Red Flags to Look For When Hiring a Dog Trainer

Knowing how to pick a good dog trainer for you can be a tedious process. There’s so much information out there; so many ideologies, philosophies, programs, styles, tools, and lifestyle factors that go into this decision. But at the end of the day when you’re at your wit’s end, you have to pick someone.

Really, picking a dog trainer comes down to finding someone compatible with you as a client. Here are some things to look out for when selecting the right dog trainer for you, regardless of where you live or what your preferred training methods are.

Their Personal Dogs Are Out-of-Control

Unfortunately, I see this a lot. It’s very common in TV dog trainers and virtual trainers that are seemingly popular with the masses. When I see a trainer walk out with a dog pulling ahead of them, acting wild and unruly with poor engagement with the handler, my heart sinks a little.

Shouldn’t their standards for their personal dogs be a bit higher if they are teaching dog training and behavior modification to bewildered dog owners at home?

Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean their dogs need to be perfect. I know my personal dogs aren’t perfect. We get setbacks, like when we were attacked by an aggressive off-leash german shepherd dog in public and my chihuahua mix (an aggression rehabilitation success story) started acting defensively again and had to be given more attention than normally needed. We get bad days, like when my pomeranian decided she just had to pee right when we got to a friend’s house even though she normally doesn’t eliminate indoors. And, of course, all animals have a degree of unpredictability and a genetic component to behavior that just comes with being a living creature.

My dogs aren’t perfect, and I sure wouldn’t expect other dog trainers to need to have perfect dogs in order to be good trainers, either.

But what their dogs should be is generally under control and well-behaved.

If a prospective trainer’s dogs are reactive, overly-excited, don’t listen reliably, or have any sort of severe or dangerous behavior, that’s a red flag. If the dog is pulling at the leash, barks excessively, or has a “sometimes, when they feel like it” kind of recall, red flag again.

There’s just no reason for a professional trainer to have a dog that isn’t generally well-behaved and under-control. If they can’t train a dog that lives with them for months or years, why would anyone have any reason to believe they can make any measurable progress with your dog?

At the end of the day, if your standards and expectations for training are higher than your trainer’s, it’s time to move on.

They’re Inflexible

Dog training and pet care in general are opinionated topics. Everyone and their mother is somehow an expert on canine behavior and animal husbandry, and everyone is wrong but them. The echo chamber in online spaces is exhausting.

The thing is, this lack of flexibility can be very harmful to the dogs going into training, and is a huge red flag when selecting a dog trainer.

You just can’t be rigid in dog training. The moment you think you’ve got things figured out, a new dog comes along that throws you for a loop. When that happens, choosing to hold to your methods for the sake of philosophy or ego rather than pivot to find what works for the dog in front of you is doing nobody any favors.

I see dogs that will do anything for some kibble, and I see dogs that couldn’t care less about food rewards. I see dogs that have incredible toy drives, while others aren’t motivated by play at all. I see dogs that are extremely sensitive to tools like remote collars and prong pressure, and I see dogs that will do a full 180 in a day after just starting to incorporate corrections. Some dogs will ignore the stim on a remote collar while being incredibly averse to the vibrate function, and some dogs will do backflips for affection.

The point is, dogs are living, breathing animals. And as living, breathing animals, they will be incredibly diverse as individuals. You need to be able to swallow your pride and make adjustments on the fly to respond to the dog in front of you, regardless of what you’ve read in books or practiced with other dogs. None of that matters when it comes to training the dog in front of you.

So, how can you tell if a dog trainer is inflexible before hiring them? Make note of the way they speak to you.

If a dog trainer frequently uses absolute or inflexible language, red flag.

“Always use this method.”

“Never do this technique with your dog under any circumstance.”

“This method never works, the one I like is always better.”

“That’s wrong, and it’s bad.”

It’s not that you should write off any trainer who ever uses this kind of language. There really are some things that you should never do with your dog, and some things that really are just objectively wrong. But frequent or excessive use of this kind of language is a huge sign of inflexibility that can be a marker for the trainer’s inability to adapt. And an inability to adapt means that there are fewer ways that trainer is able to help you and your dog.

They Outwardly Bad-Mouth Other Professionals

This is a huge problem in not just the dog training community, but also in the pet industry as a whole. Pet professionals seem wholeheartedly ready to absolutely slam each other publicly, often for small mistakes and just…differences in opinion or preference.

Dog training has somehow become incredibly political in nature, with dog trainers using their platforms to tear each other down rather than to uplift, inspire, and support dog owners. I’ve even seen professionals jump on to the platforms of other dog trainers to argue with them, or with their clients and followers. Yikes.

Isn’t it incredibly unprofessional?

It’s going to be the norm for dog trainers to disagree with one another. There are a lot of ways to train, and a lot of trains of thought that contradict each other. There’s a reason dog owners are so confused: dog trainers as a group really can’t agree on much of anything!

But although I vehemently disagree with many other dog trainers out there on plenty of topics, a type of disagreement that I feel down to my very core and identity, and which sometimes fills me with that petty desire to verbally drag those trainers through the mud in a very public manner, I just don’t.

Why? Because it’s unprofessional and ugly behavior, and more than that, it doesn’t help anybody. Why would I waste time for myself and for my clients by bad-mouthing another professional? We have better things to do with that time. Why would I write an article about someone I dislike when I could use that precious time to create resources to help my clients? Why would I use my online presence to draw negative attention to someone else, rather than spreading messages that could actually help people?

You will absolutely never catch me (or any of my respected colleagues, for that matter) bad-mouthing other trainers or trying to soil their name, even if they are the bane of our existence. Any trainer worth their salt would rather focus that energy, time, and attention on helping their clients.

They Use Excessive Dog Trainer Jargon

Or, they’re obsessed with the theory rather than practice. Or, they give unsolicited advice. Or, they throw around their credentials rather than just…helping you.

More often than not, a trainer that does any of these things is essentially doing the equivalent of name-dropping celebrities; they’re trying to sound important by dropping words and situationally-useless knowledge that their clients might not understand, so it looks like they know so much and therefore must be a great trainer!

Wrong.

Our job as trainers is to help our clients, not to sound really smart all the time. My clients don’t need to know the definitions and differences between operant conditioning and classical conditioning, and it wouldn’t help anyone but my ego to waste time going over the deeper science during private lessons. They don’t need me to cite studies, they need to see their dog improve.

I’m not going to correct my clients when they say “negative reinforcement” when they really mean “positive punishment,” because it’s really not important to the situation. And if a jargon-y word is needed, it’s going to get a brief explanation so we can move on to helping them find a solution to their dog training concerns.

The goal of a private lesson, consultation, or any other one-on-one dog training service is not to turn the client into an expert on dog training and behavior. It’s to analyze the client’s situation, understand their concerns, and help them reach their goals. We only serve ourselves by name-dropping all our technical and scientific knowledge.

As a disclaimer, perhaps sometimes take this red flag with a grain of salt. There are some other reasons that a person might use “too much” jargon, besides insecurity and lack of experience. There is a chance they just might be neurodivergent (like myself) and not have the exact same “rules” when it comes to language and jargon and social situations, which can sometimes come off strong to neurotypical people. This doesn’t really impact their ability as a dog trainer or their scope of how they can help you.

When it comes to a prospective trainer using jargon excessively, consider their reasons for doing so, and weigh out whether or not you’ll be able to effectively learn from them.

They Shame or Disrespect You

I mentioned that dog trainers are opinionated folk. We often clash with each other, and it’s practically impossible to find two dog trainers who agree on everything or do things exactly the same way.

This can be a wonderful thing because it creates opportunity for lots of new ways to train, which means there are more ways to pivot and help more dogs.

But there are trainers who don’t see it that way. To some people, it’s their way or nothing at all. This is both harmful to the dog (see: they’re inflexible) but also often manifests as rude language, loaded statements and questions, judgmental behavior, and shame-based manipulation of clients who, often by no fault of their own, just don’t know any better.

It’s straight-up abusive.

It’s tragic that I have to write this all out like it’s not just basic human decency: a good dog trainer wants to see you succeed. They want to see you thrive, and they want to empower you. Yes, even if they don’t agree with how you’ve done things in the past.

If you’ve been doing something that isn’t conducive to your and your dog’s progress, they sure as hell won’t shame you for it. They won’t linger on it or go on and on about how “wrong” your mistake was. They will understand that you’re a dog owner, not a seasoned professional, and they’ll treat you like a human being.

If at any point while working with a trainer you find yourself feeling belittled or shamed for your past, your goals, or your preferences, it is time to find a new trainer.

We don’t grow in the shade.

They Don’t Get Results

Look, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. You’re paying someone hundreds or even thousands of dollars to help you fix a problem you’re facing. I don’t care if you’re a multi-millionaire: nobody wants to waste that kind of money.

If at the end of their program you’ve seen little-to-no results, isn’t that a waste? Would you buy another package from them with the promise that your dog will eventually improve? Would you let them upsell you on products or dog treats or more lessons or a different type of program?

And actually, would you re-book a plumber who couldn’t fix (or at least offer a solution for) a broken pipe? Would you schedule more grass-cuttings from a gardener that left your yard looking like it was abandoned decades ago? What about a manicurist that left your nails looking nearly the same as when you arrived? Would you trust any other contractor or service provider with nothing but the possibility of improvement in the future?

Well, I certainly hope not.

Back when I first started dog training, when I was really just focused on getting experience and putting my name out there, I would do hands-on demonstrations during a free in-person consultation. It wasn’t a sustainable offer long-term, but I liked doing it because it really helped prospective clients get an idea of what private dog training lessons would look like, and what kind of results I could get them in a package of five lessons.

I’d get a chance to familiarize clients with the tools I use, get to see the dog in-person before finalizing a training plan, and show clients that I could make considerable progress with their dog in that 30-minute time slot. And that was years ago, when I was just a baby dog trainer.

Like the plumber, gardener, and manicurist, if a seasoned professional can’t make progress with your dog, it’s time to look for a new trainer.

They Don’t Know Their Place

I might catch some heat for this, but the thing is, it’s true: dog trainers are “the help.”

Are we sometimes necessary help? Absolutely. Are we often invaluable? Yes! Are we sometimes pivotal to your and your dog’s long-term health and happiness? You bet. But we’re still the help.

A dog trainer who comes in with a domineering attitude acting like they are the god of dog training is not worth your time, nor are they worth your money. A dog trainer should be respectful of your boundaries and should take cognizance of your consent when it comes to dog training practices.

That doesn’t mean that a dog trainer should just roll over and let you boss them around. At Lugaru K9 Training, we are hired for our expertise and to get results for our clients by confidently guiding them; of course a dog trainer should always have a standard for receiving respect as well as providing it.

In this case, “knowing their place” means understanding that not everyone is compatible as a client, and knowing when it’s more appropriate to refuse or drop a client so that they can find a trainer more compatible with their needs.

I will do this in my consultations if I get the sense that a client may not be open to my methodology, or may not be willing to listen to my advice. I will simply tell them outright that I may not be the dog trainer for them, and that’s okay. I would rather they try to find someone who can help them to their expectations, rather than have us fighting each others’ philosophies all along the way or try to convince them when they’re not ready; that’s not helpful to me, to them, or to their dog. If I can refer them to a colleague who may serve them, I will. Otherwise, I wish them the best and send them on their way knowing that if they ever find themselves “ready,” I’m happy to help them.

Not every person is meant to be a “client,” and a good dog trainer should be comfortable telling it like it is: “We may not be compatible, that is perfectly okay, and I wish the best for your and your dog.”