OUR INSTRUCTORS

Roxanne Eiermann

Let me introduce myself....My name is Roxanne.  I joined the club in 1993 with a young Doberman (Ditto).  I was immediately hooked when I was introduced to the world of obedience competition.  I earned my first Companion Dog title in 1994.  We went on to compete in Open as well.  We also competed in Agility, earning Standard Novice and Open titles, along with Novice and Open Jumpers titles.  Since, I have titled another Doberman (Echo) and a Manchester Terrier (Bella).  I am currently working another Doberman (Zion) and a Chihuahua (Baci).

I began teaching for AOC in 1994 and continue teaching to this day.  Through the years I have attended numerous seminars and gained knowledge of the training skills needed for all types of challenges.  I took on the job of Training Director and Membership Chairman and held those positions for 10 plus years.  I also sat on the Board for a few terms, eventually becoming Vice President and then held 3 terms as President.

Through the years, my husband and I have shared our home with 3 Dobermans, 2 Yellow Labs, 1 Manchester Terrier, 1 Chihuahua and 1 Papillion.

Joan Dickerson

Joan has been a member of Atlanta Obedience Club since October 1998.  She has been training dogs since 1994 and has owned 3 dogs.  An active member with AOC, Joan has served in many capacities including but not limited to Vice President, Secretary, Board Member, Training Director, Building Manager, Membership Chair, Chief Obedience Steward, Obedience Trial Secretary and Rally Trial Secretary.  As an instructor, Joan began as an assistant for the Beginner Class in 1998.  She quickly moved into the role of head instructor for Beginner and later took on Intermediate, Advanced and Competition Classes.  Joan is a creative instructor and likes to come up with interesting ideas to challenge her students.  She single handedly created the Free Style and Relationship Games curricula.  Joan also enjoys non-competitive agility and tracking with her dogs.  In her free time her hobbies include reading, crochet, cross-stitch and jigsaw puzzles.  Joan has worked hard with her 3 dogs and earned the following titles with them:  Willie, CGC; UCDX Sasha CDX, CGC, ATTS Temperament Tested and Therapy Dog Inc.; Bobby CDX, ASCA CDX, CGC and Herding Instinct Certificate.  Bobby and Joan are currently trialling in AKC and ASCA Utility.

Brianne Farr

Brianne Far has been training dogs since the tender age of six.  She was a litter sister to a Norwegian Elkhound, *chuckle* well almost.  It is true that Brianne has had dogs all her life!  An avid dog sport enthusiast, she has participated in Conformation, Obedience, Rally, Agility, Earth-dog, Freestyle, Herding and enjoys Therapy Dog visits.  She has trained four of her five current dogs in at least one of those sports.  The one not in training is a retired senior.

Brianne became a Junior member of AOC in 2005 and began apprenticing in the Beginner class.  Brianne has assisted with the class every session for the last three years.  Her energy and enthusism are contagious and the future looks bright for she and her dogs.  According to Best Junior, she was ranked in the top 10 among Junior Handlers for both Obedience and Rally in 2007 and 2008.  She has earned the following titles on her dogs from a variety of breeds:  Rocket - Escapade's Sonic Boom CD, GN, RE, ASCA CD, CGC, Therapy Dog; Benny - Sir Benjamin of Farr CD, RA, CGC, Therapy Dog; Bentley - GrCh. Alpha's What Was I Thinkin' RN, CGC, Therapy Dog.

Roger Eiermann

Roger comes to AOC as a non-member instructor and teaches Agility Classes.  He has been training dogs in Agility for 14 years and has been teaching Agility for 12 years.  Roger has owned 14 dogs since 1973 and had titled up to the Excellent Standard and Excellent Jumpers With Weaves level with AKC and the Master Level with USDAA.  Additionally, he is an AKC certified Agility judge and has been doing so for the last 10+ years.  He loves judging as it gives him the chance to see all of the different breeds of dog and the many ways that teams handle running his Agility courses.  Judging keeps his interest because every time a dog and handler enter his ring, he sees something different.

Susan Harris

I have been training dogs formally for about twenty years.  I was fortunate to have Nancy Patton as my first instructor and attribute her for most of my foundation.  I have put advanced titles on Miniature Schnauzers and Belgian Tervuren.  My titles include two OTCH's, three UDX's, five UD's.  I have participated in several Gaines/Puperoni Regionals and Classics and three AKC Invitationals.  I believe that the dogs need to have the necessary skills to perform the exercises and the confidence to perform them in a trial.  I believe that trianing should be fun, for both the handler and the dog.  After all, you spend much more time training than you ever do trialing.  My basic approach to training is positive motivation.