Dog Health Questions: Selecting a professional trainer to work with you and your dog?

If you were ever in a situation that required you to seek help from a professional, what sort of person would you entrust your dogs training to..
Would you depend on credentials or give them the benefit of the doubt to work with your dog?
What situations and methods would you find unacceptable in a professional dog trainer?
When you have selected a trainer, would you hand complete control to the professional and let them train and teach how they see fit without your imput on methods etc?

Dog Training Has Many Benefits

Recommended Answer:
Look for someone that "has been there and done that", someone who understands dogs and how they function. Look for a trainer that understands drives and how to use then to satisfy a dog and manipulate them to his advantage.
Finally, look for a trainer that understands that there is only one way to really train a dog that has to function in the real world. Train a behavior by using motivational methods, whatever that is and works for THAT dog and then proof those behaviors with compulsion.
Despite what all the bunny huggers have to say, that is the only proper way to train a dog, period, end of. The amount of motivation and compulsion will be depended upon the dog's temperament, but, ultimately, the goal should be the same.

As for those that "claim" to be trainers and want to get involved in their dog's training...news flash...you are JUST a handler, all you will learn and need to know is how to "handle" that ONE dog, after it has been trained. Hope I helped!!

Buying and Using an Electronic Dog Training Collar

• First, I would get several recommendations from people I already trusted (vet, friends, etc.). Then contact the people recommended, talk to them about their experience with the situation, and get a feel for who I wanted to ask out to get a better appraisal from. From there, I would watch how the expert handled the dog, and whether I respected their information and if I "clicked" with them personally. If I didn't, they would be politely asked to leave. And no, I would never hand my dog over to someone else and just let them train the dog, because it doesn't really matter whether the trainer can get the dog to behave. The important thing is whether the trainer can teach ME to get the dog to behave.
  
  And at the end of the day, if the trainer can get the dog to behave and I couldn't, I would have to seriously consider whether the dog was in the right situation, since the fault then would be with me, not the dog. And I can accept that there are dogs that could be perfectly fine with one kind of owner, but terrible with a different one, and it's not fair to the dog to keep it in a situation where it is not being properly taken care of.


• I think this is a great question!
  
  To a certain extent I would be guided by credentials, but only in the beginning stages. I would certainly want to see how they interact with their own dogs, or be able to observe them in action before making any decisions. I would also like to see how the trainer interacts with MY dog, to make sure I have a good fit.
  
  What type of person would I entrust my dog to? Someone who is obviously passionate about what they do for a living, and not about how good they can look with the finished product. In other words, those who brag about how well they can train any dog need not apply.
  
  What situations would I find unacceptable? Any kind of "boot camp" where I am not able to be personally involved with my dog's training-I think that is one of the most idiotic methods of puppy training I have seen yet. Lazy dog owners dropping the "kids" at boarding school to get them out of the way. And poof! they come out trained. Not!
  
  As far as methods, it would really depend on what I needed the dog to be able to do. Mostly positive reinforcement training is my first choice, with a little NILIF mixed in, and some mild physical corrections. Anyone who straps a prong collar on my dog without trying anything else first is not getting my money. I want a trainer with the patience to train without having to resort to the last resort first.
  
  No trainer will ever have complete control over my dog's training. All methods will be discussed with me and examples will be given to me, and my feedback will be listened to. I will also listen to the feedback of a trainer who is willing to try new things or to understand what I want out of my time with them. I will not hire a trainer who is not willing to listen, or only knows one method, or worse yet, only believes one method will work in training.
  
  Last but not least, personality is a big issue. If the trainer has a volatile personality and a temper, that person will never lay a hand on my dog. If the person is very full of her/himself, that person will never lay a hand on my dog.
  
  I have interviewed and hired several trainers for my one dog, and was pleased with the results. I am about to embark on another training experience with a new trainer who was recommended by a trainer I know and respect. I will still be interviewing this person and observing how he interacts with my dog.
  
  It is very important to me that I believe in the methods used by any trainer I hire, as these methods are what I will have to agree to using once the class is over.
  
  ETA: Ha! I knew that would get a rise out of our resident "yank and crank" people!