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Run Fast, Run Clean Karen Schelling Orefield, PA |
| Originally from the New Jersey Skylands and currently from southeastern Pennsylvania, I have been training dogs for obedience and agility competition for the past eight years. In July of 1996, I lost my fifteen-year-old "All American" dog to the aging process and subsequently adopted an Australian Shepherd, Mickey Finn, as a companion for my English Springer Spaniel, Jake of Heatherfield, also a rescue dog. Mic possessed few of the required skills for living in a house and so I joined a local obedience training group. Our trainer, the late Alma Arnold, provided a solid foundation in obedience skills. She was an "old school" trainer who had bred and shown German Shepherd Dogs for some fifty-odd years. Alma is accurately described as rigid and demanding, of people and dogs alike, but she grounded me in a training methodology based upon her years of experience and wisdom that I continue to marvel at. I did not appreciate or understand the depth, breadth or range of the information that she provided. My only regret is that she did not live to see her student in the Utility ring. At the encouragement of my friends I eventually developed a small agility and obedience training group, Heatherfield Training. By trade, I am a psychotherapist. My full-time employment as Clinical Director for an alternative school limits the number of hours available for training dogs. Nineteen years of experience in conducting family and individual therapy has provided an excellent background for working with pack animals. As part of my graduate level training in Psychology, I have engaged in the study of animal behavior and conducted original research with herd animals (e.g., horses). I am uncertain whether or not conducting psychotherapy has made me a better trainer or vice versa. I mix methodologies, so that I am an eclectic trainer, using both operant conditioning and mild collar corrections, which I view as signals. The combination of therapeutic interventions, animal behavior research and experience working with dogs appears to have created a rather unique training style, which seems to be appreciated by both the handlers and the dogs. I am currently a member of the Keystone Agility Club, WOW Agility group and English Springer Spaniel Field Trial Association. I enjoy showing in regular obedience classes and Rally; however, agility is my passion. Initially, my goal was to have the top-ranked English Springer Spaniel in AKC agility. When Riley, my three-year-old Master's level competition dog sustained an injury while hiking, I gave up that dream. I no longer want to be a World Team member or break any records. Although Riley has made a full recovery, I am aware that each precious moment on the agility field or in the obedience ring is a gift. I take the gift and run fast, run clean. Happy Trails, Karen |
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