The APDT Assessment route

I was contemplating doing the BIPDT course in August, I narrowly failed last year but won the progress of the week trophy.

But lately I'm not impressed with seeing advanced BIPDT members doing things like using a Citronella Collar on a reactive rescue dog, shouting questions at a dog and spraying water at barking dogs in class.

I thought that maybe the APDT route would be more suited to me.
Has anyone taken one of their assessments?
Can anyone give me any tips on passing please?
It looks challenging and for me that makes it all the more worthwhile.
http://www.apdt.co.uk/dog_trainer_membership.asp


Regards.

Got my assesment coming up soon so reading this thread with interest

I guess no-one can help us.

You'll have to let me know how it goes. I'm thinking about applying for the end of the year.

I guess not
I will let you know what happens, just now I am writing my essays, they are pretty straight forwards.
A little scared of running the class - and what handouts to use!

Sorry, I can't tell you how to pass, but I may be able to answer questions you have on the process. What is worrying you?

Val

The person I assist took the APDT assessment but it was a few years ago now & it may have changed. She had no trouble with the written & oral sections but the practical assessment was a bit more difficult because you are effectively "at the mercy" of the class members! The only reason she failed first time was because on this particular course there were some very unruly dogs, mostly rescues rather than pups, several of whom had behavioural issues that tended to kick off in training classes. This is not usually a problem as there are enough assistants to deal with this & help keep the dogs quiet & attentive. But on this occasion there were fewer assistants than normal & some of the dogs became a bit disruptive. It was a shame because normally we are able to address these issues & some classes go like a dream. So the moral here seems to be to know your dogs & owners, anticipate any likely problems & have strategies in place to deal with them!

Best of luck to anyone taking the APDT assessment.

Problem dogs or not, I guess they asses you on how you deal with them. You may only get half an exercise done but if you are thinking of how to sort out barking dogs and trying different methods, they must appreciate that.

Well I did it but bombed out

Written part no problem

But in the class they had problems getting enough people and dogs so some of the dogs were doing several classes, and people were loaning dogs to other people
So I had some dogs who had been working all day
Some untrained dogs with experienced handlers
Some unexperienced handlers with trained dogs

Afraid when I am nervous I default to what I know - I have done lots of one on one work and I work as a driving instructor so I am more used to one on one working
So I got tied up too much with one to one things (although they did say all my one to ones were great) and I missed a dog was getting stressed

I also missed a dog was in a 1/2 check till the end when the owners jerked it passed me to get a drink of water - the assesor said she had been playing with the dog for two days and didnt notice either - so I dont feel too bad! and they didnt use it as a correction in the class

basically I just need more experience and tools to keep a whole class involved when I am being nervous

I did get good comments for explaining about behaviour chains - when an owner said they had a problem on walks where the dog keeps going to the end of the lead so he can turn back and get the treat (clever dog) and shaping a chi to lie down

Everybody seems to dread the practical side, which implies prior "hands on" experience might be a good idea.
Maybe asking at local Dog clubs to see if they need assistance.

Personally I don't like the idea of being tied to any
Association & abiding by their ethics.

I wasn't at the assessment but I gather that the problem was that the barking dogs made it difficult for everyone to hear the instructor, dogs were getting stressed, one owner hit her dog but unfortunately the instructor missed this & all in all, it was not a very good class. And I suppose that problem dogs should be identifed early on & moved on to one-to-one training rather than continue to disrupt the class.