What makers you a trainer? - Page 2

You know I offten wonder why police officers would never tell how they train a dog to do different things I wonder if that was it? HUM? I bet if people had to title thier "own" dogs instead of buying pretitled ones there would be less puppies in this world. Sorry if this offends anyone but I believe you should handle, train and own your own dogs as this is truely what dog sports are about TEAM WORK/Bond/ Hard work and ect... Anyone can buy a pretitled/trained dog and breed it but not everyone will spend the time, money or engery to do it but they will buy one and breed the hell out of it. Ok moving on ******Observe one or two of there classes, look at there beginner class along with the advance class. Look at there training methods. Ask for references and if you don't feel comfortable with there methods find someone else. Also if they say they have done something, prove it. I agree with you Mike. I would love to go to school to become a CERT. trainer in all areas but I have three kids and the last time I went to Graphic Design School they almost caught the house on fire NOT a good thing so me leaving for three months would be really bad!!! LOL I was on a site a while back where everyone was a breeder/trainer and saw a post by a new memeber that had a temperament problem between two rescued female shepherds and asked if someone could help her? after days weeks, went by and no feed back she "asked Does everyone on this board have well-behaved dogs? Last month I posted a message about a problem I was having and no one really responded even though several of you wrote on your profiles that you train your many dogs. I was wondering if maybe you guys all got your dogs as pups from breeders or bred your own dogs and maybe that was why no one could suggest anything for GSD's that were rescued?"

This is a very open question. do you start at the bottom and work your way up(basic skills and accomplishments). Or do you start at the top and compare everyone else (how do you compare to T. Floyd, gary etcc...) i think in this case Perception is reality. There are those that have never titled a dog, or done much of anything that claim to be trainer. in fact they belive whole heartedly that they are, and have clients that pay them to train their dogs. So if they perceive themselves to be trainers and there clients do as well. in their eyes they are trainers. Another good question is what makes you a competitor. Is it just showing at a national or regional event? I personally feel a national competitor has a chance to win, not just qualified at home and comes in 50 out of 60. While we all start out just showing i think being competitive means you can win. its all relative, lets say you train at a regular club (not w/ a top competitor) and have never been to national event. you may think that a person in your club is a really good trainer/handler because they scored a 275. While, if you train w/ T. Floyd or gary you most likely have a different view of what good looks like. My view of what good looks like is completly different than it was 3 years ago.

Titled a dog- well guess that would put you on your way to bedcomeing a SCH trainer but not a police dog trainer or a SAR dog trainer or a disability dog trainer. In the world of instant coffee, fast food and jiffy lube- At least in my line of work the one thing I see is Instant Trainers. Go to a course and you are now a trainer. an expert, No more working your way up everything has to be instant. The biggest problem I see with this is they are taught one way to train and if the dog falls outside of this it is untrainable. How can you problem solve a dog if you only have one training method and a big EGO. I worked a bomb dog that barked when he searched. Alot of the socalled trainers said they would not put up with a dog like that and how could he be sniffing for explosives if he was barking. He never missed a thing ever. I was even able to train him to search rows of vehicles on his own,while I stood back, he loved his work, was a great game for him. Just like a hound chaseing after the rabbit, following the scent but barking all the way. This is just an example of a dog that would have been either washed or corrected for his enthusiasim instead of working with it. But this is not just in dog training we see it in our schools to. This child does not conform to the standard way of teaching so he is labeled a trouble maker or slow. When in fact the child has either figured it out and is now bored or would do better with a different method.

I once heard a very wise woman say, "You aren't a trainer until you put a schutzhund III title on a bitch."

I like that one - very wise woman! molly

Deeswolf, yes, I agree! Certainly a very good quote from a VERY wise woman!!!

Just remember this. . . Amateurs teaching Amateurs = Amateurs Birdy...

I guess it depends on what kind of trainer you are looking for. If you have a dog with behavioral problems, you must seek out a trainer who has successfully dealt with them. How many dogs that person has titled does not matter at that point. A title is not the be all and end all of a good dog trainer. However, if you want to compete- you need a comeptitive trainer. I would remind people also that just because some is a great handler and has competed in national events does not necessarily make them good teachers. I've been dog trainer for 6 years, I've worked with hundreds of dogs in that time, everything from violently aggresive, to completely neurotic to nearly feral. I've also titled my own dogs who I certainly did not buy titled. What dog trainer can afford to buy a titled dog anyway? ;) I am honest with my clients, I will take them as far as my knowledge will allow, after that, I recommend them to "the next step up" as it were. When seeking out a dog trainer, checking credentials is a NECESSITY, no matter what reasons are for seking one. Sadly, I know of many, many "trainers" in my area who have no right to call themselves such. btw- hi birdy!!!!!!! email me again, I accidentally deleted the last one. Miss Aila got her UD this year. :)

As much as I admire and have respect for and enjoy training for the sport of Schutzhund, I would not say that that would be the only criteria for a good trainer. There are many things that just a "handler" may or may not have experience with. Even though it is highly commendable, you can not assume that a HOT owner of a SchH3 bitch knows everything that it takes to be a good "trainer". There are things like: People skills- including being able communicate well so as to be able to explain things to intellegent people as well as "stupid" people. lol Being able to "read" many different kinds of dogs Loads of Patience- I have seen far too many trainers loosing their temper with the dog or the people or both. All too often this leads to abusive actions. Tenacity Organization skills Leadership skills and the list goes on. Even though a Schutzhund handler may posseses many of these things, there is a very good chance that they may not also. I have learned to go and observe many times before choosing a trainer. Just watching can tell you more than any reference can. Debby

very good point debby. i know several people who have mistaken thier ability to take order from their training director , for the ability to actually train a dog.