Clean Run - February 2015 - 26

Agility Training Centers:

A Look Inside

Dallas Dog
Sports
By Brenna Fender

Center name: Dallas Dog
Sports
Owner: Patty Drom
Location: Wylie, Texas
(near Dallas)
Established: 1995
Website:
www.dallasdogsports.com
Patty Drom started agility
in 1986, became a USDAA
judge in 1991, and an AKC
judge in 1994. She started
Dallas Dog Sports in 1995,
which moved to its nearly
7-acre location in 1999. The
site has three full-size, outdoor, grass ﬁelds that are
lighted for evening classes,
a 60' x 60' training building,
and ample parking for
students. The entire training
area is fenced with a separately fenced ﬁeld just for the
beginner/novice dogs. The
park-like setting is enjoyed
by all Dallas Dog Sports
members who come out to
play, socialize, and train.
We asked Drom questions
about all facets of her dog
training business, including
managing instructors,
students, and dogs; class
structure and policies; and
administrative topics.
26

Managing Instructors
Brenna Fender: How many
instructors do you have?

Patty Drom: There are five to
seven instructors, depending
on what is going on and the
time of year.
Do you have a continuing
education/instructor development strategy you're
your instructors?

There is a healthy appetite
for learning and staying up
with what is new and current in the sport of agility.
All instructors are currently
showing a dog, have a dog
in class here at Dallas Dog
Sports, and have taken a dog
to an agility championship
title. We are well-represented
in venues by competing in
several organizations, as well
as actively judging in a few.
We share information with
each other about what we see
and hear when we are out
showing and we do our fair
share of attending clinics/
seminars. All constantly read
material (Clean Run magazine for sure), watch videos,
look at course maps, [and so
on] to keep up with whatever
might be new or different

in training, course design,
rules, and regulations.
How do you deal with
weekly ring setups,
particularly when multiple
instructors are involved?

As owner and training director, I come up with the training plan for each week and
the course set to accomplish
it. Since we have three fullsize fields, I have a course set
for the Beginner and Preagility classes that doesn't
vary much week to week.
Another field is dedicated to
the Novice classes and the
third field is set up for all the
Intermediate and Advanced
classes. We work on "skills
and drills" for three weeks
and then we have course
week on the fourth week.
If I come across something
fun and different when I am
out showing, it will generally show up on a "skills and
drills" week shortly after.
Class Questions
How many classes and
private lessons do you offer
each week?

The number of classes per
week ranges from 16-20 de-

pending on what is going on
and the time of year. Private
lessons are "on-demand."
How many weeks long are
your class sessions?

Pre-agility and Beginner
Agility classes are six weeks
in length and have a definite
start and stop date. After that,
the Novice, Intermediate, and
Advanced agility classes are
on-going and paid for on a
monthly or quarterly basis.
How long are your classes?

One hour.
Do you ever do classes longer than that?

Yes. A specialty class might
have more dogs and go for
a longer time-like International Course Run-throughs
where we take a couple of
courses and students run
them as numbered and then
switch it up and run it as a
new route.
What's your ideal number
of students for various types
of classes?

Our Pre-Agility classes have
anywhere from 8 to 12 dogs
maximum, with one instructor. The Beginner Agility
Clean Run | February 15
http://www.dallasdogsports.com
Clean Run - February 2015

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