Dog training is incredibly important for many reasons! Having a well trained dog means that they will act as a responsible member of your household. This is the same concept as raising kids! You want them to learn proper manners so they will not be rowdy indoors and also be able to take them into public and have them be respectful and listen to you.
There are many different ways to train your dog since there have been multiple skills that dogs have been bred for. From sheep herding to search and rescue, from disc dogs to k9, every dog has one thing in common, they all need to be trained on the basics.
My goal as a dog trainer is to get the knowledge of the importance of dog training out to the rest of the world! Whether you are in my area or not, I am not saying this simply to get more clients but because dog training is an incredibly valuable tool that a lot of people simply over look! Dog trainers will help you in ways you may have not even thought of when raising your dog and can be very beneficial in preventing problem behaviors from happening! Even if your dog has gotten into some bad habits working with a trainer will be able to modify them and prevent the behavior from being a problem any longer!
I will say, however, that not all trainers are created equal! By this I am saying there are some great trainers, some good trainers and some not so good trainers out there. Every trainer may have different techniques to train your dog but many of them are very successful!
I base all of my training on positive reinforcement because I believe this type of training benefits your dogs confidence and happiness levels the most. Training your dog with positive reinforcement teaches our dogs to respond to our cues out of sheer will that you had asked him to do so and not out of fear for the consequence that may follow for not following your cue. For my completely biased opinion I would highly recommend looking into a trainer that uses positive reinforcement as a base for their training program. This type of training excludes the use of prong, shock or choke collars (unless absolute last resort methods) and also "pack leader mentality" training techniques such as stare downs and dominance rolls.
Also, just because you had a bad experience with one trainer does not mean your dog is incapable of being trained! Search around for a trainer that will help you find what motivates your dog. Another quick tip, if your dog is the type to get worked up easily and over excitable (as most dogs usually are when they have not been trained ) look for one-on-one training options instead of group classes which may overwhelm your dog to the point of not being able to successfully complete a training course.
Schedule an evaluation or introduction with a local dog trainer in your area and talk to them first hand what you would like to see as a result for your dog out of their training program!
