So how did you learn how to be a dog trainer anyway?
Notes on being a dog trainer
Hi, I'm Nish Nalbandian, President and head trainer here at Comet Canine Training. I founded this company to provide high level dog training services in the Denver and Boulder areas. I'm a working dog trainer by background, and I learned from this experience that dogs can be trained quickly to do most basic obedience tasks if you have an open mind, and learn to read dogs well. I saw that most pet dog trainers simply didn't have the experience or the wide range of tools to get results for their clients in the way that most working dog trainers could.
My experience with dog training began at an early age, simply learning to play with and handle my family's labradors as i grew up. Developing a relationship with dogs came easily to me. But it was not until 1999, when I got my first German Shepherd that I began real training. This dog had a real aggression problem. I worked with a local trainer, and found I had a knack for training. I worked with this person for a year, and ended up doing an apprenticeship with her. As I worked with her, though, I found that her techniques were limiting. My dog was not getting better, and she told me that my dog was the highest trained dog she'd ever worked with. I began to seek out other trainers, working dog trainers for the most part, and to read all the scientific literature about training that I could find.
I found that there was a big discrepancy between what the popular dog training literature has to say and what the professional, scientific literature has to say. I also found the the working dog trainers had a completely different attitude, and expected a much higher level of results than I had become accustomed to. As I delved deeper I saw that the best trainers were police dog trainers who had been doing it for years. They had learned something that allowed them to deal with each dog in an individual way, and to lead the dog in a way that the dog understood. I also saw that they were applying the principles laid out in the professional scientific literature, even if they were not aware of the theory behind what they were doing.
I set out to make sense of this, and I realized that dog training is as much art as science. Most dog trainers learn a particular method, learn something from one particular trainer, read one philosophy, or adhere to one style or 'camp' of training. The best trainers are not married to any single technique. They want to get results, and get them fast. I saw that what my first mentor had taught me was only one piece of a larger picture. What it had taken her a year to help me teach my dog could be done in days. What her camp of dog trainers claimed to be scientific evidence was only a partial reading of the scientific literature, and a biased one at that. I learned then that dog training is not a black and white exercise, with one way that will work in all situations. It requires you to be present and aware of the needs of each dog, each client, and each situation, and be able to respond accurately to each of them. It requires you to be flexible, not rigid, and to adapt to the reality staring you in the face, rather than trying to make reality conform to your beliefs. As in so many other areas of life, simply believing something is true does not make it so. I saw that most trainers I had worked with until then were trying to impose their beliefs on reality, rather than adapting themselves to reality. I saw that the working dog trainers were realistic, practical, and this resulted in faster and more reliable real world performance. They were able to deal with problems as they arose, not hope they'd go away. I knew which path I wanted to follow.
So I started seeking out the most highly experienced trainers I could find. People that really knew what they were doing, and had years of experience with thousands of dogs, and could prove their results. People like Carl Reif of Advanced K9 down in Woodland Park. People like Tim Cruser and Lori Cruser, who now do contract work for me. People like Doug Calhoun, Joe Clingan, Bill Whitstine, and Lou Castle. I also got a job with Freedom Service Dogs of Lakewood, Colorado, and quickly became the training director, responsible for placing highly trained Assistance Dogs with people with disabilities. I was able to use my skills in a real world setting that allowed me to help people.
As I taught at Freedom Service Dogs I began to realize that in the world of Assistance Dog training, as well as in the world of pet dog training, people tended to stick to rigid, dogmatic views about training. They tended to repeat pseudo-scientific claims about what works and what doesn't, again ignoring reality in favor of their beliefs. But I learned more from working in that world than I imagined. I learned what it actually took to teach PEOPLE how to train and handle dogs. I taught night courses on behavioral psychology and dog training. I found that most people did not need or want to know the details of the theory behind training. They didn't want to worry about HOW the training worked. THey were less concerned about changing future behavior than learning about how to deal with bad behavior that is happening NOW! This profoundly impacted my philosophy on dog training.
I realized that the dog training profession is not about training dogs. I had the skills to train any dog quickly and get reliable and happy performances from the dogs I worked with. I had the ability to read dogs and to fix most behavior problems very quickly. But I still missed the one thing that was most important: The ability to effectively communicate to my clients. I was giving them too much information that they didn't really need. They didn't need to know that consistent repetition of operant techniques will gradually lead to a dog conditioned to perform a task. Even my assistance dog students were less worried about teaching behaviors that they wanted the dog to perform, anyone could do that using treats. What ALL of my clients wanted to know was: "How the HELL do I deal with whatever my dog is doing NOW that I can't handle?" They didn't need a long-winded explanation of how to slowly condition the dog to respond, or that the application of positive reinforcement over a period of time can affect change in behavior in the FUTURE. They were concerned with the NOW. I can't tell you how many times i have heard: "That sounds great for the future, I'd love for my dog to do that, but what do I do about it NOW?"
And that's the basis for my training for my clients. What do they need? They need solutions NOW. They need the tools and skills that will keep their dog from chasing squirrels NOW. They need the ability to control their dog to keep it from fighting with another dog NOW. They need to be able to walk their dog without getting their arms yanked out of their sockets NOW. Not in some distant utopian future after many repetitions. They needed a better way.
So I began to focus not on all the science and theory behind training, but on the practical application of technique in the present moment. Don't get me wrong, I still teach them how to work towards long-term goals, but my first concern is getting their dog under control ASAP. That's what people want. I cut down on the instructions I gave them, and made it more practical, more realistic. And I limit their goals to realistic achieveable ones. I help them set realistic expectations, and give them concrete exercises to work on. I ask them often what they think they need, instead of trying to impose my beliefs on them. I ask them what methods they are comfortable with. And my clients are much happier now.
The bottom line is that I or any other pro-trainer of moderate ability can take most dogs and get them to walk nice on leash, sit, down, stay, come, and heel within one or two sessions. If the dog lived with us we wouldn't have the behavior problems, we can manage, control and modify the behavior quickly. But that doesn't help my client who has a labrador pulling her down the street chasing cats, or my client who has a german shepherd that wants to fight with other dogs. I need to be able to teach them what they need to know to get their dog under control ASAP.
In the end, once you've reached a certain ability level in dealing with the dogs, it is no longer a dog business. I'm a great trainer, but my results in any given client interaction do not depend upon my skills as a dog trainer, they depend upon my skills as an educator. How well can I read my client's situation? How well can I listen to my client? How well can i deliver what my client ACTUALLY needs, instead of what I believe they need? How simple can I make it for them? How quickly can i do this? How well can I coach them to perform the physical movements necessary? How tactfully can i point out their mistakes and correct them in a way that motivates them? How well can I point out what they are doing right? How can I not overload them? How well can I explain to them their part in the development of a behavior problem? And how can I point out their responsibility without shaming them? It is my responsibility as an instructor to teach my clients what they need to know to successfully live with their dogs. I do not have to live with their dogs, they do.
And since they are paying me for my services, how can i maximize their investment by providing a high level service, getting results in the shortest period of time possible? I charge a price that means my clients need to be emotionally or personally invested in getting results. It's a price high enough to compensate me for my skills, but not high enough to drive people away. I also offer different modes and price points of training to meet different needs, and I try to steer people into the level of training that costs the least while still being able to meet their needs.
Did you know that you should try not to repeat commands? Learn from Comet Canine's dog training tips and advice in our online dog training articles.
