You have just acquired a puppy or perhaps a second hand dog and have decided you want some private lessons to help you along the way. There are many different training methods and many different trainers. How do you sort out trainers qualifications and decide who can best help you? One of the first questions to ask is how long has the trainer been training dogs professionally? How many dogs has the trainer had themselves and what types of dogs have they owned? Ask to meet the trainer's dogs and ask the trainer to demonstrate their skills to you. If the trainer cannot show you their dogs or does not have dogs, they are probably inexperienced and limited in their scope. If the trainer's dogs do not have manners you can bet yours will wind up the same way. If the trainer owns only one breed of dog they may not understand the differences that exist between breeds of dogs. Does the trainer have the off leash control over their dogs you want? Is the trainer a member of a local dog club and active in the sport of dog training, breed shows agility or another AKC event?

Those who compete are current in their methods. Like all teaching, dog training changes and evolves and there are new methods available. You want to be connected to a trainer who is current in the field and who is exposed to the latest methods. Trainers who exhibit their dogs usually have many methods to problem solve. As a pet owner you should have a trainer who has more than one way to solve learning challenges. Ask the trainer how they motivate behavior, do they use shock collars, how do they correct dogs for misbehavior. Lastly a note on the subject of smaller and toy dogs. It is my firm belief that the traditional dog training methods must be modified for the smaller dog. The focal point is lower and hovering over them does not instill confidence. They also require a more careful housebreaking program. Seek a trainer who works with small dogs and ask to observe a class.

Puppy perfect answers the above questions. Jane Small.

I have been training dogs now since 1989 when I began my first competitive obedience training with a toy poodle (Nikki). At that time I owned three dogs, a yorkie,(gizmo) an English bull terrier(sketter) and a nikki .I in the many years prior to that owned a German Shepherd, great dane, peekapoo,and rescue Doberman pincher. I have had 11 litters of puppies and have successfully housebroken over 200 puppies for pet owners in the past 15 years. Over the past nine years I acquired a Chinese crested hairless, minipoodle, standard poodle and currently live with 5 dogs, all of whom have both breed championships and obedience titles. You are welcome to meet any of them; they all have off leash training and love everyone! I compete successfully in AKC obedience and have 2 companion dog titles, 2 companion dog excellent dog titles, and 1 utility dog title and. have won the high in trial dog award 7 times to date; this means my dog was the highest scoring obedience entry of that dog show. I have a flyball dog excellent title and have competed in AKC agility events. My method for training my show dogs is the same as my method for training your pet, I use food and praise to teach and once something is well learned I use natural consequences for correction. I do not use shock collars or physical punishment. I give the dogs clear leadership and clear pack messages and they respond well. My hope is this information will help you find the right trainer for your dog and that training will be an opportunity not a chore!! Good luck.