Comments on: Dog Care 101 Tip #198: How To Choose A Dog Trainer http://www.bestbullysticks.com/blog/101-dog-care/dog-care-101-tip-198-how-to-choose-a-dog-trainer/ Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:05:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Kim Willis http://www.bestbullysticks.com/blog/101-dog-care/dog-care-101-tip-198-how-to-choose-a-dog-trainer/comment-page-1/#comment-57361 Kim Willis Thu, 24 Jan 2013 03:33:15 +0000 http://www.bestbullysticks.com/blog/?p=13791#comment-57361 Very good information. I am a trainer and find a lot of people are confused about how to choose a trainer. I do mostly one-on-one training and fully believe this is the only way to really become educated. In private training I provide information, and the tools that empower owners to make better decisions with their dogs in every aspect of their lives. In a pinch classes are better then no training, but personal training cannot be compared at all to group classes even in the slightest. The cost is not as outrageous as one would think for the training and education you get. Fees usually range from $25 per hour to $100 per hour depending on where you live and what programs the trainer has. I have seen some pretty good small classes though, but please pick a trainer that is not associated with a dog market chain like Pet Smart. I know they won't be happy with me saying that, but I have seen their training book and they is not flexibility in their training or methods. Chains have standardized training for a reason, and this is because they don't usually hire the best trainers, and have they have the need to control what their trainers do. Note I said usually. I have a couple really good trainers at chains, some were friends, but their hands are and they cannot react as individuals even they know it is best. I have personally seen this with trainers I know working at chains. When you see someone with a very well trained dog, ask him or her who his or her trainer was. Any businessperson can provide good references; so don't count on references provided by someone in any business. The best reference is someone you found. But totally make sure you check the resume of your prospective trainer. They do not have to have a much of stuff behind their name. You will find all that stuff means nothing without real experience. I have seen trainers with less then a few years experience join several training organizations just to look bigger or better. What you want to know is how can that trainer prove they have achieved experience in many different canine disciplines. Knowing the fun stuff like positive reinforcement and obedience is just enough. To truly help owners trainers need to have achieved competitive or working titles that someone else tested them on. These third part titles are proof of achievement. When I get young trainers I tell them, train free for five years while you put at least two titles a year on your dogs. If you cannot do this, don't become a trainer. There are WAY to many trainers out there training that have no business being there. I get people all the time want to become a trainer. They wake up one day and decide to be a trainer. I know one in my area that decided she was good with dogs and loved to train. Worked with one obedience trainer for six months, and after charged as much as top trainers in our area do. This kind of trainer is dangerous. I follow them up all the time to fix what they could not do or messed up. I have seen some good five to ten year trainers, but my preference is that if you are paying out your hard earned money, choose trainers with at least ten years experience that have achieved at least ten titles of some kind. There are exceptions to that rule, and only you can decide if the resume is good enough. I have seen some super 7 to 8 year trainers that have worked very hard to build an education/resume. So I would not count them out. Look around and find the best one in your area. I do have owners come to me from states all around me. Some come because there are no good trainers in their area, and they are wiling to travel some to get the quality training, or because of some of my specialty disciplines. So you might have to travel some if you don't have any in your area. To end I would say worry less about the alphabet soup behind their name, and spend more time confirming things on their resume of achievements......like anyone would do for a job position. I always have my resume ready for those narrowing the field. And I allow interviews to make sure the human dynamics are there. You cannot learn from someone you don't like. Last thing, and this is a big one. Watch them work with their own dogs. If they cannot train their own dogs then don't choose them. You would not believe the trainers out there that have ill behaved dogs. Kim Willis, Master K9 Trainer Retired VB Master Police Officer/Detective City of Chesapeake Community Emergency Response Team, K9 Operations Leader/Trainer, Operational K9 Teams, Animals in Disaster Coordinator State Certified Professional Ground Searcher Man Tracker Level I North American Police Work Dog Association, Associate Member, and Associate Member East Coast SAR Liaison Chesapeake Community Animal Response Team "CART" (co-founder), Supported by Virginia State Animal Response Team "SART" www.kustomk9training.com kustomk9training@cox.net 757-421-0446 Home Very good information. I am a trainer and find a lot of people are confused about how to choose a trainer. I do mostly one-on-one training and fully believe this is the only way to really become educated. In private training I provide information, and the tools that empower owners to make better decisions with their dogs in every aspect of their lives. In a pinch classes are better then no training, but personal training cannot be compared at all to group classes even in the slightest.

The cost is not as outrageous as one would think for the training and education you get. Fees usually range from $25 per hour to $100 per hour depending on where you live and what programs the trainer has.

I have seen some pretty good small classes though, but please pick a trainer that is not associated with a dog market chain like Pet Smart. I know they won’t be happy with me saying that, but I have seen their training book and they is not flexibility in their training or methods. Chains have standardized training for a reason, and this is because they don’t usually hire the best trainers, and have they have the need to control what their trainers do. Note I said usually. I have a couple really good trainers at chains, some were friends, but their hands are and they cannot react as individuals even they know it is best. I have personally seen this with trainers I know working at chains.

When you see someone with a very well trained dog, ask him or her who his or her trainer was. Any businessperson can provide good references; so don’t count on references provided by someone in any business. The best reference is someone you found. But totally make sure you check the resume of your prospective trainer. They do not have to have a much of stuff behind their name. You will find all that stuff means nothing without real experience. I have seen trainers with less then a few years experience join several training organizations just to look bigger or better. What you want to know is how can that trainer prove they have achieved experience in many different canine disciplines. Knowing the fun stuff like positive reinforcement and obedience is just enough. To truly help owners trainers need to have achieved competitive or working titles that someone else tested them on. These third part titles are proof of achievement.

When I get young trainers I tell them, train free for five years while you put at least two titles a year on your dogs. If you cannot do this, don’t become a trainer. There are WAY to many trainers out there training that have no business being there. I get people all the time want to become a trainer. They wake up one day and decide to be a trainer. I know one in my area that decided she was good with dogs and loved to train. Worked with one obedience trainer for six months, and after charged as much as top trainers in our area do. This kind of trainer is dangerous. I follow them up all the time to fix what they could not do or messed up.

I have seen some good five to ten year trainers, but my preference is that if you are paying out your hard earned money, choose trainers with at least ten years experience that have achieved at least ten titles of some kind. There are exceptions to that rule, and only you can decide if the resume is good enough. I have seen some super 7 to 8 year trainers that have worked very hard to build an education/resume. So I would not count them out. Look around and find the best one in your area.

I do have owners come to me from states all around me. Some come because there are no good trainers in their area, and they are wiling to travel some to get the quality training, or because of some of my specialty disciplines. So you might have to travel some if you don’t have any in your area.

To end I would say worry less about the alphabet soup behind their name, and spend more time confirming things on their resume of achievements……like anyone would do for a job position. I always have my resume ready for those narrowing the field. And I allow interviews to make sure the human dynamics are there. You cannot learn from someone you don’t like. Last thing, and this is a big one. Watch them work with their own dogs. If they cannot train their own dogs then don’t choose them. You would not believe the trainers out there that have ill behaved dogs.

Kim Willis, Master K9 Trainer
Retired VB Master Police Officer/Detective
City of Chesapeake Community Emergency Response Team, K9 Operations
Leader/Trainer, Operational K9 Teams, Animals in Disaster Coordinator
State Certified Professional Ground Searcher
Man Tracker Level I
North American Police Work Dog Association, Associate Member, and Associate
Member East Coast SAR Liaison
Chesapeake Community Animal Response Team “CART” (co-founder), Supported by Virginia State Animal Response Team “SART”
http://www.kustomk9training.com
kustomk9training@cox.net
757-421-0446 Home

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