Things to ask your dog trainer other than “are you force free or balanced?”
Few things grind my gears as much as seeing someone asking for help and getting told to go “find a force free trainer” or “a balanced trainer”. When needed, I happily refer to professionals that would belong under each umbrella term, and there are trainers falling under each who I wouldn’t personally refer to. That’s because these labels don’t tell me whether a person is kind, effective, fair on dogs or their humans or a good fit for this specific combo - there are a million variations of skill level, ethics and suitability for a case.
Instead of these useless terms, here’s a few more helpful questions you can ask as an owner. None of these have “right” answers. But what you’re looking for is lots of “it depends on the dog and situation”, showing passion & effort to consistently learn and improve. This gives you some insight into whether they might align with your goals!
My answers 👇🏻
What would you do when my dog gets things right?
Dogs are reinforced using a reward that is motivating for the individual. This can include food, play, praise, forward progress, freedom etc. I try and keep dogs making the right choices as much as possible.
What would you do when my dog makes the wrong choice?
It depends! Have I set the dog up for success? Do we need to go back a few steps? Can I ask for another behaviour instead? Provided I’ve checked the above, I do correct dogs which could include anything from a verbal no, spacial pressure, leash correction or the use of tools such as an ecollar.
What is your experience with this breed/challenge?
It depends! I don’t take on human aggression cases (particularly with bite histories) but am happy to discuss cases outside of that. I mostly work with medium-large working breed dogs.
What education have you undertaken/are you undertaking?
Years of experience with dogs, many online courses, many in person workshops and seminars, and am currently finishing a cert III with NDTF in Australia, and Behaviour Bible with The School of Canine Science.
What do you enjoy doing with your own dogs?
Lots of hikes and outdoor adventures, training (including dog sports), spending time together both inside the house and out and about.
