I know that doing this really helped me many years ago. The Atlanta club had a very active obedience section and there were also conformation classes held. I took my pet into conformation training there and learned on him. Plus, that area had matches somewhere almost every weekend. It was a good environment to learn. It seems that this is less common today, or maybe you just have to search harder? Many clubs that had classes no longer do that. Kudos to clubs like the Mpls/St.Paul club who offer classes weekly most of the time. People with all levels of interest and experience would go (I haven't lived up there for almost 4 years). I don't know if a special event is needed, but maybe it would be helpful if there were no other venues available. Cynthia lollark@xxxxxxx wrote: If we want to bring in new people... Has anyone considered offering an event for novice novice adult handlers who don't (yet) have a show quality dog???? The juniors learn so much about dogs and how to manage them...why not extend that to people who get a later start? People could get out there with their "pets" or "companions and just learn to handle a GSD. They'd might find they like it and want to find a show quality dog. At the very least it would be fun. The best pet handler wins! and the dogs all get loved and trained. Karen Lollar ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2007. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - www.showgsd.org ============================================================================ --------------------------------- Food fight? Enjoy some healthy debate in the Yahoo! Answers Food & Drink Q&A. ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2007. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - www.showgsd.org ============================================================================