We were lucky to catch up with Debbie Spence recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Debbie, you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?
Because I love my job (teaching dog agility), I love helping my customers (I call them “students” since I’m their instructor) however I can in their journey to train their dog(s) to learn and even compete in agility. I try to be available to answer questions or help with problems whenever I’m needed. Typically that means responding to e-mails and/or texts from my students or staying after class to better explain a skill they may be struggling with.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a dog agility trainer. I teach dog owners how to train their dog to do agility (an obstacle course where the handler directs the dog through a series jumps, tunnels, a tire, weave poles, and obstacles that require the dog to ascend and descend in a particular manner). I started agility with my own dog in 1989 and, while she was not particularly good at it, I became hooked. Some friends convinced me to start teaching so they didn’t have to drive to Dallas to take classes, and PAWSitive Agility Working School was born in November 1996. I was still working full-time then, so teaching agility was only on the weekends. However, my phone started ringing off-the-hook, and I quit my job in the corporate world in late 2001 to start teaching agility full-time.
My training facility is outdoors on grass at my home. I currently teach evening classes from Monday through Thursday, including 3 morning classes. I have 4 instructors who share teaching responsibilities with me for those classes that are too large for just one instructor. On weekends when I’m not competing in agility trials with my own dogs, I offer private lessons and workshops. I currently have about 60 students that attend a weekly class that lasts a minimum of 90 minutes. Also offered are a puppy agility class and force-free obedience class taught by instructors who have been training with PAWS for over 20 years.
Prior to teaching agility, all my jobs were in customer service-related positions, so I learned how to treat people with respect and patience. I believe those two traits are the reason I’ve been successful and have developed a good reputation. Although there are many agility trainers in the area these days, most of my students have never trained anywhere else, and many travel a good distance to attend classes at PAWS, coming from as far as Chico, North Richland Hills, South Fort Worth, Burleson, North Richland Hills, Mansfield, and even Wichita Falls.
My initial experience with training dogs was in obedience back in the late 70’s & early 80’s. Training back then was pretty harsh. In the late 80’s, I learned about clicker training, and it completely changed how I trained my dogs. That resulted in having dogs who wanted to train vs. being forced to train. When I train my own dogs, I don’t use a leash or collar because I want them to think for themselves. I love watching those lightbulb moments when they figure something out. Their confidence grows by leaps & bounds. I try to instill that training ethic into my students as well. Most important is that we all have fun training our dogs, and our dogs have fun learning.
I’m belong to a FB group for agility instructors, and it’s a great place to ask for suggestions when we’re having a particular issue with a student or a dog or class structure, etc. Recently there was a thread about burnout, and I was amazed at how many instructors have suffered burnout at some point in their agility-teaching careers. Suggestions were made to help work through such times. For me, though, burnout has never been an issue. I absolutely love what I do and can’t imagine not doing it. I can’t remember the last time I had a vacation, but it doesn’t bother me in the least. I teach all my agility classes each week unless there’s an extenuating circumstance that requires me to be absent. Those times are rare, though. I’d rather be teaching and training than doing anything else.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Having been in customer service all of my adult life, what I learned from seminars, workshops, and working with people has been instrumental in my ability to communicate with all types of dog owners who want to learn how to do agility. In addition, I attend agility seminars on a regular basis so I can keep up with trends happening (agility has changed tremendously since it was started in 1985) and be able to keep my students at the top of their game.
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
I try to instill in my students a desire to train their dog(s) regularly vs. just when they come to class each week. I have many students who either have their own agility obstacles at home or come to PAWS to train on their own away from class time. Those are the students I see major progress in, and I know they’re “doing their homework”. We laugh that we’re “agility addicts”, but that’s a good thing in my book.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pawsagility.com
- Facebook: Debbie Spence
