How to find a dog trainer
I haven’t forgotten you! I even have some blog posts I want to put up. But since December I have sold my house, moved, gotten married, had a family crisis, wrote two novels, celebrated high school graduation with my step kids, edited and prepared two anthologies for publication, had a shoulder injury… And some other things I’m forgetting.
But never mind all that! I frequently get the question on how to find a dog trainer. So this is my answer, keeping in mind I’m assuming that people who ask me how to find a dog trainer want a dog trainer that’s like me.
The best way to find a dog trainer is to go to privately owned vets and pet stores and ask them who they recommend. Don’t go to anything that’s in a chain, and don’t just pick a card off the wall. When you ask them who they recommend, they are staking their reputation on knowing what they are doing!
You can also call local trainers and ask them what methods they use. “Science-based,” “rewards-based,” and of course “positive reinforcement,” are all going to be positive reinforcement trainers. Positive reinforcement takes a hell of a long time to work, but it doesn’t cause any issues if it doesn’t work. (And it DOES work.)
If a trainer uses the words alpha, dominant, disrespect, balanced, and (often but not always) pack leader, then they are probably using the misguided alpha dog theories. This isn’t bad, it does work even if they misunderstand why it works, but they’re also more likely to be highly corrective and sometimes overkill corrective, as well as having random rules that complicate life but don’t actually do anything. These people almost always get results, but can also cause issues.
If you can find someone using the words dog cognition, communication, holistic, and (just to confuse matters) sometimes balanced, they are probably going to be more like me, interpreting dog body language to get to the bottom of things, and giving you solutions that have a little praise and a little correction.
All that said, if you get a good feeling from someone off their card or website, call them.
The questions I ask are:
What is your success rate? (Predicts their confidence and experience. If they declare “100%!” they probably don’t have a ton of experience. If they waffle, they probably don’t have a great success rate.)
What do you do if a dog does something naughty?
What do you do if a dog does something good? (These questions together give you an idea if somebody is into either positive reinforcement only – they wouldn’t have a consequence – or asversive training – they have no reward, and might have a too adverse consequence.)
How do you feel about electronic colors? (Prepare yourself. People tend to have very strong reactions one way or the other! It doesn’t matter if the person agrees with these collars or not, but it’s a good question to see how dramatic they’re going to be if they feel you’ve done something wrong, or if they want to do everything by electronic collar. Avoid either of those.)
How would you stop dangerous behavior, such as jumping on people, chewing cords, or leash aggression? (The answer should never involve pinning a dog down or “alpha rolling” them. You’re using this question to rule out anybody extreme.)
How would you work with a dog who, for instance, barks at the door? (This will give you a very clear idea of their baseline methodology.)
I would look for someone who is confident, has some kind of fairly mild consequence, and some kind of reward.
Yelp is also an excellent resource. I go to the negative reviews and see if there’s a pattern. If they each pick on one different thing, then those are probably people who’ve had bad experiences or the trainer had an off day. But if they all agree on one thing, then I can decide it that thing bothers me.
You can also add questions like, “what do people dislike about you?“ Or, “what do people like about you?“ Think of it like a job interview, only one that involves the safety and welfare of a beloved family member.
And if ever, at any point, something makes you uncomfortable or you’re not sure about it, stop and ask questions. Anyone who acts like you’re being a nuisance is not someone you should be working with, anyway. A trainer should be happy to stop and explain and adjust things if you aren’t comfortable with them.
And good luck! You can do it!
Jenna
