Questions to Ask Trainer? (lab, training, fleas, neutered)
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I talked by phone in depth with a trainer who seems like a good fit for us and our pup, Chase, who is going through severe separation anxiety with us. She charges $495 for off leash obedience training in our home, estabilishing boundaries, and establishing us as leaders in the house. Training ends when those goals are met, however long that takes. Obedience stuff is guaranteed, but she cannot guarantee success with the separation anxiety as it is a very difficult issue and may be the result of early life experiences and not leadership issues.
Look good? What questions should I ask her before we move ahead with the training? We've never participated in professional training before, so we weren't sure what to ask. iThanks in advance for your suggestions!
I would want to talk with others that have used the trainer's services, so I would ask for references. Even though her selection will be filtered, you can get an idea of her work methods.
I would also want to know how she handles challenges and failures.
Is she certified or accredited? (I suggest that you use a certified or accredited dog trainer only)
Has she worked with separation anxiety issues before? If so, what has been her approach? Can she give you a reference from a client that she has helped with separation anxiety? (a specific reference in the area you need help with would be very useful to understand her methods)
What are her expectations? Full erradication of the behavior or control of the behavour? (Its been my experience that erradication of separation anxiety almost never happens but it can be controlled.)
Does she work with positive reinforcement or discipline based methods? (personally, I prefer positive reinforcement methods. They take a little longer but work the best with the least amount of trauma to your dog)
Will the training take place in your home or in a place of her choice? (again...personally....I've found that separation anxiety cannot be effectively managed with conditioning that takes place outside the home)
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
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To me, the best way to evaluate a dog trainer is to watch them work and see their work product. If you don't think that you can do the things that the trainer does while he/she is working with the dogs, then you don't have a good match.
To that end, I would request a demonstration or the opportunity to observe a session. She may not be able to meet that request for legitimate reasons or may not want to set that precedent but she may offer an acceptable alternative.
i agree with jimbo, observing a training session is the best thing you can do. if she does any group sessions that shouldn't be a problem. if she's secretive about her methods, that's a red flag.
she is an apdt certified behaviorist which is a good sign.
I just responded to your other thread. Since this is a puppy, my personal opinion is that a puppy class (with a group) would be the best first step. They do basic obedience in puppy class, e.g., sit, stay, come, etc. but the best part is that it really helps to socialize the dog with both other dogs and people. And that is extremely important. And puppy class is much cheaper than $500.
If you go with this trainer, I suggest making an agreement that you will commit/not commit to the $500 training arrangement until after your first session. Talk to her about her methods and have you practice some of them yourself with her there. She should advocate your entire family's involvement also. I like clicker and treat use for training, so I don't know what her "totally verbal" training would be like.
Thanks for all the awesome suggestions! I just got off the phone with her...I asked if we could do a consultation to learn more about her methods before we commit and she said that she never asks anyone to sign until after the first session which typically lasts 3 hours. Ours will last more like 1.5 though since Chase just got neutered today and will not be up for training by then. $500 is on the lower end of the price range for our area (trust me, I've talked to MANY trainers/behaviorists over the last few days. I do think we're feeling a little desperate at this point, mostly bc we worry about what it will be like for him/us the first week in August when I will be back to work. But we feel like off leash training certainly can't hurt and will give us a lot of benefits in addition to hopefully lessening the separation anxiety. Thanks again!
I hired www.BarkBusters.com for some behavior work and was completely satisfied. If she uses methods like theirs, you will be satisfied, too. My first sesion was about 3 hrs, with many follow--up sessions.
We signed with offleashtrainer. Loved her! She is even dogsitting for Chase on Sunday so we can go to his little cousin's bday party and not have to worry about him stressing out while still recovering from yesterdays neutering. We've got some work ahead of us, but we are hopeful!
I talked by phone in depth with a trainer who seems like a good fit for us and our pup, Chase, who is going through severe separation anxiety with us. She charges $495 for off leash obedience training in our home, estabilishing boundaries, and establishing us as leaders in the house. Training ends when those goals are met, however long that takes. Obedience stuff is guaranteed, but she cannot guarantee success with the separation anxiety as it is a very difficult issue and may be the result of early life experiences and not leadership issues.
Look good? What questions should I ask her before we move ahead with the training? We've never participated in professional training before, so we weren't sure what to ask. iThanks in advance for your suggestions!
You should post this in the Charlotte City Data site as well. I think I have heard of this trainer: good things. But I'd have to search the Charlotte site to make sure. I too am going to be looking for a good trainer in the S. Charlotte area in the next month for my lab mix.
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