Podcast: Hiring a Dog Trainer

Podcast Episode 6: Hiring a Dog Trainer

Hiring a dog trainer can be a daunting task. You are confronted with many certifications you have never heard of and have no idea what they mean. You can search online but are those ratings meaningful? Are their reviews genuine? It can be hard to know what to look for. And then, all kinds of groups and well-meaning people have lots of opinions on what you should do. None of that makes it easier. This episode provides an overview of what to consider when hiring a dog trainer.

Essential Considerations When Hiring a Dog trainer

We are discussing the following areas in detail.

Licenses: Understand why licenses for dog trainers don’t mean anything at this point.
Certifications: Do they have value? Which are meaningful? How to tell what matters.
Time in Business: How to look at this.
Communication: How does the trainer respond to your questions?
Age of the Trainer: When that can matter and why it often doesn’t.
Social Media: Don’t confuse online popularity with good training. Good dog training is undramatic.
Videos: Watch videos of the trainer working with dogs on their website or YouTube channel.
References: They are the best but understand it may still not be the best trainer for your dog.
Confidence: Avoid braggarts who think they can ‘fix’ anything.

In my view, the best way to hire a great dog trainer is to look for people trained and certified by some of the best trainers in the world. Some trainers have built a stellar reputation of excellence over decades. Anyone they train and certify can be considered above the pack. These professionals don’t hand their certifications out like candy. You have to earn them through demonstrations of knowledge and skill in front of their critical eyes. Unfortunately, too many dog trainer schools don’t have such high standards. Too many were franchised when they shouldn’t have been. Even when the founders were great trainers, many franchises struggled to maintain the same standards.

Regardless of the trainer’s qualifications, you still want to interview them. You want to be confident their style works for you. There will be differences in form. But, at least you can rest assured that they have a solid understanding of learning science, understand dogs, treat them with respect and possess high-level skills.