Just over two months ago, I accepted an invitation to participate in SPARK Chicago’s pilot season of apprenticeships. No, it’s not a reality show. It’s a real life mentoring program, focused on encouraging middle school students in underserved neighborhoods to stay in school.
SPARK matches each student in the program with a professional in his or her chosen field of interest for an eight-week internship of sorts. The student visits the workplace for two hours once-a-week, learning what it actually takes to, say, be a lawyer, or an architect, or, in my case, a dog trainer. I did my best to keep it on the down-low that one doesn’t actually need a college diploma to train a dog, but also stressed the importance of education both generally and specifically, as it relates to training and caring for animals intelligently and running a business.
Over the course of the two-month apprenticeship, teacher and student are expected to work together on a final project for presentation at Discovery Night at the student’s school. Below is the final project that I and dog training apprentice Tatoiniya Alcorn from Dodge Renaissance Academy put together over the weeks she spent learning and assisting at See Spot Run.
My thanks to Mila, the American Bull Terrier who stars in the above video, and to Rue the Rottweiler puppy, who accompanied Tatoiniya on stage at Dodge Renaissance Academy, and helped her demonstrate a little bit of her newly acquired knowledge.
© Ruth Crisler and Spot Check, 2011.
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November 3, 2011 at 6:32 am
Debbie Greco
That is awesome. What a great program to be able to mentor young people this way
November 3, 2011 at 11:29 am
Amanda Kilibarda
This video is great (and it was so fun that you were able to do a demonstration at the school!). I know that she has grown so much from working with you– You both should be so proud of your great work!
November 6, 2011 at 10:02 am
EmilyS
how lovely (both the apprentice and the dog) ! and what a great program.
I’m curious about your decision to call that dog an “American bull terrier” instead of what it certainly appears to be: a beautiful, typically happy-to-learn American pit bull terrier?
November 6, 2011 at 10:24 am
ruthcrisler
Good question. It was a matter of owner preference. And yes, she’s a lovely dog. We worked with a littermate of hers, too, incidentally. Just as cute, but mostly white. I have a short clip of the two of them training together as puppies.
November 6, 2011 at 1:28 pm
EmilyS
those of us who are breed history buffs know that “American bull terrier” was proposed to the AKC as the name for the APBT when advocates were seeking recognition in the mid 1930′s. But the pre-existing Bull Terrier club would not allow it (the AKC finally decided on “Staffordshire terrier”, later “American Staffordshire terrier” which makes no sense whatsoever…).
You’ve probably seen the famous WW1 Wallace Robinson posters; the white prick eared dog used to represent the US is labeled “American bull terrier”.. at that time, the APBT and the BT were very closely related and the APBT was sometimes shown as in the BT conformation rings.
My guess is that the owner doesn’t want to associate her dog with the word “pit” since it relates to dogfighting, still a big problem in Chicago, I understand. Her choice of course, and I assume the dog is a rescue so its actual breed is unknown. I personally don’t run away from my breed’s unsavory past, and I’m really sure that particular cutie is indeed an APBT.
November 6, 2011 at 4:54 pm
ruthcrisler
Actually, the dog was from a breeder who himself used that term. By the way, thanks for the breed history lesson.
I don’t shy from the term “pit bull” myself, but do take issue with referencing the “breed” as if it were either distinct or homogeneous. It’s really just a loosely defined type, after all. And using language that implies otherwise (especially if it implies more homogeneity or commonality than warranted) doesn’t help the public to understand why my “pit bull” isn’t necessarily the same ball of wax as that really nasty one on the news, say.
November 6, 2011 at 9:16 pm
EmilyS
well, if one believes in “breeds” at all, the American pit bull terrier is certainly one. It’s no more just a “type” than a border collie is (another breed that people have trouble identifying if it’s not the AKC black/white fluffy thing.) It is certainly true that a good majority of the dogs called “pit bulls” by the media and in shelters may have no APBT component at all, and should more properly be called “mixed breed dogs”.
November 6, 2011 at 1:29 pm
EmilyS
oh p.s…. did you see Suzanne Clothier on “no”?
http://www.suzanneclothier.com/blog
November 6, 2011 at 5:09 pm
ruthcrisler
Just read it, thanks. Coincidentally, I was just working on a piece related vaguely to her preceding post.
As for “Just Say No…”, I agree with the need in many cases for clearer and more straightforward communication between owner and dog. Refraining from saying “No”, whether verbally or by some other means, is unnecessarily passive-aggressive, in my opinion.