It doesn’t have to be
paralysing!
 When Angela White read John Leslie’s blog
The
Apprentice Instructor and the KCAI and his first instalment A Diary of Fear, she
had this mental image of him paralysed at the sight of the KCAI paperwork. Poor old
John. But for John and any other folk struck down by the KCAI
affliction, there is no need to be in a state of fear. There is now much more help at hand. The KCAI office have organised regional mentors to help you through the process so there is sure to
be someone who can help. So don’t be scared. Join John on his quest to gain KCAI.
If you are teaching an agility class or one to one, I think you definitely should be on the KCAI
scheme, but you do not have to be teaching agility to go for accreditation. It may be that you
run companion dog classes or other training services and agility is just your hobby. You can
go for accreditation in whatever service you offer.
Whatever you chose to be accredited in,
your KCAI assessor will be checking that you are a good teacher, that you have a good knowledge
of your subject area as well as more general subjects such as canine behaviour, breeds,
welfare, motivation and reward etc. You will need to show you have alternative methods in case
your first technique does not suit the dog or handler. Additionally you must work within the
KCAI code of practice and be clear about what you offer. The person chosen to assess you will
be familiar with your area of teaching as well as being a trained assessor, so you can be
assured of a fair assessment.
What makes a good agility
instructor?
It might seem obvious to say that you need to know your sport, but all over the country
there are people teaching agility with no experience of competition training. That is not to
say they all do a really bad job, but they could do so much more and, in the worst cases, they
may be doing more harm than good. These instructors are usually well meaning. It's just that
when we enter into a subject that has many technicalities and relies on a wealth of
underpinning knowledge, 'we don’t know what we don’t know!' So the more you learn the better!
As a teacher
and assessor of instructors, I see all sorts of standards – some highly motivated competitive
handlers make great teachers too, but sometimes other skills and knowledge are lacking. For
example, people skills, general control skills, knowledge of behaviour and how over stimulation
can be problematic for some. On the other hand, I see people who are teaching agility but have
no idea about the rules of competition, so anything beyond actually getting the dog over the
equipment and then doing it quickly seems to be missing.
However, in
my humble opinion - with a few provisos - there is room for both competitive and non-competitive
instructors as long as the quality of tuition is good, and safety and welfare are at the top
of the agenda. Clearly, there are a lot of members of the general dog owning public who like to
give agility a go just for fun, but after a while might get the agility bug. A non-competitive
agility instructor can teach in such a way that their clients will be able to take up the sport
in the future and they will not have created any major problems.
 To ensure this is the case,
it is important that the non-competitive agility instructors familiarise themselves with
competition by attending some courses, perhaps having a dabble themselves if they can. if
they are not in a position to compete, at the very least they should attend some shows as an
observer or, better still, offer to help out.
Conversely the competitive agility instructor
should have a good knowledge of behaviour, breed and general control skills so that along with
the sporting aspect, they can ensure the dog is pleasant to live with and behaviour problems
are not beginning to develop. Of course, none of us can deal with everything and one of the
marks of a good instructor is knowing when and where to refer a client on if they are not able
to meet their needs.
I don't
teach competitive agility, but I do teach competitive obedience and you will be surprised how
many excellent competitive handlers I have taught where I have had to give advice on how to get
the dog to walk on a loose lead for general 'out of the ring’ control!
The quest for
knowledge
The more we learn the more we realise that there is more to learn, if you don’t feel that way,
then you need to do some more research! I have been learning about dogs, training and behaviour
for over 30 years and I still learn all of the time. The good thing is that the more you learn
the more you are able to learn. Getting to 'top up’ level in some areas is a great feeling, and
then you realise that there is a whole other area that you could start getting into!
I have been running courses for instructors and behaviour specialists since the early 90s via
IABTC and as a senior lecturer in animal (mainly canine) behaviour at a college. Things
have changed over the years and now people are starting to realise that even if they were not
the most academic at school, once they have an interest in a subject it increases their ability
and motivation to learn. At the IABTC, we have responded to the needs and requests of our
clients. We now ask at the end of the course, 'What else would you like to know about?' and
then I try to organise it.
 So go on – which agility instructor should we get to do a master class at our centre, and if we
book them would you come?
And finally…
My
advice for any instructor, whatever the teaching area, is get enrolled with the KCAI, have a
frank look at your overall knowledge and work on any areas of weakness first. After that, see if you can take
a more in depth look at other areas, and then keep yourself updated with your main areas of
interest on a regular basis.
Have fun!
 About the author...
Angela White KCAI is an internationally
renowned dog training instructor and behavioural trainer with over 30 years experience of
working, breeding and living with dogs.
She is founder and chief lecturer at International
Animal Behaviour Training Centre (IABTC) an organisation that specialises in courses for
instructors of dog training working towards KCAI as well as offering pet training classes, clicker training,
competitive obedience, heelwork to music and more. She is Vice-Chair of the KCAI board, founder
member and an assessor/verifier for the KCAI scheme – a Kennel Club organisation which sets
the standards, educates and accredits instructors of dog training and canine behaviour.
 For
more information on Angela White or the services of IABTC visit the website
www.iabtc.co.uk or email
angelawhite@uwclub.net
Cartoons by Kim Blundell. Available as
greeting cards from Agility Warehouse
Photo of Angela at Crufts 2011: John Leslie
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