Why It’s Important to Hire a Certified Dog Trainer

Many professions require people be certified or licensed. Did you know that this includes hair stylists? For most US states a hairstylists will need at least 1,000 hours of training, an apprenticeship consisting of a few hundred hours, and must take and pass a written and practical exam. All of this… to be qualified to cut your hair.

Dogs have teeth and can be dangerous to both their owners and the public if handled incorrectly. One would think there must be requirements for dog trainers, right?

Wrong. There are currently NO requirements in place for someone to sell services as a "dog trainer".

Many people seeking dog training advice turn to the internet for answers. While having instant information at our fingertips is awesome and amazing, it often comes with an unwritten “user beware” that many people disregard.

There are thousands of Facebook groups, blogs, and websites that give you the “best solution!” to your dog problems. When you dig a little deeper you find many of the people posting are not in any way qualified to be giving advice.

You find out one person will boast “I’ve had dogs all my life and have never had any problems”, while another will tout “I just have a really deep connection and understanding with dogs”.

While this is all wonderful, it does not mean these people can give qualified information about dog training and behavior. In fact, some of the information they give to people can be 100% wrong or very dangerous.

Imagine you had a horrible toothache, the worst in your life. Would you listen to me, on the internet or in line at the grocery store, when I told you to tie fishing line around your tooth and just pull it out? No? But I’ve had teeth my whole life! I’ve never had a serious problem with them, and my uncle said the best fix for a toothache is just pull it out with fishing line! He’s done it tons of times. Trust me. I am very in tune with my teeth.

Still no? Why? Because I am not a dentist.

Having healthy teeth does not qualify me as a tooth expert.

We need to start thinking this way about our dogs as well. Dogs are animals with capacity to cause damage if problems are dealt with incorrectly. If you have an educated hairstylist and dentist… don’t you want an educated dog trainer?

When looking for a dog trainer, ask for certification and/or education. When you find out what, if any, certifications or formal education your trainer has, research it to make sure it is something you are comfortable with.

It is also important to remember that certification does not guarantee a good trainer. Interview your potential trainer to decide if you’d like to work with them. Ask them questions about how they train, if they specialize in anything, and about their education.

Lastly, it is important to point out a lack of certification does not necessarily make a trainer “bad”. There are plenty of good trainers out there who do not hold any formal certification, but are educated and stay up to date on current techniques. This is why it is important to interview your trainer, and be comfortable with the way they train!

Looking for more? Here is a list of credentials you might see out there:

https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/certifications/

Remember, when you hire a dog trainer, you should be hiring an expert. What is the definition of expert?

Expert: A person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge or skill in a particular area.

That means someone with knowledge in dog training and behavior above and beyond what the average person knows just by owning a dog.