Dog Training Factories
One of the most important choices an owner makes, other than picking a dog, is picking a trainer. I want to offer an overview of the certification situation now being touted by many dog training schools and the different types of trainers working in the dog industry.
For many years (now this will be a simple, abbreviated version of how it developed, you understand) it was not a profession. Dog trainers were the person next door who always had those wonderfully behaved, happy dogs. The reason was that the person doing the training was a true dog handler. They understood dogs, the way they think, move, respond, what motivates them, and how to communicate with dogs clearly and easily.
At the point people began to want the neighbor to train their dog, a person developed the idea of holding obedience classes in order to maximize the number of dogs that could be trained and make a profit doing it. This was normally a person with a moderate amount of dog-sense or someone who had competed in dog shows. He could control a variety of dogs by dominance and/or harsh discipline. This became the norm in training and evolved into the "choke chain method" so popular for so long. It was also the version that advocated "helicopter-ing," and what I term, the "snap-n-jerk" technique of training where you harshly pop the choke chain as you give the dog a command. I really dislike this method as it is hurting or startling the dog at the same moment you try to teach it to obey a command (and the dog hasn't even made a mistake, yet.) It is an effective method, but not a good method. It ranks right up there, as far as I'm concerned, with using a whip on someone to make them work. The person being whipped will work, but there's not much good you can say about the method. (Meanwhile, the true dog handler, because they knew through personal instinct, experience, study, and innate talent what was required to train both the dog and owner, was still quietly training dogs that were happy, for owners that were happy.)
As obedience classes became popular, a lot of people jumped on the bandwagon. The majority of them were people who "liked dogs" and wanted (I believe) to be held in the same light as the true dog handler. Methods were created, taught and used. A person would attend a dog obedience class and, having some dog-sense, would do fairly well with their dog. Taking their class success they coupled it with wanting to work with dogs and...Viola!! A new dog trainer was created. (Meanwhile, the true dog handler, because they knew through personal instinct, experience, study, and innate talent what was required to train both the dog and owner, was still quietly training dogs that were happy, for owners that were happy.)
After a time owners began to realize that the "snap-n-jerk" training method wasn't very nice and the pressure was on for trainers to adopt a style that was less offensive, but there was a glitch. A large one. Trainers, in substantial numbers, now existed using a mishmash of techniques, at a variety of personal competency levels, and the quality of dog training was all over the place. Owners took a big risk when they attended dog class. Their foremost question was, "What quality am I getting in the way of a trainer?"
About this time the dog industry began to wake up and grow. They smelled money in the air. Owners, tired of attending classes in which they felt "something is wrong," but didn't know what, demanded change. The industry, groomers, pet toy and food companies, trainers, behaviorists, and now, dog psychics and psychiatrists, created themselves from nothing and poured forth for a piece of the 40-billion dollar pie. The poor dogs and owners were now faced with a new problem. Where there had been few choices before, now there were too many. (Meanwhile, the true dog handler, because they knew through personal instinct, experience, study and innate talent what was required to train both the dog and owner, was still quietly training dogs that were happy, for owners that were happy.)
A bright, profit-oriented individual, probably someone who had been training dogs with fairly good results, decided there were too many charlatans running around and they were hurting business. The profit-driven individual saw an opportunity to get a piece of the market. Somewhat arbitrarily it was decided what constitutes a competent trainer and the bar of quality was set at a moderate level in order to include the largest number of interested people. Next the profit-driven person opened a school to teach a specific method of dog training and began to charge people to learn how to become dog trainers. The profit-making ability was substantially increased as it was easier and more profitable to charge higher class fees and run large numbers of human students through a course than it was to increase the fees and number of dogs that one, quality, ethical dog trainer could realistically handle. It also created a certain panache and patina of professionalism for those "graduating" from the schools if they could produce a certificate. Suddenly, if a person wanted to sell themselves as a "good trainer" they needed to be "certified". But, in the world of the true dog handler, those who could actually work and/or train immensely diverse dogs, under a variety of conditions, stresses, and with differing levels of abilities, and achieve consistently high results from each individual dog (and owner), the certificates mean very little, if anything.
Simply stated, all this means is just because you have gone to a dog training school and been given a certificate, doesn't mean you are a truly good dog handler, that you really "know" dogs and can successfully help owners. It only means you have proven you can train dogs in one specific way. All this has made money for schools, teacher-trainers, magazines, and the industry in general, and going to a trainer with a certificate is supposed to offer a balm to owners. "A good trainer is one that is certified." This is NOT necessarily true. (Meanwhile, the true dog handler, because they knew through personal instinct, experience, study and innate talent what was required to train both the dog and owner, was still quietly training dogs that were happy, for owners that were happy.)
At almost the same moment the certificate schools began, the industry realized that they had to respond to all the owners who were unhappy, and rightfully so, with the old, harsh methods of training. Schools converted to the kindness/positive reinforcement/treat/bribery/humane (choose one of these, or any other industry term you wish to insert) method of training. This did two things; It made owners feel better about training, and compensated for the wide spectrum of abilities in the large number of potential trainers that were out there waiting to be tapped. (Meanwhile, the true dog handler, because they knew through personal instinct, experience, study and innate talent what was required to train both the dog and owner, was still quietly training dogs that were happy, for owners that were happy.)
So, what's wrong with this? In one way, nothing. Trainers do need to be aware that there are better ways to train dogs and these schools will, at least, weed out the worst. By this I mean, those people who want to be trainers but have no business training because they have no aptitude for it, whatsoever. But, in a more important way, many of these trainers are NOT competent to train. They cannot truly adjust to the individual dog, and it is the dog which decides the HOW of training and discipline to a large extent. Nor can they adjust to the variety of owners. I fear too many certified trainers (and I've already seen loads of them in action, I know they exist in large numbers) will be unable to train so that the character and behavior of the human can be modified along with that of the dog's. Without personal flexibility of communication skills, innate ability to "read" humans and dogs and all their nuances of behavior, fluidity of training that can be instantaneously adapted to the situation, dog, owner and environment simultaneously, the taught trainer has only one method to draw from to solve the myriad of problems, large and small, which constantly arise during training. Their biggest safety net when faced with a dog they cannot train is to tell the owner they have failed class or that the dog is "aggressive". The onus falls on the owner. How can you get your dog trained if the trainer won't accept it for training??? Or fails you instead of helping you?? (At this point I suggest owners request their money back and not slink away into the night in embarrassment and/or shame).
Here is a very generalized look at what it takes to become a certified trainer.
Decide you want to make money by training dogs. Find a certified training school that you can afford (prices range from around $3,000 to $12,000.) Fill out an application. Prove your are at least 18 years old, have a HS diploma or GED, pass a scholastic pre-entrance test, pay your money. Now what happens? You spend time, the majority in classroom or long-distance learning covering academic and theoretical knowledge about dog behavior, genetics, etc. Pass a test for this portion. Then comes approximately 15 hours (longer if you don't do well at this stage) of "hands-on" instruction with a certified trainer-mentor, so that you can learn to teach the exact same method, the exact same way to your future clients. You attend obedience classes with real owners and their dogs where you will learn and help with class. Then, in some courses, you may have to train a dog you have brought with you and demonstrate your competency as a trainer of their method.
When I investigated several of these certificate schools I repeatedly had the following conversations as I asked them ALL the same questions and the reply was almost word-for-word the SAME:
Q: "How is it you determine what makes a good trainer?"
A: "You pass our academic test. For the hands-on part, our certified dog trainer/teachers decides that, based on your ability to show how well you have mastered our method." (I felt like barking.)
Q: "So...how does a person learn how to handle the individual dogs?"
A: "Our certified trainer will teach you." (I am concerned when those promoting a school are unable to discern what it is that I am asking. It doesn't bode well for the overall training method when school representatives are unable to tell the difference between questions about a training method and questions about adjusting to individual character.)
Q: "But, HOW do you learn to handle individual dogs? Some are stubborn, some shy...how do you learn?"
A: "You get that after you have had a dog in your class for a while. After you've been with them two or three weeks you'll know each dog."
Q: "But, how do you learn to "read" dogs? It's the first day of the class I'm offering and I have all these dogs and I need to know what is front of me? How do you teach me to know what I'm working with?"
A: " After you have taught for a year or two and worked with dogs, you'll have some experience and begin to know." (Look, folks, as a trainer I don't have more than about 30 seconds to sum-up the dog and how it manipulates the owner. I had better know, know to my gut, and deal correctly and effectively right out of the shoot, or class will be in shambles--dog fights, out-of-control behavior--in short, wrecks everywhere I turn. I either, as a competent, truly skilled trainer, can read dogs and their owners, or I can't. You can't be taught that.)
Q: "But, dogs are all different. How do you teach them?"
A: "By using our method."
These are NOT made-up answers. They are ALL REAL. I talked to MANY different certification schools. They ALL responded the SAME, regardless of who I talked to--receptionists, counselors, trainers. (The best I can say is that they are very good at teaching one way to the right kind of receptive person.) The industry makes BIG bucks turning out dog trainers. But, it doesn't mean these trainers KNOW dogs. It doesn't mean the trainer can truly "read" dogs. It doesn't mean the trainer knows any other way, but one, to fix problems. It means that if their method fits and is easy for you to learn, it will work. But, this type of method teaching is not designed to accommodate variations or deviations to insure success for both owner and dog. Current market analysis has stated that certified trainers can charge more, at timea double or triple, what non-certified trainers can charge. Why? Because of a piece of paper. I suggest "Buyer Beware" be the owner motto. (Meanwhile, the true dog handler, because they know through personal instinct, experience, study and innate talent what is required to train both the dog and owner, is still quietly training dogs that are happy, for owners that are happy.) Susan Overfield
