How to pick a dog trainer

It's pretty common for me to field calls from people who are confused regarding what method to use as well as what trainer to choose.

Unfortunately for the average person there is no agency, national testing, or universally accepted diploma to show that a person is skilled at dog training, or at training students to train their own dogs. There is no teaching license for dog training! Added to the problem is all the confusing information on the Internet and media about what constitutes correct dog training. Even more confusing after all that are the organizations for dog trainers and their various philosophies. How many of us really understand the philosophy behind all the methods of dog training? How many of us want to learn about them so we can choose a method? We need a simpler way to know if the trainer we choose can help us get the job done. How do we know if this person can train our dog or help us to do so ourselves? How does one walk the maze of dog trainer information, organizational propaganda and faulty media information?

One organization that has defined dog training is the American Kennel Club (AKC). AKC decided years ago to showcase the skills that most canine organizations throughout the world seem to feel are "THE BASICS". The first level of AKC Obedience titles earned (should you qualify in three trials), is called a Companion Dog, or CD.

The skills needed for a team to qualify for their CD are:
1) Heel: Briefly this is when a dog calmly walks to the left of his handler and sits with no command when the handler stops walking. This skill is done both on and off leash
2) Stay: a one minute sit stay and a three minute down stay. These are useful when you want the dog to remain in place waiting for you.
3) Recall: That's the "come" command. Followed by a command to finish. "Finish" in this context means for the dog to go from in front of the handler to the heel position. A very useful skill if your hands are full and you need your dog with you but out of the way.
4) Stand for examination. This is where the dog is asked to calmly stand still while a judge examines him. This is a useful skill for grooming, vetting and drying your dog.

These skills seem to be a pretty good baseline to help the average person discern whether or not a dog is trained. If he can do these things, he's trained. If not, he isn't.

Some people will say "Sure all that would be great, but none of that will has anything to do with my dog getting into the garbage, jumping on people chewing things"... or any of the plethora of isses which an untrained dog may plague it's owner. You'd be surprised how far learning "the basics" can go towards eliminating these issues when combined with fair correction of unacceptable behavior.

SO, IF THE "BASICS" AS DEFINED BY AKC ARE A GOOD MEASURE OF WHETHER OR NOT A DOG IS TRAINED, NOW WHAT?

When you begin to try to find the right trainer you will want to ask if the trainer trains to the AKC's novice level skill set. Next, if the trainer says he does, you will want to ask how long this will take. After all, if the trainer says "two years", and your dog is already two years old, that means your dog will already be four years old before he has these basic skills! Even more to the point, how many of you have two years to make this happen?

Once you've found all of the trainers in your area who claim to train to this level you will want to visit their class. It is preferable to visit more than once if possible. It is very important that you visit the instructors class or lessons when the student or class is graduating; you want to observe the RESULTS. What was accomplished? At this point you will have a reasonable idea how effective the trainer really is. Are the dogs trained to the basic level we discussed? Are the dogs calm, obedient and content? These are all good questions to ask yourself when watching the graduation. Also, make sure to notice if the students are using treats in order to get their dog to obey. You don't want to graduate from a class in which you worked so hard to find your dog will only obey in the presence of a treat, and then only when there are no distractions more enticing than a treat!

Wherever possible it might not be a bad idea to visit a class in the middle of training. That way you can see the instructor's training style. Is the trainer clear and courteous? Do the students seem to understand what is going on? Does the class seem orderly and safe? All of these issues are important. After all, chaos is certainly not conducive to learning, nor is it safe.

If you follow this basic guideline you should be well on your way to having the trainer who will be most able to help you and your dog to move into a future that is enjoyable and safe.

A Brief Introduction to Koehler Method

The methodology we use at Dan's Elite Dog is called the Koehler Method of Dog Training. This method was designed by a visionary trainer named Bill Koehler over forty years ago.

Bill was the head dog trainer for Walt Disney for 21 years. He was also a training instructor for the U.S. Military. Over the course of many years Bill came up with a training methodology that has stood the test of time. While our society has changed, dogs have not, nor have our needs changed regarding our treasured canine friends. During Bill's career with Walt Disney he trained dogs for such movies as Swiss Family Robinson, the Incredible Journey and many other movies. He also was responsible for some of the greatest obedience competition dogs who ever took part in both AKC and UKC competitions. Bill also was known for his ability to help even the most serious problem dogs.

Koehler trainers base all of our training on showing your dog repeatedly exactly what we want him to do. Then, once we are sure your dog knows exactly what is expected ,he is given responsibility for what he has been taught. By teaching in this manner we are able to take your dog to off leash reliability in as short a time as ten weeks.