A good working relationship with a dog trainer is very important. Here are some things that I advise my clients and other dog owners to check into:
Education:
1. Seminars attended,and when.
2. How did they get in the field.
3. What was the foundation of their learning experience before opening their doors.
4. Certifications acquired and from what organizations.
5. What professional memberships do they belong to. Different memberships offer different services and education.
****International Association of Dog Trainers (IACP) and National Association of Dog Obedience Instructions (NADOI) are the two certificates that I think carry the most weight. If there is a behavioral certificate in their resume, if they are a trainer there should also be a certificate from those organizations or possibly the APDT. I put less weight on the APDT certificate as it's a multiple choice exam, whereas the others are at least a written demonstration of the knowledge of the dog trainer that is usually evaluated by a board of senior dog trainers.
Experience:
1. Years spent training dogs.
2. How many dogs trained to date and last 12 months. (an experienced trainer has already trained at least 200-300 dogs in total)
3. What kinds of breeds have been worked with. A snarky lab is quite different from an aggressive St Bernard. A toy breed with issues, is different than a giant breed with issues.
4. Do they own a dog? Your perspective becomes quite a bit different if you live with your own dog 24/7. In training pet dogs especially, it's important that your trainer is aware of the day to day with a dog.
5. Have they owned their own problem dogs, and successfully trained them to be in control? Ditto number 4 on this, you don't get a good sense of a problem dog that you only see for an hour every week. A trainer that has had a dog with issues, is more apt to understand the day to day.
6. How many sessions do they suggest you take? An experienced obedience trainer will not suggest that one or two sessions will get you a basic trained obedience dog. Most problem issues, unless they are super simple, are not addressed in two or three sessions either. The minimum that I will sell a client is 6, and I tell clients it takes about 12 sessions, if you are going from zero to get a dog trained in basic obedience skills.
7. How do they use private and group sessions? Good trainers know that if you are starting from point zero, group sessions are not going to help you very much, unless they are super tiny (the number of students that is, not the size of the dog). A knowledgeable trainer should let you get your dogs trained up to distraction first, before suggesting group classes, even though they are "cheaper".
8. Can they explain how age and physical factors can influence a training program and a dog's patience level if they are experiencing issues?
9. What different kinds of dog issues have they dealt with in the past?
10. Have they and can they train a dog to reliable off leash ability?
11. Are they married to one method in their tool box, or have they learned about and used many methods and tools? What is their decision making process for what tools and methods that they would work with you on?
12. What are their and do they have safety protocols?
13. How intelligently can they talk about tools, methods, and a plan for you and your dog?
14. Where and when have they worked or volunteered at other places having to do with handling or training dogs?
15. If they can't help you, do they have referrals of more experienced trainers. Vet referrals. What would make them send you to those referrals.
16. Do they offer more than "puppy play and socialize" or "manners" type of classes?
Plans for Continued Education:
1. Seminars that are planned to be attending, from who, and for what.
2. Skills or additional dog sports being worked on.
3. Areas that they see them selves wanting to learn more in.
4. What other trainers do they admire or want to emulate? (be sure to look these up, and read their literature and articles that are out there)
****Key, this should easily come to the trainer's mind. Good trainer's are always honing their skill set.
Articles and Portfolio:
1. There should be articles available written by the dog trainer themselves.
2. Their should be still pictures of dogs being worked with in obedience exercises. If you are looking at an obedience trainer, you don't just want to see cute pictures of client's dogs or client's dogs doing tricks, you want to see what you are hoping to achieve.
3. Video of work or end result. Ditto number 2 above.
Some Proof of Ability to Train Dogs:
1. Clients that are referrals and can be called on.
2. Letter referrals from clients.
3. Obedience type competition titles. (not solely agility titles if what you are looking for is basic obedience). You want a trainer that keeps this somewhat current in either their own dogs, or the successes of their clients in obedience sports.
4. Free consultations are available, especially to problem dogs. You should be able to view the trainer and the areas that you will be training in.
5. The trainer should be able to demo their own dog on the skills that you wish to learn.
6. Do they have a resume available.
Need your dog trained? Visit the http://www.mannerlymutts.com services page. Or contact me at 207-361-4395 in York Maine. Ask for Robin Rubin, Dog Trainer.
Say no to HSUS, PETA, No Shock Collar Coalition (NSCC) or Truly Dog Friendly Organization (TDF). Articles and information on why I do not support these organizations is on here and here.
Education:
1. Seminars attended,and when.
2. How did they get in the field.
3. What was the foundation of their learning experience before opening their doors.
4. Certifications acquired and from what organizations.
5. What professional memberships do they belong to. Different memberships offer different services and education.
****International Association of Dog Trainers (IACP) and National Association of Dog Obedience Instructions (NADOI) are the two certificates that I think carry the most weight. If there is a behavioral certificate in their resume, if they are a trainer there should also be a certificate from those organizations or possibly the APDT. I put less weight on the APDT certificate as it's a multiple choice exam, whereas the others are at least a written demonstration of the knowledge of the dog trainer that is usually evaluated by a board of senior dog trainers.
Experience:
1. Years spent training dogs.
2. How many dogs trained to date and last 12 months. (an experienced trainer has already trained at least 200-300 dogs in total)
3. What kinds of breeds have been worked with. A snarky lab is quite different from an aggressive St Bernard. A toy breed with issues, is different than a giant breed with issues.
4. Do they own a dog? Your perspective becomes quite a bit different if you live with your own dog 24/7. In training pet dogs especially, it's important that your trainer is aware of the day to day with a dog.
5. Have they owned their own problem dogs, and successfully trained them to be in control? Ditto number 4 on this, you don't get a good sense of a problem dog that you only see for an hour every week. A trainer that has had a dog with issues, is more apt to understand the day to day.
6. How many sessions do they suggest you take? An experienced obedience trainer will not suggest that one or two sessions will get you a basic trained obedience dog. Most problem issues, unless they are super simple, are not addressed in two or three sessions either. The minimum that I will sell a client is 6, and I tell clients it takes about 12 sessions, if you are going from zero to get a dog trained in basic obedience skills.
7. How do they use private and group sessions? Good trainers know that if you are starting from point zero, group sessions are not going to help you very much, unless they are super tiny (the number of students that is, not the size of the dog). A knowledgeable trainer should let you get your dogs trained up to distraction first, before suggesting group classes, even though they are "cheaper".
8. Can they explain how age and physical factors can influence a training program and a dog's patience level if they are experiencing issues?
9. What different kinds of dog issues have they dealt with in the past?
10. Have they and can they train a dog to reliable off leash ability?
11. Are they married to one method in their tool box, or have they learned about and used many methods and tools? What is their decision making process for what tools and methods that they would work with you on?
12. What are their and do they have safety protocols?
13. How intelligently can they talk about tools, methods, and a plan for you and your dog?
14. Where and when have they worked or volunteered at other places having to do with handling or training dogs?
15. If they can't help you, do they have referrals of more experienced trainers. Vet referrals. What would make them send you to those referrals.
16. Do they offer more than "puppy play and socialize" or "manners" type of classes?
Plans for Continued Education:
1. Seminars that are planned to be attending, from who, and for what.
2. Skills or additional dog sports being worked on.
3. Areas that they see them selves wanting to learn more in.
4. What other trainers do they admire or want to emulate? (be sure to look these up, and read their literature and articles that are out there)
****Key, this should easily come to the trainer's mind. Good trainer's are always honing their skill set.
Articles and Portfolio:
1. There should be articles available written by the dog trainer themselves.
2. Their should be still pictures of dogs being worked with in obedience exercises. If you are looking at an obedience trainer, you don't just want to see cute pictures of client's dogs or client's dogs doing tricks, you want to see what you are hoping to achieve.
3. Video of work or end result. Ditto number 2 above.
Some Proof of Ability to Train Dogs:
1. Clients that are referrals and can be called on.
2. Letter referrals from clients.
3. Obedience type competition titles. (not solely agility titles if what you are looking for is basic obedience). You want a trainer that keeps this somewhat current in either their own dogs, or the successes of their clients in obedience sports.
4. Free consultations are available, especially to problem dogs. You should be able to view the trainer and the areas that you will be training in.
5. The trainer should be able to demo their own dog on the skills that you wish to learn.
6. Do they have a resume available.
Need your dog trained? Visit the http://www.mannerlymutts.com services page. Or contact me at 207-361-4395 in York Maine. Ask for Robin Rubin, Dog Trainer.
Say no to HSUS, PETA, No Shock Collar Coalition (NSCC) or Truly Dog Friendly Organization (TDF). Articles and information on why I do not support these organizations is on here and here.
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