Will the dogs get along?

Here is where obedience training shines the brightest. All of the dogs have learned to trust their handlers to NEVER put them in a position of danger so there is no reason for them to feel threatened by the other dogs.

 That is not to say that we don't have an occasional grumble, the difference is that a simple NO from the handler stops the potential problem. Obedience training teaches real life skills, not just ring procedures or something that earns you a graduation certificate. Often during practices we will put all the dogs on down stays so we humans can gather around to have discussions. Guess what happens?  Nothing, they just lay there like they were asked. Obedience training......we train, they gain.

How do you work with dogs that are all at different levels?

  This was surprisingly easy. It just took remembering one of those recipe for success. Start small and work your way up from there. Some of our handlers started with us having only rudimentary training skills. With the combined input and patience of all the other team members the beginners quickly caught up to speed, We all want to do well and taking the extra time to help fellow members benefits the whole team. All the dogs are in ongoing classes and the support of everyone else on the team makes problem solving easy.

 Will the people get along?