weeks pregnant I cant imagine handing any of my lessons over however it is great having such great people to work with to ensure we meet all of our customers expectiations.
This morning I am planning for our 2011 instructors course, looking at the handouts and welcome pack and ensuring everything ties in together neatly. If you are interested in this the 2011 course is full and operating a waiting list but the 2012 course has some availability at present. Check it out on http://www.devondogs.co.uk/courses_booking.html. We would love to see you there.
Also make sure you have checked out www.ultimateagility.com - there is a great free article on the site entitled, 'The Handler VS The Competitor In All Of Us.' This is a really good learning opportunity, who are you? I certainly know which boat I am sitting in.
