my other half dedicates to being a volunteer firefighter EMT.
Hey, my wife is one of them
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
went thru the schooling and made it. She has a Masters already in the medical world so this is her way to give something to our community. I am too old now, I robbed a cradle
I go to Branched Oaks once in a while and I see a lot of amatuer trainer and handelers running with the pros, all seem to be nice and friendly to each other. All will say howdy and spend a minute shooting the breeze and this is a great thing.
Some folks buy a dog, give it to a trainer, pay the costs of training and trialing and only see the dog a few months of the year. Owner keeps trophys for his room, trainer gets paid and gets to work the dog. Nothing wrong with that, a pro has built up a life time of knowledge on how to trsain the dog, how to over come problems and get the absolute best out of the dog. So when you pay the person, you pay for all of that expirience and knowledge. Not a bad deal for a lot of folks.
Will a pro get the job done sooner? Maybe, he also has run the trials he knows the ins and outs, how to make the dog look its best on a find. A person has to decide which way to go and if it is affordable.
Either way, going to a trial is a fun event just to go and see all of the dogs and the guys running them. Also a good place to buy a horse at times, some of these guys break horses and tune em up for trialing.