Professional Dog Sport Coach
I have been involved in the sport of Schutzhund for three years. Thanks to the internet, I have been an admirer of Christine Kisserโs for just about as long and have used her competition videos as inspiration in training. When I discovered that she provided coaching services, I decided that it was an opportunity not to be missed. After all, training with Christine Kisser is analogous to an aspiring hockey player getting private coaching lessons from Sidney Crosby.
Christine was very giving with her time. She provided a thorough and honest assessment of our training to date and indicated areas that could be improved upon. All three disciplines were coached (tracking, obedience and protection) and each discipline was emphasized equally. Christineโs training philosophy mostly revolves around getting the proper emotion from the dog and using positive reward training techniques to teach the dog. Meaningful and properly applied corrections were used in training, when needed, to provide additional clarity for the dog. In protection, Christine creatively used training exercises that did not require a helper, which is very useful for times when a helper is not available and for developing a dog in slightly lower drive.
The focus of Christineโs training was not only about being successful at club trials, it was more so about achieving high scoring at major competitions, where judging is less forgiving and points are more zealously deducted for minor infractions. Christine shared the same training techniques and exercises that she uses for developing her dog. The knowledge shared was extremely valuable to someone who has some experience in training but still relatively new to Schutzhund. I can also imagine that Christineโs coaching would be very beneficial for more experienced handlers preparing for club trials or major competition.
If you have a working dog, are serious about Schutzhund and want to achieve the highest level of training, I cannot endorse strongly enough getting coaching lessons from Christine Kisser. Just like Sid, Christine is a true professional.
Training with Christine Pros:
1. Christine uses innovative and creative training techniques that engage the dog and the handler.
2. Christineโs evaluation of handler and dog is detailed, hawk-eyed and to the point (also a con; see farther below).
3. Working with a world-class handler is inspirational. Watching Christine work a dog provides insight in type of performance required to be a top competitor.
4. You will be given as much information as you can handle in the time allotted. If you are relatively new to the sport, like me, I would recommend booking a minimum of five, two-hour training sessions.
5. Christine does not hold back on sharing training โsecretsโ and the primary objective of the training is to provide tools that will yield the highest level of success possible for dog and handler. Christine is an active handler and competitor and she shares the same current training techniques that she uses with her dog.
6. Training explanations and demonstrations are thorough.
7. Training program requires a high level of engagement from the student, meaning that you learn by doing, more so than by watching. Demonstrations are given where necessary to illustrate an exercise or technique.
8. Christine was always on time for each session.
9. High value for money paid and level of coaching provided.
10. Professional training gear is available at her store Ruffdog for purchase.
Training with Christine Cons:
1. Christine is honest but fair in her evaluation of handlerโs ability. The critique is not intended to be demoralizing but, rather, to clearly show areas needing improvement. This could be a problem for people that do not take criticism well. Park your ego with the car for maximum benefit.
2. Cost for coaching might be expensive for some but level of coaching provided more than justifies the cost.
Positive Professional
