Shelteez2
10-20-2003, 12:27 PM
Hi.
I wanted to get back to about the school you're looking at for dog training, specifically about my doubts.
I didn't know how to phrase what I was thinking so I posted the site to some people who's views I really respect towards dog training and here's what they had to say.
The first person (KTM) said the first red flag was....
"Certified master trainer" - certified by who? There's a local trainer also claiming "CMT" certification, and she is SCARY. A direct quote, how she deals with aggression - "I give them one arm to bite and beat them over the head with the other till they submit" Not saying that this is necessarily how this guy trains, but that and his background in police dog training tells me that the students PROBABLY aren't going to learn clicker training.
And if that's what they want, fine and dandy..
But you may want to pass on this website to them:
http://www.canadiancaninetraining.com/ It looks like a more balanced programme - I think the best way to learn dog training though, is to apprentice yourself to a dog trainer and learn "hands on".
I fully agree with her. Typically the methods used to teach protection and service dogs aren't the most gentle.
The second person (Reena) said:
"I agree with KTM that you would need to be cautious about this program. It's a lot of money to spend without knowing what exactly you're getting. If I was interested I'd try and contact people who had been through the program and find out if they thought it was everything the web-site claimed it to be. I'd also want to know specifics on what type of training methods are taught. I would also request that the school allow me to visit before I put a deposit down.
I do know of two different schools in the states that are highly thought of by professional trainers.
One was developed and run by Jean Donaldson in San Francisco. I know several trainers that have been through one of the academy sessions and they said it was extremely intense and left them exhausted. But they also said they came out of the course knowing an incredible amount about dogs, learning theory, and behavior. http://www.sfspca.org/academy/index.shtml
The other school is run by Pat Miller as her Intern Academy. I know it is highly thought of -- but I don't have much information on it. Pat's moving to Maryland. Here's a link: http://www.peaceablepaws.com/apprentice.htm
I also know Terry Ryan has short Instructor's Courses: http://www.legacycanine.com/
I don't know what the Canadian Association of Pet Dog Trainers is doing as far as certification goes -- but here's their web site: http://www.cappdt.ca/
I do know that the Association of Pet Dog Trainers -- which is run out of the U.S., but which has members from all over the world, has developed a certification program which is accredited and run by an independent organization. http://www.ccpdt.org/ Right now the certification consists of a 250 question test on learning theory, dog behavior and some other things. The goal is to have different levels of certification and the Level 2 test is being developed right now.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I wouldn't just look at one school -- I'd really do my homework. You have my permission to copy and paste this post to any other boards you would like."
I hope you don't think I'm just sticking my nose in unwanted, I would hate for you to spend a huge sum of money and find out in the end, that the methods used are ones you aren't interested in using or even that the certification is worthless.
I just wanted to provide you with some more options.
I wanted to get back to about the school you're looking at for dog training, specifically about my doubts.
I didn't know how to phrase what I was thinking so I posted the site to some people who's views I really respect towards dog training and here's what they had to say.
The first person (KTM) said the first red flag was....
"Certified master trainer" - certified by who? There's a local trainer also claiming "CMT" certification, and she is SCARY. A direct quote, how she deals with aggression - "I give them one arm to bite and beat them over the head with the other till they submit" Not saying that this is necessarily how this guy trains, but that and his background in police dog training tells me that the students PROBABLY aren't going to learn clicker training.
And if that's what they want, fine and dandy..
But you may want to pass on this website to them:
http://www.canadiancaninetraining.com/ It looks like a more balanced programme - I think the best way to learn dog training though, is to apprentice yourself to a dog trainer and learn "hands on".
I fully agree with her. Typically the methods used to teach protection and service dogs aren't the most gentle.
The second person (Reena) said:
"I agree with KTM that you would need to be cautious about this program. It's a lot of money to spend without knowing what exactly you're getting. If I was interested I'd try and contact people who had been through the program and find out if they thought it was everything the web-site claimed it to be. I'd also want to know specifics on what type of training methods are taught. I would also request that the school allow me to visit before I put a deposit down.
I do know of two different schools in the states that are highly thought of by professional trainers.
One was developed and run by Jean Donaldson in San Francisco. I know several trainers that have been through one of the academy sessions and they said it was extremely intense and left them exhausted. But they also said they came out of the course knowing an incredible amount about dogs, learning theory, and behavior. http://www.sfspca.org/academy/index.shtml
The other school is run by Pat Miller as her Intern Academy. I know it is highly thought of -- but I don't have much information on it. Pat's moving to Maryland. Here's a link: http://www.peaceablepaws.com/apprentice.htm
I also know Terry Ryan has short Instructor's Courses: http://www.legacycanine.com/
I don't know what the Canadian Association of Pet Dog Trainers is doing as far as certification goes -- but here's their web site: http://www.cappdt.ca/
I do know that the Association of Pet Dog Trainers -- which is run out of the U.S., but which has members from all over the world, has developed a certification program which is accredited and run by an independent organization. http://www.ccpdt.org/ Right now the certification consists of a 250 question test on learning theory, dog behavior and some other things. The goal is to have different levels of certification and the Level 2 test is being developed right now.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I wouldn't just look at one school -- I'd really do my homework. You have my permission to copy and paste this post to any other boards you would like."
I hope you don't think I'm just sticking my nose in unwanted, I would hate for you to spend a huge sum of money and find out in the end, that the methods used are ones you aren't interested in using or even that the certification is worthless.
I just wanted to provide you with some more options.