Twelve questions to ask before you book a dog trainer
Dog training is unregulated in the UK. Anyone can print a card and call themselves a behaviourist tomorrow. That puts the burden on you, so here are the twelve questions we would ask if we were hiring somebody to work with our own dog, and what a good answer sounds like.
Ask what methods they use and what happens when the dog gets it wrong, how many dogs with your specific problem they have worked with, what is included after the session, and whether you can speak to a previous client with a similar dog. Vague answers about being balanced or purely positive tell you nothing. Specific answers about your dog tell you everything.
The twelve questions
Ask them on the phone, before you book:
- ●What will you do when my dog gets it right, and what will you do when it gets it wrong?
- ●How many dogs with this exact problem have you worked with in the last year?
- ●What does a first session involve, and how long is it?
- ●What support is included between sessions, and for how long?
- ●How will we measure whether this is working?
- ●What equipment will you want to use, and why that one?
- ●Are you insured, and can I see it?
- ●Can I speak to a client whose dog had a similar problem?
- ●What would make you tell me my dog needs a vet rather than a trainer?
- ●What is your view on my dog's specific breed and age?
- ●Do you train in my home, in your facility, or both, and why?
- ●What happens if the plan is not working after three sessions?
What good answers sound like
Specific and unhurried. A good trainer will ask you as many questions as you ask them, because they cannot answer sensibly without knowing the dog's age, history and the exact sequence of the problem behaviour.
They will also be comfortable saying they do not know, or that your dog needs a vet first, or that another trainer is better placed for this particular issue. Confidence about everything is a warning, not a reassurance.
What poor answers sound like
Guaranteed results in one session. A refusal to explain what happens when the dog gets it wrong. Heavy reliance on jargon and labels rather than a description of what they will actually do. Pressure to pay for a large package before anyone has met your dog.
Another quiet one: no interest in your household. If nobody asks who lives with the dog, who walks it and what the routine is, the plan will not survive contact with your real life.
Qualifications, honestly
There are good assessment bodies and there are meaningless certificates, and from the outside they look similar. Treat qualifications as one piece of evidence alongside experience with your specific problem, references from real clients, and how the person talks about dogs on the phone.
Longevity matters too. A trainer who has worked in one area for years has a reputation locally that no website can manufacture.
Trainer or behaviourist
For teaching skills such as recall, lead work, settling and puppy foundations, a good trainer is what you need. For fear, aggression, guarding and separation distress, you want somebody who works with those cases regularly and who will liaise with your vet where necessary.
Plenty of practitioners do both. The label matters less than the honest answer to the question: how many dogs like mine have you actually helped.
How we answer these
We are a family business in Harlow, three generations in, with over 8,000 dogs trained between us. We assess before we quote, we tell people when they do not need us, and we are happy to put you in touch with clients whose dogs had the same problem as yours. If a trainer will not do those three things, keep looking.
Judging the first session
You should leave the first session knowing three things: what the trainer thinks is actually going on, what you are doing differently starting today, and what the next milestone looks like. If any of those is missing, ask before the trainer drives away.
You should also feel that your dog was treated fairly. Watch the dog rather than the trainer. A dog that is working, taking food and offering behaviour is having a good time. A dog that has shut down, gone still and stopped eating is not learning, whatever is being claimed.
It is entirely reasonable to say after one session that this is not the right fit. Good trainers would rather hear that than take money for six sessions that go nowhere.
Need hands on help?
Put these questions to us on the phone. If our answers do not satisfy you, do not book, and we will happily point you elsewhere.
Three generations of the same family, over 8,000 dogs trained.
Common questions
No. There is no legal requirement to hold any qualification, which is precisely why these questions matter.
Not before somebody has met your dog. A single assessment first is the sensible order.
For some issues, particularly separation anxiety and household management, they work well. For reactivity and aggression, in person is far better.
Say so early. A professional will explain their reasoning and adjust, or tell you honestly that you are not a good fit.
Related guides
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