Choosing a Dog Trainer
by Los Angeles Dog Trainer Rebecca Setler
In your search for the best dog trainer and the best dog training program for you and your dog, you will find that you have a lot of choices to make. What suits your situation and your dog's temperament the best -- group obedience classes, private lessons in your home or at a training facility, a boarding program? What kind of professional should you consult for help with your dog -- an obedience club, a dog trainer, a certified dog trainer, a behavioral specialist, an animal behaviorist, a veterinary behaviorist? And what kind of method is best? A reward-based system using treats, a compulsion-based program using training collars and other methods of correction, clicker training?
These choices can be difficult to make, especially when so many dog trainers try to discredit trainers who use methods different from theirs. Reward-based dog trainers are disdainfully referred to as "Cookie Trainers" who can't get reliable results or solve serious behavior problems. Dog trainers who don't use treats and who include corrective methods in their training are accused of being cruel and inhumane. Private dog trainers tell you that group classes don't provide good training results, group trainers tell you that private training doesn't offer enough socialization and won't teach your dog to work around distractions. People who bill themselves as behaviorists say that a regular dog trainer will only be able to help you to obedience train your dog and won't know how to solve behavior problems. Dog trainers tell you that most people who use the title "behaviorist" don't have the education and degrees to back up the use of that term. Seems to me that the flinging of all of these sticks and stones doesn't serve to help you in making your choice, it simply makes the whole process more confusing.
The FACT is that there are good and bad trainers in all categories. Good results can be achieved through any of these methods if your trainer uses them properly and teaches you to use them properly. It's a matter of choosing a method and trainer that you feel good about so you'll feel comfortable with the approach you're using and consistently follow up with your dog using the methods you've learned.
My Dog Training Methods
I have a personal preference for methods I think work best, of course, but I think that one of the things that makes me an effective trainer is that I'm very aware that no single method works for all dogs (or for all owners). I have experience using a variety of training methods, so if my preferred method isn't working, I can move on to another and another after that, if necessary.
When I became a dog trainer, I was taught that using food in training created unreliable results and dogs who would only respond if you were waving a cookie in front of them. So, for the first 10 years that I was professionally training dogs, I did so without the use of food rewards. The result was well-trained dogs, happy clients and lots of referrals.
Then I started hanging out with some dog trainers who used treats in their training. Much to my surprise, their results were not the unreliable dogs I had been taught to expect from treat training, but dogs that were trained to happily perform with incredible consistency. Always willing to implement methods that work, I added food rewards to my training programs. The result was better-trained dogs, happier clients and even more referrals.
My preferred training method, the one I now use with most of the dogs I train, is a balanced method that uses food rewards and praise to teach behaviors, then later introduces correction as a way of assuring the reliability and consistency of the dog's response, even when food rewards are not offered. This method not only works well on most dogs, it is a method that most owners feel comfortable and excited about using.
Some dogs, however, aren't terribly food-motivated. Physical correction isn't an option for other dogs due to health problems, age or temperament. A good dog trainer should always be well-versed in more than one training technique so he or she can succeed with all different types of dogs and people. In the end, dog training is about good results and good relationship, not the training techniques that are used.
Remember, when you're choosing a professional dog trainer to help you to train your dog or resolve behavior problems, the most important thing is to go with a training method you'll be willing and able to follow through with and a dog trainer that you like and get along with. Be sure to choose someone who is versatile, explains dog training and problem solving techniques clearly and allows you to ask questions and to be involved in the whole training process. Clicker training or cookie training, behaviorist or dog trainer, group classes or private lessons, just do what's right for you and your dog since, in the end, having a good relationship with your dog is what it's all about.
