[nagdu] researching programs

[Jenine Stanley]

Mark, 

You're right about schools that do retain ownership. Some schools keep a
closer watch on grads than others, doing so through yearly visits or other
regular contact.  

For many people it's more the philosophy around allowing ownership than the
technicalities of it that make it important. If you feel you are trusted,
you will behave thusly. You can definitely feel trusted even if the school
legally owns your dog though. 

Notice I'm walking the fence on this one because though philosophy is a very
important aspect of a school and your interactions with staff, it's a part
of a larger picture. For some people that philosophy and how it plays out is
more important than some other aspects, like what amenities they have on
their campus or where you go during training. For others, the breed choices
are more important. 

One thing I didn't mention about most schools, and I always qualify this
because there's always someone somewhere who has had the opposite experience
at a school, is that the services you receive don't usually differ whether
you own your dog or not. 

For example, GDF makes no distinction between people who opt for ownership
upon graduation or those who opt for the 24-month custody prior to
ownership. Everyone gets the same services. I don't know of any school that
has different degrees of service for those who own and those who do not own
their dogs if the school has those options. 

Another thing I'd do, and I'm sorry if this has been mentioned before, is to
find people from each school you're interested in and see if you can talk
with them and see their dogs and how they work. Understanding that each team
is individual, you can get a good feel for what having a dog from X school
is like by hanging out with people with dogs from that school. You're in a
great area for this as I'd wager there are grads from many of the schools
available to you. 

Jenine Stanley
jeninems at wowway.com