Dog trainer

[Wxm 1,638]

What courses would you have to go on to class yourself as a qualified dog trainer how long are the courses and are they expensive ?

 

 

Cheers

[skycat 6,173]

http://www.dogtraining-online.co.uk/

 

Be aware that there is little or no regulation: anyone can call themselves a dog trainer, and whilst attending a course is a good start, it is only through years of experience that some, not all people, can begin to call themselves an expert! I tend to go to classes on how to train dogs once in a while, more to see things from a different perspective than anything else. We can get so enmeshed in our own ways and ideas that it is easy to get stuck in a rut.

 

I would sooner listen to the voice of experience, people who approach each new animal with an open mind, and those who are continually assessing themselves as well. No one can ever know everything, and when learning something new: its like anything: there is no substitute for hands on experience. I certainly wouldn't call myself a dog trainer, even though I have trained many dogs over the last 40 years.

 

One thing's for sure: if you do decide to do a course, do your homework well and be prepared to eliminate a lot of so called experts from your list of 'people to learn from'. I have heard of so called dog trainers who shouldn't be put in charge of a goldfish, let alone a dog! Like one who suggested you tread on your dog's paws to teach it to heel! These sort of people have their own websites and gullible owners pay through the nose!

 

It's a massive band wagon that a lot of people have jumped on, ever since the dog behaviourists started appearing on TV, so be careful who you learn from.

[Wxm 1,638]

cheers skycat, the reason i ask is due to y=the fact someone on fb is offering their services as a dog trainer.

in the last hour theres atleast 20 people with problem dogs and say 4 / 5 are talking about rehoming their dogs due to bad habits.

so i was just pondering if it would be viable to look in to some sort of training, i've had dogs all my life and owned my own dogs for the last 17 or so years. would no where near call myself a trainer but know abit on basic's, and thats all that % of problem dogs are lacking.

[scothunter 12,609]

Facebook , that site is the scourge of the planet

[Chid 6,584]

The father in law went on a course in place of a friend who was sick , he stuck it out for a day ,

He as been training dogs for 30 yrs and as trained a few field trial and working trial winners .

 

You don't need qualifications if you understand a dogs needs IMO ,

[skycat 6,173]

Yes, what is truly scary is that most people get a dog then wonder how to train it: and I don't just mean lurchers. I was lucky that my dad was a good gun dog trainer, and I got the basics through him as I was growing up, though nowadays I'd say that his methods would be well outdated. It is the people who have never had family dogs when they were kids who really struggle, or should I say, those who didn't have family dogs which were well trained. It is a hard thing to start out on your own with no one to mentor you at all, and this is the only reason I advice newcomers to dogs to go to puppy training classes ... good ones that is. At least you are in a place with your pup where the trainers know a bit more than you!

[scothunter 12,609]

Get on Facebook and ask them to snatch the dogs food away from them. Heard that's the top trainer tip lol

[hutch6 550]

HI mate,

 

I never had a dog as a kid (dad hates them) but spent every summe rholiday on a farm and would often wreck the farmer's working dog by playing fetch and taking it on adventures when it should have been working. When I was in a position to get one I did and got my collie.

It was a moment of enlightenment for me and since the day I got him home I wonder what goes through his head. I did a canine psychology course through Open College. I passed with 99% and was told it was the highest mark they had ever received for any of their courses yet I only really had experience of one dog. I took to helping rescues out with problem dogs by taking them on a fostering basis and modifying their behaviour, I got some right cases from dogs that wanted to eat my dogs to dogs that wanted to eat me so it was definitely excellent experience.

I should have a load of fancy letters after my name if I wanted to be all hoity toity about it as I have done a few more courses thorugh Compass which were tougher but the foundation I got from the first course stood me in good stead.

 

If you want to run any type of dog based training or behaviour modification then look at the APDT route - http://www.apdt.co.uk/ They are the ones that know their stuff and can back it up with a very thorough understanding indeed. If you get the APDT accreditation and membership then folk who know their dogs will recommend you every single time as you can't be a alpha rolling moron in this group and they are usually called in to pick up the pieces of the likes that cause further issues.

[littlefish 587]

If you decide to take it up as a career etc, like everything else these days, it also involves insurance, health & safety, child protection issues etc......

 

Take yourself along to several different dog training clubs and see what different approaches they have. Something I have found is that professional dog trainers do not really train dogs.....they train people to train their dogs, so you would need to be right up their with your people skills and patience!

[Casso 1,261]

HI mate,

 

I never had a dog as a kid (dad hates them) but spent every summe rholiday on a farm and would often wreck the farmer's working dog by playing fetch and taking it on adventures when it should have been working. When I was in a position to get one I did and got my collie.

It was a moment of enlightenment for me and since the day I got him home I wonder what goes through his head. I did a canine psychology course through Open College. I passed with 99% and was told it was the highest mark they had ever received for any of their courses yet I only really had experience of one dog. I took to helping rescues out with problem dogs by taking them on a fostering basis and modifying their behaviour, I got some right cases from dogs that wanted to eat my dogs to dogs that wanted to eat me so it was definitely excellent experience.

I should have a load of fancy letters after my name if I wanted to be all hoity toity about it as I have done a few more courses thorugh Compass which were tougher but the foundation I got from the first course stood me in good stead.

 

If you want to run any type of dog based training or behaviour modification then look at the APDT route - http://www.apdt.co.uk/ They are the ones that know their stuff and can back it up with a very thorough understanding indeed. If you get the APDT accreditation and membership then folk who know their dogs will recommend you every single time as you can't be a alpha rolling moron in this group and they are usually called in to pick up the pieces of the likes that cause further issues.

its funny that you mentioned apdt they are crowd that actually put me off recommending dog classes to anyone, so far up their own arse's, with no real understanding of the canine mind and no reference to drive what so ever, every recall was based on providing treats, perfect for a Yorkshire terrier but useless for anything with any sort of drive,

i would think most decent owners of driven dogs have a better understanding of how it effects their mutt than most of those snake-oil salesmen,

[hutch6 550]

its funny that you mentioned apdt they are crowd that actually put me off recommending dog classes to anyone, so far up their own arse's, with no real understanding of the canine mind and no reference to drive what so ever, every recall was based on providing treats, perfect for a Yorkshire terrier but useless for anything with any sort of drive,

i would think most decent owners of driven dogs have a better understanding of how it effects their mutt than most of those snake-oil salesmen,

 

But that is the difference, APDT deal with Pet dogs (hence the Pet Dog bit in the Assocaition of Pet Dog Trainers title) where as you're referring to a working dog. I doubt if you had issues with your spaniel's send away or a collies lift or outrun they'd be the folks to go to but if you want a steady family pet (% of dog owners) first an agility, show or leisure partner second then yes. Many of the APDT trainers do work with working dogs by the way.

 

There is nothing wrong at all with using treats to teach recall as the dog won't or will but only reluctantly return to you if it is associated with a pleasant experience, how else do you teach a pup to sit, stand, stay, come, down or wait? A treat doesn' thave to be a food item it can be anything that motivates the dog. My two collies work for frisbees, they'll do anything for one where as my slauki will work for a game of tug on a rag rope. Neither of these are food treats but they are treats or rewards that motivate the individual. Some dogs will work best for food where as others may work for just a "good dog", it is a good dog trainer that spends time working this out with the individual dog. I'd be interested to hear your methods for teaching a solid recall without the use of rewards be it verbal or physical.

[Casso 1,261]

its funny that you mentioned apdt they are crowd that actually put me off recommending dog classes to anyone, so far up their own arse's, with no real understanding of the canine mind and no reference to drive what so ever, every recall was based on providing treats, perfect for a Yorkshire terrier but useless for anything with any sort of drive,

i would think most decent owners of driven dogs have a better understanding of how it effects their mutt than most of those snake-oil salesmen,

 

But that is the difference, APDT deal with Pet dogs (hence the Pet Dog bit in the Assocaition of Pet Dog Trainers title) where as you're referring to a working dog. I doubt if you had issues with your spaniel's send away or a collies lift or outrun they'd be the folks to go to but if you want a steady family pet (% of dog owners) first an agility, show or leisure partner second then yes. Many of the APDT trainers do work with working dogs by the way.

 

There is nothing wrong at all with using treats to teach recall as the dog won't or will but only reluctantly return to you if it is associated with a pleasant experience, how else do you teach a pup to sit, stand, stay, come, down or wait? A treat doesn' thave to be a food item it can be anything that motivates the dog. My two collies work for frisbees, they'll do anything for one where as my slauki will work for a game of tug on a rag rope. Neither of these are food treats but they are treats or rewards that motivate the individual. Some dogs will work best for food where as others may work for just a "good dog", it is a good dog trainer that spends time working this out with the individual dog. I'd be interested to hear your methods for teaching a solid recall without the use of rewards be it verbal or physical.

when i say treats i talking about food , every thing was through treats(food) with them,

 

pet dogs still have drive bud and if your apdt trainer has no understanding of it neither will the poor victim who paid his money with his dog, i felt there was no differentiate between different breeds with them , one suit fits all type of approach and very money motivated, more about stopping the dog expressing itself rather than working with it,

Edited November 2, 2012 by Casso

[hutch6 550]

when i say treats i talking about food , every thing was through treats(food) with them,

 

pet dogs still have drive bud and if your apdt trainer has no understanding of it neither will the poor victim who paid his money with his dog, i felt there was no differentiate between different breeds with them , one suit fits all type of approach and very money motivated, more about stopping the dog expressing itself rather than working with it,

 

I don't know the individual you have experience of but I agree wholeheartedly that only a fool ignores the instincts and genetics held inside a dog.

 

A puppy class made up of all pups of about the 8-14week mark isn't too bad for just using food to get a few tricks almost there as they are good for socialising a young dog that has just left it's littermates and parent/s so a good knock about with dogs helps it learn a few manners and get the dust ou tof the system. It is the trainers that hold the ppuppy class and then a mixture of young and old dogs of all breeds using the exact same methods that gets my back up, especially when the owners can't get the dog to do something because it is very clearly bored out of it's mind or switched off because the other dog opposite won't break eye contact with it, and the trainer says "let me show you" - of course the dog will wake up a bit, you are someone new!! To have labs, spaniels, GSDs, Mals, Sibes, cockers and pugs all in the same class, all doing the same thing and using the same methods is just blind. It is these folk that are the money grabbers - pack em in in numbers and hit them all at the same time and use the excuse "well five other dogs can do this so your's must be not as bright or you're not doing it right" - no, it just wants to do soemthing other than sit, down, stand, down, sit, come, stay for a piece of minging hotdog.

Your real trainers are those that don't charge £5 per time when you are in a class of 12 but those that will charge £15 per hour and use methods that work with your dog's instincts to redirect them to something useful between you because at the end fo the day your dog's desires and urges have been worked and satified meaning a more balanced and happy dog.

[littlefish 587]

Interesting thread this................. Everyone, I bet, thinks of their dog as being 'well trained'......but what is a well trained dog to most people? Ask 50 people - get 50 different perspectives. What, in most peoples eyes, is a 'well trained dog' and what effort do they put into getting one? To me, dog training is an ongoing process throughout the dogs life.....selecting a suitable type,socialising a pup, basic commands, manners, going on to carry out tasks, reinforcing the correct behaviour, improving to the best of dog and handlers ability and keeping up the effort. I think a lot of people convince themselves that they do this but in reality, they really couldn't be arsed..................the dog gets locked in a pen, in the garden, the dog pound, flung out at the side of the road, free to good home, swapped, or for sale - due to change in circumstances etc, etc, etc. When really the dogs are let down by people who don't know what they are at, are too clever to ask for help, or for whom the novelty of dog ownership passes and a new hobby is taken up.....................

[WILF 47,469]

HI mate,

 

I never had a dog as a kid (dad hates them) but spent every summe rholiday on a farm and would often wreck the farmer's working dog by playing fetch and taking it on adventures when it should have been working. When I was in a position to get one I did and got my collie.

It was a moment of enlightenment for me and since the day I got him home I wonder what goes through his head. I did a canine psychology course through Open College. I passed with 99% and was told it was the highest mark they had ever received for any of their courses yet I only really had experience of one dog. I took to helping rescues out with problem dogs by taking them on a fostering basis and modifying their behaviour, I got some right cases from dogs that wanted to eat my dogs to dogs that wanted to eat me so it was definitely excellent experience.

I should have a load of fancy letters after my name if I wanted to be all hoity toity about it as I have done a few more courses thorugh Compass which were tougher but the foundation I got from the first course stood me in good stead.

 

If you want to run any type of dog based training or behaviour modification then look at the APDT route - http://www.apdt.co.uk/ They are the ones that know their stuff and can back it up with a very thorough understanding indeed. If you get the APDT accreditation and membership then folk who know their dogs will recommend you every single time as you can't be a alpha rolling moron in this group and they are usually called in to pick up the pieces of the likes that cause further issues.

its funny that you mentioned apdt they are crowd that actually put me off recommending dog classes to anyone, so far up their own arse's, with no real understanding of the canine mind and no reference to drive what so ever, every recall was based on providing treats, perfect for a Yorkshire terrier but useless for anything with any sort of drive,

i would think most decent owners of driven dogs have a better understanding of how it effects their mutt than most of those snake-oil salesmen,

 

Fair one matey, I would think a decent amount of animal sense is the best qualification