If the dog trainer you are thinking of hiring and relying upon to help train/teach you and your dog cannot logically and satisfactorily explain why they use a specific training method, chances are it is not worth going forward.
There is a reason for everything I do as a trainer. I explain the reasons why I use specific methods during training, so the pet parent never thinks it’s because “Jenna said so.” Pet parents’ responses are always positive and a genuine “that makes sense.”If the pet parent understands why they are learning to use a method of training for their dog, they will be enthusiastic about it.
If I ask a dog to “sit, down, stay,” I do not walk away and call the dog to come. Why? Because I never want a dog to break a stay command when it could save the dog’s life.
The middle of the living room may not matter, but staying at an open door is never a command your dog should break and bolt. Additionally, having a dog stay and then come to you from a distance does not teach a dog to come when called, under different circumstances.
Here is an example as told to me after I was hired to replace an inexperienced, unknowledgeable, and uneducated so-called trainer using questionable and unproven methods. This seems so crazy and laughable to me that it sounds like it cannot be true. But it is.
The pet parent, Robin, needed help for her dog Bella, because Bella is dog reactive. Going for a pleasant walk or out for the day, shopping, or going to the park became stressful for both Robin and Bella. Even leaving their apartment and walking in the hallway, using the stairwell, or elevator was not without anxiety, should there be a “dog sighting” along the way.
I was not prepared for what I heard next. The trainer was using a STUFFED DOG to train Bella not to be reactive when she saw another dog. Are you as shocked as I was? I thought I heard it all, but this topped the list for me! This was so wrong on every level.
Obviously, the stuffed dog has no connection to Bella’s reaction to a REAL dog, but the truth is, Bella loves playing with stuffed animals and has a basket full at home.
This “learning not to react to a live dog by using a stuffed dog stand-in during a dog training session, will certainly not help Bella, but will it put her in danger??
Will she react to another dog and cause that dog to become aggressive??
I see and hear about many, in fact, too many “dog trainers” that use outdated, harmful, inappropriate, or useless equipment and methods. I have been made aware of several trainers who use “loopers” to train and walk a dog. Loopers are used to restrain a dog on a grooming table or at a shelter or veterinary office, where they are used correctly but temporarily for a few moments to help handle a dog.
Loopers are similar to a lasso used by cowboys to throw over a cow’s head and neck because it will tighten and immobilize the cow. The looper used on your dog also tightens as your dog pulls or you pull. Will this tightening around your dog’s neck teach it not to pull? NO! In fact, the tighter you pull on your dog’s neck, the more your dog will pull. Did you ever notice how loose the reins on a horse are when there is a rider?
I would like to believe that it is not with deliberate intent to deceive the pet parent for the sake of making money. I think that many “dog trainers” are incompetent and simply not capable of doing a professional job. However, that said, a real professional in any field knows in their heart of hearts whether they are up to speed, proficient, and qualified to do the job.
So, are these people who proudly play the role of dog trainer really being deceitful? Or do they not even realize that they have never been properly educated and trained to be dog trainers?
I believe that there are many “trainers’ who love the title of professional trainer but are abusing the privilege and, most importantly, the responsibility to the well-being of the dog and pet parent, that comes with the title.
