Hey Everyone!! So you’ve got that cute little puppy or that handsome adult dog. You wanna get off on the right foot and are eager to start training with him. However, you’ve never had a dog in training before, where do you go? How do you know who’s who? Do you want to drop your dog off at a daycare/day train facility? These are all questions that we can help you ask and answer now.
Before you even start your search for a dog trainer you have to make it clear what exactly are your training goals for you and your puppy. Here’s some questions that should be answered by you before reaching out to a trainer:
- What are your training methods that you want? Balanced? Positive-Only? Positively-Balanced?
- What devices/collars do you put on your dog to walk around at the park or neighborhood (E-Collar, Flat Collar, Prong Collar, Martingale, etc)
- Are you looking for just pet obedience and great manners when guests are over to the house?
- Are you interested in Competition Obedience at all?
- Are you interested in group classes or private In-home Lessons?
- Are you looking for day-time or night-time sessions?
There’s one more popular thing that’s huge and is normally the first question……guessed it yet???? “How much is it?” This question makes most dog trainers twinge. But also its quite understandable. You definitely want to know how much this is going to set you back so that you can budget for it. I normally tell people it’s kind of like kids. I am a firm believe that kids should do youth sports, there is nothing wrong with exercise in a group setting, meeting new people, and bonding with child, same thing for your dog. Its great exercise and you might even have fun doing competitive events like dock diving, rally, obedience with your dog. Doing these dog sports will cost money, but they are fun and very beneficial for you and your dog. I will use myself for an example. If I’m trying to sell an In-Home Adult Program the price for that is $1500.00. For instance when you go to their website or Facebook page their services should be listed somewhere on the website:
A good trainer will not harp on the price and will not allow you to harp on the price. I, for example, do not post prices on my website. I like to talk to potential clients because everyone’s needs are different and when I’m customizing a program we can add-on and subtract different services. So don’t get caught up on the price. I always tell my potential clients that when you get a dog/puppy its not just a one time gift, its actually an investment, vet bills, training, you will be investing for the next 10-15 years of your life for these dogs well-being. So when you are in the thinking process of adding a dog to your family the financial demand if could take as well and training should definitely be at the top of the list. Trainers should continue to tell you the value of the package you are choosing to go with not harp on the price. What you will be receiving as client or member of their training family. For my business as you can see above the perks of becoming a loyal customer are endless unlimited advice, Private Facebook Groups, 24/7 Access to instructors through groups, if you need discounted refresher lessons, chances to get involved in dog sports to keep you and your dog active. The list goes on. I discuss this more during our In-Home Evaluation.
Another thing to look at is the trainer’s personally. If the trainer is fairly new they might not have a lot of reviews so I wouldn’t solely base my decision to work with them on lack of reviews. I would ask for references instead. Look at their dogs, do they use their dogs as demo dogs? do they show or trial their dogs? do they trial or show other peoples dogs? How long have they been competing or getting titles on dogs? I can use myself in this example, I have been training and showing my own dogs since 2009. My first Training dog was Presco. I started Training in AKC Obedience and Rally in 2010 and got my first AKC title in 2012 with Presco. In 2017 I started training in IGP/Schutzhund with Tia and Capone and got my first title in IGP in 2019. To me this shows that the trainer understands how to train multiple dogs and figure out what motivates each dog. There is no single certification that is REQUIRED to be a dog trainer. However you also want to look at what they are doing for professional development. Do they attend seminars? workshops? take online classes? Conferences? As a professional dog trainer, I try to set aside time in the year to at least attend 3 seminar/conference/workshops a year. During trial season I will take off some weekends to travel to trials and some trainings.
So I hope this guide helps you to weed out and find the trainer that is right for you. If you have any more questions please don’t hesitate to get ahold of us at:
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