Before you send your dog to School, consider the following:
1. Make sure your dog will work livestock – is it interested? If you’re not sure, schedule an evaluation session first.
2. Your dog needs to be one year old – Many dogs want to work by the time they’re 6 months old, but they’re nowhere near ready to be trained. Just like a child, they need to mature through their puppy stage before you spend your money or my time working with them.
3. You get out of your dog what you put in him – Get a dog from someone who has had success with their dogs. No trainer can make a ‘junk’ dog a champion. This is not to say that a higher-priced pup is always a better pup. There’s a difference between value and cost.
4. How will you use your dog? – If you only use your dog twice a year, you’re better off to pay for custom stock handling services than to own a dog. A started dog needs worked several times a week to keep their skills sharp. A mature trained dog needs worked several times a month to keep from becoming bored.
5. The dog will work differently for you at home than he does at School - When you get your dog back from the trainer, don’t expect him to work perfectly for you just because he did for the trainer. The dog will need time to adjust to a new handler, and will inevitably test you to determine if you’re serious.

The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin (Proverbs 10:8) - The dog isn’t the only one who needs trained. You also have to be willing to learn how to work with your dog in order to get the most out of him.