Professional dog trainers??????

As dog owners, if you , were wanting to take your dog to dog training, whether one to one or group training.

It could be for a number of reasons from problem solving, general obeidence or some form of specialised training.

What would you expect from the trainer??.

Does experience matter more than qualifications, or do you lean towards the trainer with more certificates under their belts, than actual hands on training time.

I ask this purely because you cant drive down a street nowadays without passing some form of van with doggy day care or K9 dog training written on the side of it.

It worries me that anybody can lay claim to being a "dog trainer" without to much trouble, and the people who get the shortend of some dubious charactors are the owners wallets, but more importantly the dogs themselves.
Anyone got any views??.

I think it is slightly different over here you have to have some qualifications to set up anything. I will check next time I am at dog school. Also over here there are a lot less people that take thier dog for any sort of training so its not the fashion as such so dog training is few and far between.

What I look for is people that are good with dogs and people, and dont treat thier clients like idiots, I also think that experience goes a long way (although the school I go to has only been going 3 years)

By the looks of it in the UK a lot of people have decided it a good way to make a few bob.

I`ve been to a lot of trainers over the years.
I have learned to look at methods first. If they use methods I`m comfortable with, I`m happy to stay.
The best trainer I`ve had didn`t have any qualifications. The most highly qualified trainer I`ve had told me to do something stupid. So now I look at their methods.

Ideally I would like to see trainers have both. The qualifications to prove that the trainer isn't just some tom, dick or harry who has set up overnight, but probably of more importance to me personally is the fact that the trainer has trained their own dogs to a high level to excel in some form either in their chosen area of sport or for work.

In the past I have had one to one help with training my GSDs (from general obedience through to tracking and searching) by a police dog instructor and an army dog trainer and group lessons from instructors who have competed and excelled in obedience competition. With my collies, I started off with one to one and group lessons from a world renowned sheepdog trialler for sheep work, and the same obedience trainers (as with the GSDs) for general obedience in a group situation.

I am currently looking into the options locally to take my younger GSD for some more advanced training, but have yet to make up my mind.

Thing is we all have to start somewhere & I have actually got some of my best advice from trainers who were working with us as part of their certification. They had fresh ideas & were not as rigid in "my way is the only way" than many others. I do think there is a danger in trusting too much in certification. I know of two trainers who did courses. One appears to be much more highly trained than the other but having seen both of them work I'm convinced the higher more impressive certification is because the course cost more & he paid for more but I don't think he got more.

For me, it would be most important for them to have experience with my particular breed, then next would come which methods they use, and last but not least would be how MY dog reacts with them. After an experience we had at puppy training classes with one of their fully qualified trainers who herself was pretty high up in obedience, I would put that one at the very top of my list I think, because my dog was scared stiff of her because of something she did (i.e. SHOUTING when she was only 12 weeks old - not good!!!).

Qualifications are also important to me, but not paramount. I wouldn't trust anybody who had a sign written van and not much else, it's experience (again, with my breed), over and over again for me, and basically, whether or not I myself gel with them, that's important too.

The lady I do my fun agility with, is a bit like marmite, I've heard some really bad things about her, and YET, I get on with her like a house on fire, she knows my dog, she knows how not to do things with her, she's had gsd's all her life, she's pretty old and very experienced, and has also been in the showing world with her gsd's, and do you know what, I haven't once asked her how qualified she is , purely because I trust her on face value with how she goes about it all. She also runs training classes somewhere else which I haven't yet been to yet, so I'm sure she's more than qualified in this field, unlike a lot of them.

It's getting up my nose a bit, the way these dog walkers/sitters/fairy dogmothers seem to think they can just "add a bit of training in" to get more cash!!!!!

Good points Helen, and, like you, I tend to gravitate towards trainers who are experienced in my breeds. Also, it is of extreme importance how my dog, and also how I, get on with the trainer. A trainer can be fantastic but if you don't gel, then you don't gel.

I've had my high energy dog for a year, and I was totally ignorant about dog trainers.

The first put Ellie in a prong right away. I believed what trainer said that this was the only way I could train my dog. Ellie's behavior worsened. Ellie pulled me down three times. I got yelled at. The second trainer practically hung Ellie from the ceiling with a half choke collar. I quit the class. The third trainer said he could fix everything with a prong. He said he'd never heard of a dog's behavior worsening with a prong. I said no to the training and left.

I've been using a harness for a few months now with pretty good results, and I learned loose lead walking from a book. I still need help. Sometimes Ellie refuses to walk.

I've found a trainer whose methods I like and we'll be starting classes again.

So for me the most important criteria is the method used--which is how I found this board after googling. Then I look at reviews and experience.

It's getting up my nose a bit, the way these dog walkers/sitters/fairy dogmothers seem to think they can just "add a bit of training in" to get more cash!!!!!


The first put Ellie in a prong right away

I totally agree, and that is my concern that some of those walkers/sitters/trainers are in it for the quick buck and not for the benifit of the dog.

Regarding the prong or pinch collar, When I started out on my dor career I was told to put a pinch on my first dog for some safety and control exercises, (man work) used it once hated it ,and have never used one again. I have trained some very high drive dogs over the years and have never had to revert to a pinch or worse electric collar, they are a quick fix which rely on fear and pain foe the dog!!! phew

One issue I have had is that some trainers think every dog is a Border Collie, and have too high expectations of certain breeds. I'm lucky in that I found a trainer who understands how different breeds have different temperaments and some will not excell at certain tasks. For me, I would look at a trainer who understands this simple concept, and also uses positive training methods. I wouldn't go to a yank and crank' dog school. Been to one before and walked out.