Finding A Competent, Effective Dog Trainer

By Leatrice Miller-Natola, ABCCPDT, CGCE, ABCMT, RM

Dog Trainers are popping up EVERYWHERE! The pet industry is exploding. However, not every facility is a good one, not every product is worth the money, and not every trainer is competent and effective. Here are some guidelines to help you find the dog trainer who best suits your needs:

1. Certification:

Consider only those dog trainers that carry canine training certification(s). A trainer who bothers to get a certification cares enough about the profession to invest their time and finances in pursuing the career. Keep in mind that more certifications does not guarantee they are competent and effective. Certification simply helps us reduce the overwhelming number of choices.

2. Source of Certification and Hands On Experience:

When looking at certification, find out where and how the certification was acquired. For instance, I am an ABC Certified Pet Dog Trainer. My certification came from Animal Behavior College which is accredited. ABC also focuses on training trainers to use force free training methods (commonly known as “positive” training).

That means we don’t train with things like prong collars, electronic correction collars, or other pain inducing methods or tools. I am also a Mentor Trainer for ABC, because to become an ABC dog trainer, one must do quite a few hours of hands on dog training and volunteer work with an experienced dog trainer.

Other certifications you might see include: CCPDT-KA (previously CPDT-KA), which means the dog trainer has become certified and passed a Knowledge Assessment test. This is an impressive achievement and indicates the trainer has done a lot of learning. However, it does not guarantee that the knowledge is being effectively applied when training as the certification and knowledge assessment are typically achieved entirely online based on the number of hours the trainer says they have worked with dogs and the number of dogs with whom they claim they have already done training.

This reveals nothing about their success in training, the training methods they use, or if they are good with people. I chose to also spend several years learning the industry and learning dog behavior with other experienced trainers, and attended a variety of educational seminars before I chose to break out on my own.

I became a Mentor Trainer because I believe passionately that to be a truly competent, effective dog trainer we MUST know how to read, treat, and safely handle all sorts of dogs and dog behaviors. Make sure you find out as much as you can
about any potential trainer and their techniques. Using

3. Source of Certification and Hands On Experience:

When looking at certification, find out where and how the certification was acquired. For instance, I am an ABC Certified Pet Dog Trainer. My certification came from Animal Behavior College which is accredited. ABC also focuses on training trainers to use force free training methods (commonly known as “positive” training). That means we don’t train with things like prong collars, electronic correction collars, or other pain inducing methods or tools. I am also a Mentor Trainer for ABC, because to become an ABC dog trainer, one must do quite a few hours of hands on dog training and volunteer work with an experienced dog trainer.

Other certifications you might see include: CCPDT-KA (previously CPDT-KA), which means the dog trainer has become certified and passed a Knowledge Assessment test. This is an impressive achievement and indicates the trainer has done a lot of learning. However, it does not guarantee that the knowledge is being effectively applied when training as the  certification and knowledge assessment are typically achieved entirely online based on the number of hours the trainer says they have worked with dogs and the number of dogs with whom they claim they have already done training.

This reveals nothing about their success in training, the training methods they use, or if they are good with people. I chose to also spend several years learning the industry and learning dog behavior with other experienced trainers, and attended a variety of educational seminars before I chose to break out on my own.

I became a Mentor Trainer because I believe passionately that to be a truly competent, effective dog trainer we MUST know how to read, treat, and safely handle all sorts of dogs and dog behaviors. Make sure you find out as much as you can about any potential trainer and their techniques. Using the wrong technique on the wrong dog can have
negative effects that last for the rest of your dog’s life.

4. Strong People Skills:

To be a good trainer, the trainer MUST be able to successfully communicate with all sorts of people. A dog trainer’s central purpose is to train people to train their dogs by showing them how to do it effectively and efficiently. Too many trainers are great with the dogs and fail miserably in communicating with dog guardians. If a trainer puts you down for ANY reason, leave and insist on a refund for the class or classes you had remaining on your account.

4. Training Your Dog Yourself:

I have honestly experienced many dogs who have been well trained by their guardians. However, the dogs miss out on the benefit of being in a controlled, safe environment in which they learn to be exposed to other dogs and learn to remain calm in the presence of other dogs.

This single benefit cannot be overstated. Too many people think their overexcited Rover who is dragging them toward a dog is just being friendly. What your dog sees and what I see is a dog who is not under control at all and that could spark a fight no matter how friendly the dogs normally are toward other dogs.

A good trainer is committed to teaching you how to keep you AND your dog safe in all situations. That can be nearly impossible to learn without some professional help. Training your dog yourself can be better than no training or bad training as a last resort. However, I am confident most areas have a least one competent effective dog trainer in their area.

5. Ask the Community:

Word of mouth is still a very effective tool for finding a good dog trainer. Ask other people you know who have dogs with behavior you admire. Other places to ask about dog training includes: your veterinarian, and local pet shops (not big box stores), and sometimes garden and farm stores as well.

6. Attend a Class or Two:

Call and ask if you can just visit a class the trainer is offering just to sit and watch without your dog. If they are uncomfortable or say no, then that is NOT the trainer you want. Keep looking. A good trainer will be happy to have you visit because we are always happy when people are serious about training their dogs!

7. Competent Effective Trainer Traits – Quick List:

• Addresses every dog and every human with respect and genuine courtesy despite what they may feel about the human and their dog. Leave the judgement at the door.

• competent effective trainer loves the dogs AND THE PEOPLE!

• competent effective trainer is able to meet the needs of each student and pooch in their class. They keep their classes small, 5 – 6 dogs, so they can address each of their students needs in each 1 hour class. Learning is the priority. And that learning is shaped to suit each individual student.

• They avoid physical corrections because they have the skill and ability to get what they want from the dog with patience and skill. For instance, rather the push a dog into a sit they know how to food lure the dog to help them sit…and other fascinating tricks like that.

• The humans in the class are learning because the trainer is a good teacher, respectful, and willing to answer questions.

• Every dog and human in the room feels safe and is treated safely by the trainer, even during the first, crazy excitement of the first class. The importance of safety is clear because all the dogs are on leash, a safe distance is kept between all dogs, and humans are required to limit their dogs interaction with other dogs and other humans.

8. Focus is on Relationship:

• Effective dog trainers help their students focus on the relationship between the human and the dog.

• Relationship is far more important than perfection or fancy tricks.

• Relationship is the anchor that keeps a dog from becoming unbalanced and out of control.

• It is the responsibility of the trainer to ask the necessary questions to ensure the dog and human are bonding and to provide home activities that support the development of that relationship. BasicObedience is a great tool for building a strong relationship with your dog. However, a good trainer will also include some fun games and activities so you and your dog actually enjoy training!

• If a dog guardian is being too harsh with their dog, the trainer will firmly, but very respectfully intervene and help the human find more effective, kinder ways to get the results they seek. Sometimes, some of my own students have shown their expectations for their dog are simply extraordinarily excessive. Simply offering more reasonable expectations can defuse a potentially bad situation.

Cost:

Yes, it will cost money to train your dog. How much it costs depends on you. Compare prices. The big box stores and dog training chains will cost less.

However, most of the trainers have about 2 weeks of training to be considered a trainer in these large stores and chains. You may pay less, but the results will be very poor based on what I have seen.

In fact, they often end up in my classes eventually, with some rather nasty bad habits. It is much easier and less expensive to pay for a competent, effective trainer in the beginning of your dog’s training than it is to end up in the “more expensive class” anyway after paying 2 or 3 other less effective, and potentially damaging, trainers.

Must be able read Canine Body Language:

Last, but not least, a competent, effective dog trainer knows how to read the behavior of dogs! No excuses.

Those claiming to be trainers who do not understand dog behavior (canine body language) are dangerous. They are putting dogs and humans in danger. In addition, it is vital to effective training to help humans understand how and why what they do, say, feel and think affects the behavior of their dog in both positive and negative ways.

For instance, if I am walking my happy pooch down the sidewalk, and I suddenly see a dog I don’t know who is barking and lunging and I feel scared, how does that affect my dog? Soon, both dogs are barking and lunging and its just a big mess! Now, whenever I walk my previously happy pooch, we are both nervous and if a dog goes by the whole world turns into dark chaos with dogs snarling and barking!

This can be helped through retraining with a competent, effective dog trainer who truly reads canine body language. And, it can be completely prevented by training your dog with a competent, effective, certified dog trainer.