"You call yourself a dog trainer?!"

Finding a good, reputable dog trainer can be one of the difficult challenges dog owners face these days. While there are certainly plenty of available "trainers" out there, the fact that anyone can call his- or herself a trainer makes it difficult to weed through the field to find a good one. It's not like there is a certification or licensing requirement that ensures trainers are appropriately qualified and experienced.

I've had a couple of experiences with "trainers" that illustrated this problem. Both involved the same person, who works at a pet store in my area. I have no idea what this particular store's policy is in regards to whom they deem worthy of the title "trainer," what experience these people have, or what ongoing training they receive. But this particular "trainer" is someone I would never want to be involved in training Mumble (or anyone else's dog, really).

(now, as a side note, I will readily admit before getting into the rant below that when Mandy first adopted Chopper, we took a dog behavior class at this pet store, and our instructor was great. We were naive then and just signed up for a class basically with no research or questions, and by luck alone, it worked out)

The first time I had a confrontation with this person was when Mumble was a little less than a year old. Mumble has had experience going out into public places since I got him at age 3 months. We go to the outdoor mall near my house on the weekends, the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, pet stores, etc. He used to come to my office on a regular basis. He's pretty good out in public and in stores, and for the most part stays right next to me. But of course, when another dog is around, he always wants to go and say "hi."

So one day we were in the pet store, buying dog food or treats or whatever, and Mumble was still a puppy and pretty hyper in general. He was behaving pretty well, but decided at some point that he wanted to walk the opposite direction from where I was going in order to sniff another dog. He didn't have his harness (he wears a Gentle Leader brand "Easy Walk" harness) that particular day. (In fact, now that I think of it, we may have been there to buy a new one to replace one he had chewed through, but that is a different story). So without the harness, he could pull on the leash pretty hard / far if he wanted to. Now, I am not saying that this isn't "naughty" behavior, but it is by no means aggressive or "out of control." At the time, Mumble was enrolled in Tamar Gellar's "Doggie Manners" class at The Loved Dog, and we were working on loose leash walking, but he had by no means mastered it yet.

A "dog trainer" happened to be wandering around the store at this moment, and he stopped to stare at Mumble. As I was attempting to get Mumble to focus on me and walk back towards me (rather than forcing him back by pulling the leash), the "trainer" came over and actually pulled the leash while it was still in my hand, jerking up on the leash so hard that Mumble actually yelped. He then started to lecture me about how my dog was clearly "out of control" and needed behavior modification training, how he had been watching me in the store and my dog was clearly trying to be dominant over me, etc. He said that I needed to immediately "establish dominance" over the dog or else he would become aggressive. He then explained that by "establishing dominance" he meant forcing the dog onto the floor and using my foot to hold him down by this throat.

Now, I'm sure many people subscribe to such aversive tactics as being valid training methods. And there may even be situations where it would be valid. But the method of training I had chosen to employ with Mumble, "The Loved Dog" approach with Tamar Gellar, is opposite in how it works. It focuses on positive reinforcement and building a positive relationship with your dog. In any event, in this situation, his "method" was entirely inappropriate, given that (1) I had in no way given this guy permission to implement such a tactic on my dog; and (2) Mumble was not actually "out of control" or dominant. In fact, I would think that suddenly jerking a dog's collar hard enough to cause pain would only create anxiety / fear in the dog, which are usually the underlying causes of aggression. I basically told him as much and stated that what he was doing would probably tend to cause the very thing he was claiming to prevent in dogs. He argued with me that the training I was attending was just a "feel good" training, and that my dog just continue to be out of control.

I chose to trust in Tamar, who is actually a known expert in dog training, rather than this guy who basically sounded like he had watched one episode of the Dog Whisperer and decided he knew everything about how to make dogs be "submissive" and therefore he could now be a trainer.

The second instance happened last night. I was again at the same pet store, this time purchasing cat food for Rascal. Because we were in the cat aisle, where there was basically nothing interesting like toys and bones to smell and explore, Mumble was pretty bored and he was just laying quietly on the floor beside me. All was well until a small dog started to walk past us, and Mumble turned his body towards it, still laying down, and started what I call the "border collie stare." For those of you who don't know (as I didn't until I had Mumble and started reading everything I could about this breed), border collies use a stare or intense "eye gaze" to try to control other dogs. For working border collies, who are actually herding sheep, it used for their herding duties and referred to by handlers as "the eye." Mumble isn't herding any sheep, so he does it to get other dogs to come over to him so he can sniff them, lick them, etc. When he isn't laying all the way down, he has his head down and walks kind of low until he gets to them, all the while staring intensely. This is the border collie's "working position," and apparently Mumble considers it work to get other dogs to play with him. (It's called "creeping" rather than stalking. Here is a picture on some border collie merchandise that is a pretty good illustration)

Now I know that "creeping" or laying down completely is not a perfect behavior, and on walks, etc. I work a lot on this and on getting Mumble to focus back on me and to keep walking forward. The thing about border collies, however, is that once they have gone into "work mode" it is very difficult to refocus them, so this is always a challenge.

(sidebar: I remember the first time this came up in our "Doggie Manners" class. We were working on loose leash walking and Tamar came around individually to work with each of us. When she got to me, she asked me what my concerns were with Mumble on a leash, and I said well he does this thing where he just lays down because he wants to play with another dog. She laughed at first and said that most people would probably love for that to be their biggest problem. However, when she later saw Mumble doing this and saw the intensity of it, she said "oh yeah, this is something you have to work on." Still, she saw it for what it was - Mumble's way of "working" on a walk if he wasn't given other work to do. It is by no means an aggressive behavior).

So back to the incident. Mumble was basically doing his "creeping" to this other dog, and wouldn't you know that about that time, the same hoo-ha trainer walks by. This time, he says to the woman with the other dog "Oh no, you don't want your dog to go over there, don't let her interact with that dog, it is clearly being aggressive and might attack your dog." Well, I just lost my temper right then and there. I told him that my dog was not aggressive, and that clearly he doesn't know what he is talking about. I explained to the woman with the other dog (Sophie) that Mumble was a border collie, and this is what border collies do, and I apologized that I had not immediately noticed him doing it and stopped it but that it was not aggressive, and he really just wants to play. Well, the "trainer" could not let this go. He kept saying "look at how he is standing, that is clearly an aggressive stance," and trying to get between Sophie and Mumble. He then argued with me and said "there's no way that's a border collie, that is a pit bull or something, and he is aggressive." (well, Mumble might be part pit bull for all I know, but he is certainly border collie primarily by looks and behavior).

I couldn't believe this guy had engaged in another altercation with me (and Mumble). I don't know what he has against Mumble, but clearly he understands nothing about dogs, and it truly worries me that despite his ignorance, he is working as a "trainer" and other people are relying on him for "expertise."

So what these experiences have really highlighted for me, as I reflect on them after I have calmed down from the immediate angry reaction, is the importance of being careful who you choose as a "trainer" for your dog. Anyone can call themselves a trainer, so that leaves the burden on us, the owners, to really do our homework before we accept someone into our dog's life.

Here are some tips for choosing trainers:

• Get recommendations from friends, family, dog owners in your neighborhood and people you trust. Ask your vet if there is someone they recommend.
  
• When you get recommendations from others, ask them why they like / recommend this person. What do they know about the person's qualifications, personality, and methods?
• If you can't find a particular person who is recommended, check out organizations that provide training. Although every individual trainer will be different, usually the methods used within an organization will be similar. So, for example, Mumble and I took a puppy class with the West LA Obedience Training Club, and even though I didn't know anything about the person in particular who ended up being our instructor, I had heard good things about the organization as a whole.
  
• Whenever possible, talk to the person in advance. Trust your instincts about whether this will be a good fit for you and your dog.
• Research whatever you can find about the person / organization's methods and techniques. Humane training methods are essential, and positive reinforcement is preferable to aversive techniques.
• Find out about what training the person has received. Do they attend conferences and seminars on an ongoing basis? Do they have experience working under someone else who is known to be a good effective trainer?
• Investigate any affiliations the person has. Are they members of an organization, club, etc? If they say they are, or their advertisements say they are, check to at least make sure the stated organization exists.
• Most importantly, how does the trainer interact with your dog? I knew that Tamar was going to be a great fit for training Mumble instantly because of how she interacted with him and with me. She's so genuine and truly loves animals, and this is immediately apparent. The same has been true for our instructors at the Zoom Room.
  

One other thing I've always thought was important is that we as the owners have to be willing to take what works for us from whatever training methodology we use. Dog trainers, in my experience, are extremely opinionated (even most of the good ones), but your opinion matters too. I think it is important that if something doesn't work for you and your dog, you don't just continue it "because the trainer said so." You are your dog's day-to-day trainer, and you have to be able to effectively and realistically implement the strategies you are given. If something doesn't feel right to you, just take what works and discard what does not.

At the end of the day, remember that how your dog is trained, and what methods you use, is going to affect a big part of your life. Dog training is and ongoing, so whatever you learn from a class, you are going to be implementing your dog's whole life. Make sure, therefore, that it is something you can truly believe in and that realistically will work to benefit you and your dog.