Thoughts on Training and Volunteering
by Kathleen Burns, 2004 Junior Scholarship Recipient

I am currently a sophomore education major at Wittenberg University. Wittenberg requires that all of their students participate in 30 hours of community service as a graduation requirement. As I was walking around at the Volunteer Fair looking at the different volunteer opportunities a lady called out, "All dog people need to come over here." I was surprised to hear this remark and after talking with her I found out she had seen me at several agility shows and knew me through my competition in the state 4-H dog program. She knew my dedication to training and competing with dogs and requested that I work at Elmwood School, a K-12 facility for emotionally challenged kids. Working with these special children was a wonderful opportunity for me and I'm glad that my connections through the AKC dog world brought it to me. This experience has made me realize the numerous benefits of competing and training dogs. Not only am I able to enjoy the camaraderie of my Golden Retrievers and fellow competitors, I now see the benefits that can arise from networking in other facets of life. People involved in the world of dog sports are a different breed themselves. I have found that we are caring, supportive, and hard-working and I am excited to see what other connections may arise later in life.

This past year I have continued to train for the upcoming summer of agility. As my dogs are getting older I am realizing that my days running around on a course are numbered. My two Goldens, Fanny and Scot are close to achieving my lifelong agility goals for them and I am excited to see what challenges and triumphs will come. I also feel fortunate that AKC has programs such as preferred agility so that I might be able to continue showing fit, older dogs.

My mother and father have continued their involvement in AKC and are currently training in utility, a level that I have only dabbled in. My father, who trains Fanny, will be going in for hip surgery and will not be able to continue his training and competing with her. It has been a while since I have done obedience (my first love) and now it seems as though I will be returning to the obedience ring. It's challenging to pick up where one trainer has left off and try to progress and show a dog, but it is a task that l take on willingly. I have thought that training and showing dogs for a living would be an exciting career and experiences like this one will better prepare me for a life down that road.

One of the most interesting things about dogs is that at any age they will face problems in training. Dogs that have been around for eight years and have had much success will still battle with confidence issues and need gentle, encouraging training. Dogs that have done an obstacle a hundred times will suddenly have problems with it. The more l work with dogs the more obstacles I overcome and the better my communication becomes with them. Canines truly are a treasure to the kingdom of animals and we as humans are fortunate to have organizations such as the AKC that can bring together people and dogs that share our passions.