Dogs – they’re man’s best friends. They’re our valued companions and family members, and it isn’t exactly shocking that a ton of households both here in the United States and across the world have one or more pups.
They’re a joy to be around and to live with – as long as they have proper training, of course.
This is a sticking point for a lot of folks, unfortunately. Depending on the dog breed, they can be quite stubborn and difficult to train (no matter how much we adore them).
At the end of the day, while it may be easier to simply spoil your dog and let them do whatever they want, it tends to be safer both for us as humans and them as our pets to ensure that they do get some training.
You can find data on that here: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jvms/75/2/75_12-0008/_article/-char/ja/.
With this in mind, you may be wondering how you can find a good trainer for your beloved pet. This can certainly be a bit of a struggle and is honestly harder than it looks. Today, we’ll be doing our best to explain how you can go about it as easily and smoothly as possible.
Know Your Dog
Perhaps the most important part of finding a trainer is to first get to know your dog. What do we mean by this, though?
Largely, we’re referring to knowing what their aggression triggers are (if they have any), how well they respond to certain types of rewards or incentives, and what behaviors you actually want them to work on.
Admittedly, a lot of this probably sounds quite obvious. You’d be surprised, though, by how many pet owners aren’t aware of these sorts of things. Consider a puppy or pet journal to document some of these things as they grow up, so that you can communicate with your trainer once you hire one!
Find a Trainer that Specializes in Certain Behaviors or Tricks
In order to successfully search for “the best dog training near me,” you’ll want to have an idea of what behaviors you want them to work on with your pup, as well as if there are specific tricks you want them to learn!
That’s part of why we emphasized being familiar with your pet as much as possible, so that you can go into the process with this in mind.
Once you’ve got that sorted out, though, you can start to consider what you’re looking for out of a trainer in general.
Would you like them to help your dog learn with food as a motivator or with affection or praise? Will the method that you want be effective with your dog, or might it not really be possible?
These are just a few of the potential questions that you’ll want to consider as you search for a trainer who will be able to work effectively and efficiently with your pet. Of course, there are some other ones that you can ask, often straying into the more “practical” realm.
Other Concerns
As we can see in articles such as this one, there are a few other “pain points” that you may want to focus on during your search. Scheduling is a huge one – obviously, we want to find a trainer who is able to work with our scheduling needs.
Additionally, there’s the matter of the general environment that you’re hoping for.
After all, some trainers work at large “training schools” that work with many animals at once. Your dog may not necessarily get a lot of individual time in these environments, depending on what you’ve agreed to with the trainer in question.
Others have private practices where they do one-on-one work with animals in set appointments.
You will need to decide what you think would be best for your animal. Since it can be a hard question to consider, though, don’t be afraid to take your time and ask plenty of questions from any potential trainers that you’re thinking about.
See how experienced they are and what their plan or curriculum would be for your dog and use that to help you decide if they’re the right fit for you. Sometimes, it will take time to find that special fit.
