Choosing the Right Trainer
for You and Your Dog
You love your dog. You want the best for them—the healthiest food, the tastiest treats, the softest beds.
You want the best dog trainer, too, but with so much conflicting information and advice swirling around out there, how do you choose?
2 Things You Should Know
1. Dog training is an unregulated industry
Unlike your doctor, lawyer, and CPA, dog trainers have no official regulating body. That means no required education, no enforced best practices, and no ethics oversight. The dog training industry hasn’t yet matured out of its Wild West phase.
The results are vast variations in dog trainers’ skills, knowledge, and methodologies–and a confusing chaos of advice. (Think doctors before the medical board existed to ban leeches, or attorneys before the bar formed to hold professionals accountable for ethics violations.)
2. Methodology matters
While the lack of regulation means trainers don’t have to adhere to the science of behavior and training, the science itself is clear about how dogs learn and how best to teach them.
Decades of research show that reward-based, force-free dog training is the only approach to changing behavior that comes without unwanted behavioral side effects, risk of physical harm, and potential damage to the relationship between dogs and their people.
In fact, leading veterinary bodies like American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) agree that reward-based training is the safest, most effective way to train all dogs, regardless of breed, age, size, or temperament.
Unfortunately, due to the lack of professional education and regulation, outdated practices continue to persist.
3 Tips for Screening a Professional Dog Trainer
1. Listen to language
In an unregulated industry, language matters. Hire a dog trainer who is committed to the exclusive use of reward-based, force-free training. Your trainer might also use terms like positive training or positive reinforcement.
Many trainers will mix the above with outdated methodology, so watch out for terms like “balanced” and “alpha” or claims to match the method to the dog. The science of animal learning applies to all dogs, regardless of size, breed, or personality, and all dogs deserve to be trained without pain, fear, or coercion. A professional dog trainer will not need to use such approaches to get the job done.
2. Beware of training guarantees
Professional associations like The Pet Professional Guild prohibit the unethical practice of guaranteeing specific training results. Doing so is a false promise; no one can guarantee the behavior of another living being capable of independent decision-making.
Check that any trainer you consider hiring voluntarily submits to the highest ethical standards by belonging to the PPG.
Though behavioral guarantees are a red flag, your trainer should guarantee customized training plans to address your goals and fit your lifestyle, excellent client service, and top-notch support to set you and your dog up for success
3. Look for credentials
Professional learning isn’t yet required, but true professional dog trainers seek it out—because you and your dog deserve effective, up-to-date methods that do no harm. Dog trainers who graduated from Karen Pryor Academy have completed a cutting-edge course of study covering canine learning theory, training protocols, mechanical skills, and behavioral problem-solving. Pro trainers commit themselves to ongoing professional development, seeking each year to keep their skills and knowledge current.
5 Questions to Ask
Before You Hire
1. What are your dog training qualifications?
KPA-CTP, FFCP, PCT-A, or CDBC. Bonus points for ongoing professional education like seminars, conferences, and additional certification programs.
Self-taught, mentorship (without a reputable school’s backing), years of experience (again, without a reputable school graduation).
2. What kind of training methodology
do you use?
Only reward-based, force-free, science-based, or positive reinforcement training.
Balanced training, traditional training, it depends on the dog, or corrections or punishment-based training.
3. What kind of training tools
do you recommend?
Training treats, toys, harnesses, clickers
Shock or e-collars, prong collars, choke collars, spray bottles, shake cans, chains.
4. What do you do when a dog
makes a mistake?
We try again; we adjust the situation or environment to set the dog up for success; we adjust criteria to work at the dog’s level or make it easier for him to get it right.
We apply a correction (a collar correction, reprimand, spray from a squirt bottle, etc.)
5. What is your training guarantee?
How long will it take to get results?
That it’s considered unethical to guarantee specific training results or a specific timeframe for reaching them. That they guarantee to do everything in their power to set you and your dog up for the best success and to get you there as quickly as possible.
Any guarantee of a specific outcome; i.e. a guarantee that your dog will or will not do something. Real training results require time and effort. Be wary of quick fix promises and miraculous easy buttons. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
1 more thing…
Your dog trainer should be
dog and people-friendly
You deserve to feel comfortable, heard, and supported by your dog trainer—never criticized or judged. Your dog trainer should be actively engaged with you and your dog, and as invested in your training success as you are. And though dog training takes time and effort, you and your dog should both enjoy the process. Training can—and should be—fun. In short, if the relationship doesn’t feel right, trust your gut and keep looking.
