Why Hire A Dog Trainer?

The other day a few of my friends were telling me about neighbors and friends who they were trying to refer to me and some of the objections they heard. They ranged from the dog is too old; we just deal with it and it’s frustrating; or I’ve already had several trainers come out and nothing has changed. The dog makes us crazy, but what can you do? Or worse, we just put the dog in a room by himself till we can tolerate him again.

My first experience with hiring a trainer was when I agreed to keep an very loving, but wildly rambunctious and huge (110lb) Golden Retriever. He jumped on EVERYONE and no one liked it. I called several trainers, most of whom never returned my phone calls. I did not even know about positive reinforcement and/or aversive training. All I knew is that Sacha caused stress and chaos in my house and we were not willing to give him up to a third owner. But he was driving everyone crazy—human and dogs alike.

I liked the trainer who came out and within one evening she gave me a great foundation for working with Sacha. It took several months of diligent behavior on our part to reinforce the behavior we wanted and expected from him. And nine years later, he still tries to get away with a small jump (we call it the fly by kiss and greet), but he looks to make sure it might be ok this time. No, my look says. And then he stops.

Shortly after that experience, I decided to learn about training, positive re-enforcement and why some dogs are so calm and happy and others drive families to hysterical depths of despair. The most powerful thing I learned is that training a dog is not just about training a dog. It is about learning how the family communicates, how the dog fits into the family dynamics and how each family member responds to training—of any sort!

I also learned that some people may be great trainers, but just not the right person for your family. And I learned some families simply don’t have the time to give to dog training as the chore they perceive it to be. My job, as a good trainer, is to help the family understand that dog training is not a chore.

Training is like teaching your children good manners. You do it daily in steps. Small steps, then big steps and small steps again. With love and patience.

When done right, the annoying barking, jumping on people and other misbehaviors can be eliminated with little drudgery and lots of fun. A chronic barker, a car chaser, a snappy responder, a grumpy dog all have it in them to be a more enjoyable member of the family and it does not take weeks of hiring someone to put the family through their paces.

It takes the right person, for your family’s learning style, to open up the opportunity for a less chaotic dog owning experience. Participation from everyone, and a willingness to have fun, will make it possible to have less aggravation for everyone—family, dog and friends or neighbors.

Never give up and accept a behavior that seems unmovable. With a small shift in everyone’s perception and willingness to give a little rather than running to hide, a little bit of extra training will make not only the family happy, it will make the dog happy too. After all, who wants a life time of being considered annoying and nagged at all the time?

Give me a call and we can discuss your training issue—sometimes it just takes one session. You and your dog are worth the effort!