Myths and Misunderstandings About Dog Training

I paid a lot of money to get my dog trained and it still jumps up, won’t come when called and pulls to people on the street!

When you send your dog away for training or have a trainer work with your dog without you being present, you are paying for:

·       A trainer to introduce cues/commands to your dog and then practice them hundreds of times.

·       A trainer to be consistent and practice the needed repetitions for your dog to learn what the cues and commands are.

·       The trainer’s hourly rate and/or the boarding involved.

·       For a trainer to spend time with your dog.

·       For an unemotional expert who will control your dog’s environment to prevent the undesired behaviors from being practiced, while reinforcing the desired behaviors each time they occur.

·       For the type of training that trainer or facility uses – and yes, you should ask!

You are not paying for:

·       Your dog to act without your involvement, to know what to do automatically or to behave reliably in any given situation.

·       Your dog to respect and listen to you, unless you do exactly what the trainer tells you to do when you get the dog back. You must use the cues/commands in the same way the trainer did. You must know when to command what. You must act like the trainer, speak like the trainer, hold the leash like the trainer and handle the dog the way the trainer showed you – either in writing, or videos or a follow up session with you present.

You pay a lot for dog training because:

·       So many people have dogs and need training and there are very few trainers available. It’s a supply and demand thing.

·       Training can be dangerous! You know – bites and fights happen all the time.

·       We are responsible for a cherished member of your family.

·       It takes many hours of study and experience to become a trainer.

·       If we have a facility, we pay a lot for insurance and overhead and you will have to pay for that too.

·       The best are skilled in training dogs and teaching people.

You feel disappointed and taken advantage of afterwards because:

·       Your knowledge of dog training is extremely limited.

·       Your knowledge of dog behavior is extremely limited.

·       You watch too much TV, YouTube, Google or listen to your friends’ advice about your dog.

·       Your expectations were unrealistic because of the above.

·       You didn’t listen to the trainer, read the materials, watch the videos or follow the instructions to reinforce and maintain the behaviors that your trainer spent hours teaching to your dog.

·       You have the wrong dog for you, your environment or your life situation.

·       You bought the cheapest training when you needed a lot more.

I hired a trainer and all she did was teach me what to do with my dog! I wanted her to train my dog, not me.

What you paid for is:

·       A trainer to tell you what you need to do to get the results you want.

·       A trainer to teach the dog a behavior with a cue/command and then teach you how to ask the dog to perform the behavior.

·       A trainer to tell you how to behave, how to respond, how to prevent, how to be with your dog to get the behaviors you want.

·       A trainer to tell you how to prevent and discourage and correct the behaviors you dislike.

·       A trainer to spend time with you and learn what causes the dog to behave the way he does.

·       A trainer’s time to answer any question you may have, often following up with texts, links, resources, videos, emails and more.

·       Training techniques that match the trainer’s philosophy.

What you didn’t pay for:

·       Your dog to listen to you no matter what.

·       Your dog to know what to do in any given situation.

·       The repetitions necessary to train a behavior in your dog.

·       Your dog to be “trained.”

·       The time needed to actually train your dog.

·       Magic.

Which one is best, in my opinion?

·       The second option is best, because when done correctly and with owner cooperation, it yields the best results for a well trained dog for the long haul, and provides an education to the owner and the skills needed to live happily with a dog, which results in a more satisfied owner/dog relationship.

Why do trainers sell Board and Train and Day Training if it’s not the best?

·       This style of training is the easiest to sell, makes the most money and pleases enough people to continue doing it.

·       People want training to be easy and fast, even though it is not.

·       People will pay for something if it means they don’t have to do it themselves.

·       People are misinformed.

·       People expect something unrealistic.

·       People get dogs without understanding what it means and pass the dog to a trainer to fix the situation.

·       A person has chosen the wrong dog and hopes this will solve their problem.

·       It’s easy money! No travelling, no time talking to clients, just time with a dog doing what we are best at doing.

·       Trainers know how to train a dog. If the owner listens to the trainer and follows through with the advice, the results are amazing!

·       Trainers hope clients tell the truth and will follow through.

·       Great sales tactics.

·       Promises and guarantees that can never hold up, but sound great.

How do I get a well-trained dog?

·       Choose the right dog for you and your living situation, your time available and your finances.

·       Choose the right trainer and training program to yield the results you want.

·       Be willing to pay for what you want.

·       Be honest with yourself and your trainer about your time and finances available to devote to training.

·       Devote the time needed for what you want – read the handouts, practice as shown, exercise the dog appropriately, provide outlets for the breed, etc.

·       Know that you have purchased a living being that is highly reactive and responsive to stimuli. It may have fears that you don’t understand. It may be nothing like your previous dog of the same breed. Dogs bite and fight. Most do not tolerate stupid human behavior well. Dogs are not what they look like on TV. Your neighbor who walks the chocolate lab without a leash may have spent thousands on a well bred dog and training and put in hours himself and if you buy a chocolate lab, it may not behave like that at all.

·       Have a plan before you bring the dog home. Hire the trainer before you bring the dog home. Be willing to spend the time, money and effort into creating a proper environment, day structure, exercise plan, training plan and be willing to be flexible and accept that you bought a living being and there are no guarantees no matter how much money you pay for that dog to be what you wanted.

I hope this helps. I know I feel better now!