You may think all dog trainers are the same. The short answer to this is no. The long answer is as follows:
There are many Dog Trainers that have similar dog training philosophies, goals, methods and techniques. What is most shared among Dog Trainers is their passion for dogs. There are many Dog Trainers that subscribe to the positive reinforcement philosophy and treat training methods. This can be very effective for Training Dogs to do such activities as; obedience (come/heel/sit) agility, fly ball, scent work etc…
Some Dog Trainers subscribe to more of a force approach with methods that are much more physical punishment based to accomplish the above. Dog trainers work with the dog the majority of the time by taking the dog to their facility or by having you attend a class and work with the dog.
There is a very definite, distinct and massive differences in what we do and what Dog Trainers do. There is also a massive difference in skill sets. To be a good Dog Trainer you need to know how to Train Dogs through repetition. The majority get through their entire career by implementing Human Psychology. To be a successful Dog Psychology & Behaviour Modification Expert you need to have a detailed understanding of the Dog Psychology, Theory & Language. Then you need to be skilled in educating the humans so that when you step out of the equation, the owners of the dog that had behaviour issues completely understand why the dog was expressing the behaviours, the strategies on how to resolve the behaviours and most importantly the strategies on how to prevent the negative behaviours in the future.
If you and your family are not learning at least 6-8 hours of theory covering the dog psychology & language before you ever work with your dog then you are working with a dog trainer that is implementing human psychology.
As a graduate of The Great Canadian Dog Academy – Dog Psychology & Behaviour Modification Seminars & Workshops – you will be leaving with more knowledge of dog psychology & behaviour modification than the average Dog Trainer in North America.
You will be well on your way to having very effective communication and a successful relationship with your dog base on the solid foundation of mutual trust and mutual respect.