Red (and Green) Flags in Dog Training
Dog training is an unregulated industry in the United States.
This means that anyone can call themselves a dog trainer and charge money for their services regardless of their qualifications.*
This also means that the responsibility of determining which ‘professional’ is actually qualified to help falls on the owners — a difficult situation when they want help because they don’t know much about dog training in the first place!
As you sort through your options, here are some red (and green) flags to look out for.
Guarantees
Dogs are unique individuals. Not machines.
Guaranteeing your dog will learn XYZ within a certain time frame or with a certain package is a big No-No.
There’s a difference between offering a class that targets a specific problem (e.g. Jumpers Anonymous) and a guarantee that the dog will perform XYZ after training (“your dog will heel, off-leash, after our 4 week Board and Train.”)
Dogs aren’t robots.
Each dog is an individual with his own behavior history, genetics, temperament, motivations and underlying issues.
I’ve been a professional dog trainer long enough to confirm that not all dogs learn at the same pace, respond the same way, or take the same route in their training.
Training dogs isn’t like repairing machines.
Someone who guarantees your dog will perform certain behaviors within a certain amount of time isn’t allowing for your dog’s individuality.
My professional certification actually prohibits me from making guarantees about behavior or outcomes. It’s that serious!
Techniques, Philosophy and Methodologies
A trainer’s website and social media will tell you a lot about their approach if you know what to look for.
As a rewards-based, positive-reinforcement, force-free dog trainer, any of the following is a red flag for me:
Pack or Pack Leader language
“Balanced” techniques
This means that punishment-based techniques are a regular part of their approach
Rehabilitation language
This can stray into guarantee territory and/or promising things that training cannot do
Electronic, remote or prong collars
Claiming that not all dogs learn the same way
It is true that not all dogs respond exactly the same way to training, but that’s not the same thing as saying positive-reinforcement doesn’t work for some dogs. Positive-reinforcement (and the other three quadrants of operant conditioning) do work for ALL beings. To say positive-reinforcement doesn’t work is like saying gravity doesn’t work.
Lack of information, or vague information about their approach
Owners ought to be able to make informed decisions about the techniques they’re going to use with their pets
On Certifications
Red Flag Titles:
“Behaviorist” or “Behavioralist”
“Dog Psychologist”
“Why are these Red Flags?” As far as I know, there is no legitimate organization offering a “Dog Psychologist” degree or certification, and although a lot of trainers specialize in behavior cases (like fear and aggression), the Behaviorist title is reserved for CAABs.
Green Flag Certifications:
Veterinarians can also specialize in behavior as board-certified Veterinary Behaviorists (DACVB).
“Why are these Green Flags?” All of the organizations bestowing these certifications teach and/or promote modern, positive-reinforcement based techniques. Some of these organizations even require their certificants apply a LIMA (least invasive, minimally aversive) approach to their cases.
Note that just because someone holds one or more of these certifications doesn’t guarantee they will utilize a positive-reinforcement approach.
Nor does a lack of certification mean the individual isn’t qualified or will use punishment-based techniques. These certifications are helpful as you sort through your options, but you still have to critically assess what the individual is actually doing to your dog.
Directories
A lot of certifying organizations and schools offer directories to find a trainer near you. These are great places to start hunting when you’re looking for a trainer:
Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers
*I’ll admit that the lack of regulation was to my benefit when I first started training dogs. I didn’t have any credentials nor did I receive any higher education in dog training.
When the rules are this relaxed, the consumer must either: 1. trust that the provider is ethical enough to stay in their lane, take only the cases they are qualified for, and practice the most up to date methods, OR 2. thoroughly investigate for themselves.