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Q: I thoroughly enjoy reading your column every week. You give a lot of helpful information, so please do not take this question as insulting or offensive, but how do you know if you have chosen the right trainer for your dog? What should one be looking for when looking for a dog trainer?
We take no offense or insult to this question. Finding a trainer is just as important as the training itself. It is important that you research any dog trainer before attending their courses or having them help you with your dog.
A: Look for an instructor or trainer who will allow and encourage you to observe a session prior to making the decision and offer you to speak with previous or current clients. Do not be afraid to ask about the trainers experience and knowledge. You will want to choose a trainer that is confident in their capabilities, doesn't slam other trainers and will also encourage you to educate yourself on the many different techniques available to assist you in finding the right trainer to best suit you and your dogs needs. Find out how long the person has been training dogs, what their success rate has been what types of issues they deal with, what methods they use and what education they have had as well as any continuing education they may be taking.You will want a trainer that pursues on going education opportunities and stays informed and up to date in dog training methods, behavior tools and techniques.
You will want a trainer that will evenly balance out their methods of positive versus negative to get the best results from your dog. If you are uncomfortable or do not like the instructor or their methods, find another trainer or you and your dog will not be happy with the results. You want to be comfortable and confident with your trainer as you may be there a while depending on your dogs needs. Keep in mind that all trainers and their methods vary. Your trainer should design a program based on YOUR dogs temperament and what works best for YOU and YOUR dog.
What type of communication skills does your trainer have ? Did the trainer communicate well with you and your dog? Does the trainer answer questions in terms that you can understand? Does the trainer provide written hand outs? Anyone training dogs training dogs needs to have a sense of humor.
Training dogs and their owners can become very stressful on everyone involved. They should take what they do seriously but on the same token, the people and dogs involved should be enjoying it. It should be obvious to you that the train enjoys working with people and dogs. In a well run facility dogs and people will be enjoying themselves and having a successful learning experience. Look for an instructor who is approachable, not intimidating and who encourages participants to learn while still having a good time bonding with their dogs.
What do they offer ? Research pricing . Cheaper is not always better and more expensive is not always better. Find out what they are offering. You want to get the most for your money, good results and ensuring that possible future problems are addressed now. Do they offer private individual sessions or just group ? Are family members encouraged to participate? An instructor should welcome and encourage all family members and others who interact with the dog to attends sessions.
What type of courses do they offer? Puppy , obedience, agility, behavior modification etc. .. is socializing included? Is this on leash training, off leash or both? Do they deal with aggressive, fearful , submissive or dominant issues ?
Your trainer should offer you a free evaluation of your dog to determine their temperament then decide if private sessions or group will be best for your dog. Your trainer should also recognize that some issues can simply just not be addressed at the training facility and must be done either at home or where ever the problem is most occurring.
You will also need to have an idea of what you want to accomplish with your dog. Do you want a well mannered house dog , a field dog, a dog that you can show in the ring or a dog with whom you can do service work with?
Choose a trainer that has trained dogs that surpasses what you would like to do with your dog and one that can address or correct issues not mask them.
Because of variables in dog breeding , temperaments,owner commitment and handler experience, any good trainer cannot and should not guarantee the training results as the results directly reflect from the owners commitment .
However, an instructor can and should be willing to ensure a clients satisfaction with his / her professional services.
This article was published 10/05/08 on Page 2 of the Sunday Sentinel
