What To Look Out For When Choosing The Right Behaviorist Or Dog Trainer?
Dog Trainers’ and Behaviorist’s competence is highly variable, and many pet owners have no idea whether the people they hire to help them solve a behavioral problem actually know what they’re doing. The incompetence of specialists may put you on a huge risk, not only money-wise, but what some professionals may attempt (or advise you) to do, can actually make matters worse for your dog. Some of them use aversive techniques that frighten the animal, and the other advises against using treats (reward) in a situation that demand it.
Find a behaviorist rather than a trainer – those are different skill-sets!
When you will need to seek professional help to solve behavior problems of your dog (and any other animal) it is important to keep in mind that dog trainers and behaviorists serve a different purpose. Ultimately Dog trainer is teaching your dogs new skills, while behaviorist specializes in studying the behavior of your animal and is supposed to change behavior by applying therapy and management for issues like aggression, reactivity, fear, separation anxiety, etc.
Unfortunately, things get pretty messed up when you start digging because there are no regulations stating who can become a behaviorist or a dog trainer, no requirements, no restrictions. This is simply leading to self-called specialists without any educational background and experience. Another thing is that both professions get pretty much mixed up even by the professionals. Many times one person does a job of both trainer and behaviorist, but if you have issues with an aggressive pooch, I would advise seeking the help of a behaviorist, rather than a trainer.
Ask about their educational background.
Since there are no regulations and anyone can call themselves a behaviorist. I strongly suggest interviewing about their educational background and experience in the field. Asking questions like:
- Do you have any formal education, college degree?
- Have you done any courses to back up your knowledge about aggressive/fearful/resourceful/reactive (etc.) dogs?
- Are you a member of any professional associations?
- How much experience do you have working with this type of issue?
This should give you a little preview on what to expect from this specialist.
Make sure they use the right training techniques.
Learn about what methods they use, ask if physical punishment/corrections are a part of their techniques (if they say “yes” without hesitation, move on). Don’t waste your time (and money) with followers of the theory of dominance (‘alpha roll’, forcing, using intimidation, frightening, causing pain, establishing the pack leader, etc.). It’s been scientifically proven most effective to use positive reinforcement, reward-based training with animals. If the specialist you found suggests you buying tools like an electric/shock collar, prong collar, choke chains, etc., move on. Those are not the type of tools that should be used as a first source.
SD/CC: Systematic desensitization and counterconditioning as a part of their methodology.
SD and CC is playing a huge part in behavioral therapy in animals. Ask the specialist if they are familiar with this concept (if they say “no”, move on). Both of the terms are pretty common, yet many people forget how important it is to use them wisely and correctly. If the specialist you are seeing advise you to feed your dog in situations that may be weird for you (such as anxiety, aggression or fear case), it does not reinforce the emotion, it helps your dog to set the emotions aside and think clearly. Not feeding your dog in many situations may only help to escalate from fear to rage.
Try to find out if they keep learning.
Behaviorists (and dog trainers as well) should be studying and researching constantly. Improving their skills, enlarging knowledge and gaining more experience. Science grows faster than you think, we learn and observe more behaviors, training approaches, etc. What was taught 20 years ago is now completely outdated! It should be a common-sense for behaviorists to participate in courses, workshops, read recent studies and scholarly articles. Otherwise, you may end up with old schooled trainer using force, punishment, and intimidation, that could make things worse.
When meeting with a competent behaviorist expect to be asked many questions. They are also supposed to give you an answer and show/explain the way to solve your problem. Don’t be surprised if they may suggest only basic obedience training, in some cases that are easy to fix. Sometimes it really is all you need to do in a specific situation – fix your approach to the dog, learn how to communicate with him and build a bond. I strongly recommend you do your research as well. Learn more about how animals learn, how emotions impact their behavior and the dog’s body language.
Dog Behavior Specialist
Ewa Hemmy is behaviorist and dog trainer who is also a writer on top of that. She has College Degree in Animal Behavior earned in Poland, where she comes from. She still consistently study, participate in online courses, webinars and reads through most recent research. Ewa has been writing articles for few years now and loves to educate dog owners on providing better care and understanding of their pet. She believes you can solve unwanted behavior, because your DOG is ABLE to be TRAINED! She can be contacted at ewa.hemmy@gmail.com or call at (785) 822 7409.
