Greetings long-term fans and followers. Thank you for handing in there with the ridiculous hiatus in posting: It's been busy...to say the least.
As a matter of fact, this post pandemic frenzy has everyone excited to get some help for their "quarantine puppies" and "foster failures." More and more, as we all get back to working in person with you and your canine friends, I am seeing a bit of an unfortunate trend....People paying good money to "trainers" who work the dog, but seem to overlook the most important part of teaching a dog well: His People.
I see owners struggling with wild behavior, and when I inquire if they'd be interested in some tips or help at all, it saddens me to hear "We already have a trainer, but he doesn't listen to me," or "He does great for the trainer, but we cannot get him to do anything!" Or my least favorite....
"The trainer doesn't show us how to do it."
WHY:::???? Why is this acceptable?!? There are many cases where, indeed, the Human hasn't mastered the skills, or the observance to help a pup keep it under control in a busy environment, or the pup IS truly a monster, but usually this says only one thing to me---Your "Trainer" is Ripping You Off. Period.
Not showing you how to do the things necessary to teach your pup how to perform for You, is simply prolonging the training process, which means more money in their pocket.
Different story if you have elected to send your dog to a training school of sorts (in some cases, a fantastic plan; in others--You really don't know what is happening to your dog when you cannot see him.....). This is understood that the trainer is not going to show you how exactly to teach each step, but it darn sure IS their job to make sure you understand how to maintain the behaviors your pup learned while there.
If I hire a plumber to fix a leaky pipe, I didn't hire them to show me how to do it. However, if I decide I do want to know how to sweat copper, I'm going to hire someone (a teacher, for instance, cuz I'd be paying for a class) who will take the time to ensure I know how to use all the tools, and to be safe, and to get it done right. If this is the case, and every time I go to class, that person just takes the tools and does the thing, while I sit there and watch...I'm probably never going to learn how to do it 100 percent correctly. And he's probably going to have to "show me" again and again and again. If I am paying him for every time we meet, it's in his wallet's best interest to not quite show me how to do it alone.
But if that same teacher takes the time to start with "OK, this is 3/4" copper piping..." and makes sure I know what the heck I'm doing.....See my point?
There are exceptions to this, of course. But by and large, if you've been working with that "trainer" for more than 4 lessons, and you can't make your dog Sit...there may be something (or someone) else more suited to Equip You with the skills you are paying for.
It could be as simple as the way another Teacher communicates....You are not bound to the "trainer" you hired. It is your right, as a paying customer, to find the product that works for You. Go get it.
