Finding a Dog Trainer

FOREWORD

The original purpose of this blog was to give people considering training with me some insight to how I do things. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was also a good way to blow off some steam.

What I also did not realize was how many people outside Colorado Springs would read this blog. A few weeks ago I got a request to print a blog article from New Zealand. Unfortunately I did not take a picture of how much my head swelled up on that day.

So for those of you in Colorado Springs thinking about training here at Pikes Peak Manners In Minutes read this and apply it to me too. For those of you elsewhere, I hope this helps you pick a trainer.

THE DOG DOESN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU WANT.

If you look at it analytically, training is getting a dog to do something they already know how to do and can physically perform, when you want them to do it. They know how to sit. You first teach them the word for it and then you teach them that sit is a command to be obeyed. On the other hand since a dog doesn’t have thumbs, you probably can’t teach them to drive.

The key is consistency. If the trainer is not consistent with your dog, or the trainer does not have the time or ability to make you consistent, the training never goes well.

THE OWNER DOESN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT TO DO OR HOW TO DO IT.

The trainer has taught every command, and made it reliable, hundreds or thousands of times. The owner hasn’t. Since the average trainer sees more dogs in a week than the client will own in a lifetime, the trainer is not going to have a problem. But it the trainer fails to teach the owner the what and how of the training system, then the dog will not become reliable.

Some people can train dogs but not people. And I suppose some can train people but not dogs. Find a trainer who trains both.

THE PACE OF THE TRAINING DOESN’T ADAPT TO THE DOG’S NEEDS AND EXPERIENCES.

Dogs can’t be turned out like cookies with a cookie cutter. Different ages, different breeds and different events shape how the dog learns. A six month old retriever who was obtained at six weeks is going to train differently from an eight year old terrier that is at its third home.

If the training system or the trainer cannot adjust the training to meet the dog’s needs, then it will not work.

THE OWNER NEVER LEARNS THE BASICS OF PACK LEADERSHIP.

The pack leader is fair, firm and consistent. If the trainer or the training method fails to teach that to the owner, then the dog will not respect the owner. Without respect, no training method will work reliably.

If the trainer is not fair, firm, and consistent, you will have a hard time being fair, firm and consistent. Both of you may be alpha, but that bullying, not leadership.

THE TRAINING METHOD DOESN’T MAKE SENSE TO THE DOG AND/OR TO THE OWNER.

If doesn’t make sense to one or the other, then it just is not going to work. Some methods make sense to the dog but not the owner. That is the fault of the trainer. Some methods do not make sense to the dog, that is the fault of the system the trainer uses

The trainer has to make a commitment that the dog and the owner will not fail. The training method has to give the owner the ablity to keep that commitment.

YOU AREN’T COMFORTABLE WITH THE TRAINER.

Sometimes people pick trainers because of really good advertising. You call because of the size of the ad or the wording of a website. But all advertising (including mine) is designed to get you in the door. That doesn’t guarantee that what is inside the door is what you want, what you or the dog can do, and most importantly what you feel comfortable with.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows there were over 41000 people who listed themselves as full time animal trainers (all animals, not just dogs) in 2008.

Of course if there was a reliable way of grading them you would have a bell curve distribution. Only a very few will be really, really bad, and only a very few would be very, very good. The greatest number will be okay.

So find someone you are comfortable with. Do your research. Look at everything you can find on them. Take everything, especially testimonials on their website and reviews on lists that don’t have everybody, with a grain of salt.

Go and meet with them. Most aren’t so rich and so famous that they do not have time to spend on you before they sign you up. See their training center. If they have an evaluation, watch how your dog reacts to them and how they react to your dog. Ask if you can sit in on a class. And don’t rely on how their dog acts. It won’t be an average dog.

If you are comfortable with the system and the trainer, you probably found the right match.

Doug