Q&A with ‘The Paw Man’ (612) – Finding The Right Balanced K9 Professional Divapom Nipper Paw Man, I would love to see an article from you on how to find a Canine Behaviorist and a Trainer. One of the hardest things for an average Pet owner to do is to find a balanced, Behaviorist or Trainer. Also once you have found one, the signs if this person is a right choice or a wrong choice. Kind of a Finding behaviorist or Trainer for Dummies. Love you page and your advice. Adore your sense of humor. Dian Paw Man Good question Dian. There are many problems in this area because many positive-only trainers misrepresent themselves (and I’m not saying that some balanced trainers do not misrepresent themselves either) so you actually cannot rely on what they tell you as being the truth. In every country that I know of the dog training and canine behavior ‘industry’ is not regulated in any way so any 2 bit dog trainer can hang up a shingle and call himself a ‘K9 Behaviorist’ without breaking any laws. I was personally amazed when I registered my business name and asked what laws and acts do I have to comply to?.... only to be told that I was not covered by any specific laws or acts by virtue of what I was doing in providing my services. I think the quickest way to track down a balanced trainer is to approach your nearest Military establishment that has guard dogs, or approach any government organisation that has a dog squad and ask if they can direct you to someone reliable who is not a ‘food treat recreational trainer’. The government agencies to approach include, but are not limited to, Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, Customs, Prisons/Dept of Corrections, Border Patrol Units etc. NOTE: Customs may have positive-only trainers as they do not have patrol dogs that require balanced training. In the states ask your local law enforcement agencies if you can get contact details for one of their canine handlers so they can steer you in the right direction. Other than that I would suggest that you look in your local telephone book or online phone directory under ‘Dog Trainers’ and start ringing around. One of the best questions to ask to sort out the wheat from the chaff so to speak is “Do you use choke chains and physical corrections on dogs with behavioural problems?” If they say no, then thank them for their time and honesty and move on to the next person. A good honest balanced trainer will never deny using whatever piece of equipment is appropriate to resolve a dog’s behavioural problems. They know their answer may not be ‘politically correct’ or well received, but it’s political correctness that messed up dog training in the first place and I am proud to say I am not part of the positive-only movement…. And the trainer you’re looking for should have a similar attitude.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 10:22:52 +0000
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