Unleashing the Truth: Why is it so Difficult to Find a Good Dog Trainer

"Dog training is an unregulated industry. That means anyone can get a business license and start training tomorrow."

Recently, a client found me after researching almost every dog trainer in the area. She knew she wanted a reward-based trainer for her dog’s behavioral issues, but had trouble making heads or tails out of different companies’ websites. She found words like “balanced” and phrases like “rewarded with pets”. She saw claims that trainers were "rewards only"; but while digging deeper she found photos of corrective collars and brief references to “correction” techniques such as force on the hind end and strangulation.

She ultimately found me by researching dog training certifications that teach positive reinforcement methodologies and then researching those certification companies’ trainers to find someone local to her area.

Why was that such a hard process that took weeks of researching and carefully scrutinizing every trainer’s website? Is there no transparency in the dog training industry?

No, there isn’t.

Dog training is an unregulated industry. That means anyone can get a business license and start training tomorrow. In the state of Ohio, it takes about an hour to apply for the license. The application requires no proof of insurance or education showing you are qualified for the job.

Woah. It’s that easy?

Yup, it’s that easy.

And that is why we have so many dog trainers taking people’s money for inadequate services. Many trainers have no education in animal learning or behavior; their training background is simply in “training their own dog”. They don’t understand how animals learn, they don’t know what to do when their methods don’t work, and their methods are usually pretty harsh, including the use of painful training collars that use sharp prongs in dogs’ necks and electrical shock (e-collars).

The sad story is many of these dogs don’t get trained and are at risk of becoming either completely shut down or aggressive to the point of requiring behavioral euthanasia. Why would you want to risk this happening to your dog?

Maybe you do want a lifeless robot dog. That is your right and there are trainers who will try to provide that for you. However, I would encourage you to think though if you actually want a living, breathing dog or a robot. Remember those robot pets from the 1990’s? You can still buy them.

But how do you know that’s the trainer you’re getting, or not, if they aren’t being transparent in their marketing?

A friend of mine looked for a reward-based training class in her city. She did a lot of research and was very careful before booking that this trainer would be 100% reward-based. She happily strolled into class with her bag of chicken and was quickly mortified by the trainer instructing the class to do collar-pop, “corrections” and using the collar to force a dog to lay down. This is not what she signed up for. This is false advertising at its finest.

How could this have happened? After weeks of researching and carefully selecting the right dog training company, it was still wrong.

Will she get a refund for the false advertising? We’ll see. Some dog trainers to require clients to sign a non-discloser agreement (NDA), stating you can only get a refund if you agree not to leave a bad review. Why would they need to do that? What are they hiding? Also, is that even legal?!

The answer is “no”. The United States has a federal law called the Consumer Review Fairness Act ("CRFA"). Under this law, consumers have the "ability to share their honest opinions about a business's products, services, or conduct, in any forum, including social media." Preventing clients (consumers) from writing an honest review and sharing their opinions about a company or product is against the federal law and should be reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The FTC states it is "illegal for a company to use a contract provision that:

1.       bars or restricts the ability of a person who is a party to that contract to review a company's products, services, or conduct;

2.       imposes a penalty or fee against someone who gives a review; or

3.       requires people to give up their intellectual property rights in the content of their reviews."

Aside from it being illegal, it may also instill fear into the dog owner. Many of the companies requiring these agreements are large and have more funding for legal services than the people they are preying on. People may also be so upset about their experience that they don’t want to think about the company again, discouraging them from leaving a truthful and insightful review.

Another issue to consider is the term “balanced” trainer. What does that even mean?!

It means the trainer claims to use all 4 quadrants of operant conditioning to train animals as theorized by BF Skinner. This includes positive reinforcement (R+), negative reinforcement (R-), positive punishment (P+) and negative punishment (P-). Reward-based trainers stick to R+ (rewarding the dog with something they like for doing something) and some also utilize P- (withhold rewards when a dog is doing something we don’t like, such as begging).

“Balanced” trainers claim to use all 4 quadrants, but in reality, many primarily utilize P+ in the form physical force via hands, collars and leashes and R- by ending such physical force. If they use R+, it’s typically rewarding with praise or petting. However, many dogs don’t find these to be rewarding. The praise and petting just tell the dog the punishment is stopping or not going to happen. It creates relief, not excitement. This results in dogs who are afraid to act, or dogs who think “I’ve had enough” and use their only form of communication to let you know: their mouth.

If that’s the result you want, look for a “balanced” trainer. If you want a happy, curious and enriched dog, look for a reward-based trainer.

That doesn't solve the problem of lack of transparency from the trainer/company. Unfortunately, that is not something that can be easily solved. The solution is consumer protection regulation. People have the right to know what they are purchasing and the right to an honest review and refund if the are unhappy with the product or service. In order to get consumer regulations in place, we need regulations that put dog training on the consumer protection lists at the state and national levels. The easiest way to start this is by reporting trainers and companies falsely advertising or requiring NDAs to the state Attorney Generals. Hopefully that will lead to a bill putting dog training on the list of consumer protection laws, at least starting at a state level.

So how can you find dog trainer who uses methods you want to utilize?

Here are some good questions to ask the trainer:

1.       What do you do if my dog gets something right? Do they use a reward or ignore it? If rewarding, what types of rewards do you use?

2.       What do you do if my dog gets something wrong? Do you punish it or ignore it? If punish or “correct”, what types of punishment do you use?

3.       What is your education background? Do you have any specialty qualifications for cases involving fear and aggression, which can be a public safety liability?

4.       Why do you use the methods you’re using? Be wary of anyone who responds with something like “that’s what worked with my dog”. Look for someone who can support their methods with research and published resources. “I utilize Trainer X’s methodologies and/or training plans that they developed over years of professionally training” would be a green flag response.

Still not sure what kind of trainer you want to hire? Check out these resources from the American Society of Veterinary Animal Behavior:

ASVAB Humane Training Position Statement

ASVAB Dominance Position Statement

Are you inspired to build transparency in the dog training community? Contact your state and local government officials stating you’d like more consumer protection, clarity and transparency from the dog training industry. Take action by reporting false advertising and companies requiring NDAs to your state Attorney General and the US Attorney General if it is a national company.

Contact Erin Maloney at [email protected] if you are looking for a humane, rewards-based trainer in your area.

copywrite Raising Pawtential 2024