Hiring a Dog Trainer? Don’t Make These Mistakes

Amy Castro (00:00.482)

Are you feeling at the end of your rope with your dog's behavior, but you're not quite sure if it's time to bring in a professional trainer? Or are you worried about picking the wrong one? Well today I'm talking with Bradley Pfeiffer, professional dog trainer and a behavior consultant about knowing when you need help and how to choose the right trainer for you and for your dog.

Amy Castro (00:25.57)

You've reached the Pet Parent Hotline, your lifeline to practical solutions for your toughest pet parenting challenges. I'm your host Amy Castro, and I'm here to help you cut through the noise and turn expert advice into step-by-step strategies so you can stop chasing your tail and start enjoying life with pets again.

Amy Castro (00:50.402)

The last time Bradley was on the show, we talked about surprisingly common mistakes that can actually encourage bad behavior in our dogs. And oftentimes it's without us even realizing we're doing it. This time I wanted to take that a step further. I know how important it is to choose the right trainer when you realize you need help. And in fact, as a kid, we had a terrible experience with somebody who used really harsh methods to basically control our dog. And it stuck with me for life.

Over the years in rescue, I've also seen trainers who use unnecessarily harsh methods. And I know that that is a real fear for many pet parents. That's why I care so much about helping you make better choices. The dog training world can feel like the wild, wild West. There's certifications. Some people have them. Some people don't. The people that don't have them tell you they don't need them, et cetera, et cetera. So today I'm talking with Bradley Pfeiffer about how to know when it's time to get help and how to find the right trainer for you and your dog.

Bradley is a professional dog trainer and a behavior consultant with 17 years of experience helping pet parents improve their relationships with their dogs. He's certified by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, where he also serves as their executive director. Bradley, thank you for coming back on the show again. You probably sick of

No, no, had a great time last time and I'm looking forward to this one. Thank you.

Yes, this one I've been looking forward to doing for a long time. And it's funny because I have had dog trainers reaching out to me. They got a little pissy sometimes when I would say, well, you know, what is your training and certification? Well, I got 30 years experience. Well, that's awesome. But like to me, expertise has to do with a level of experience, a level of obviously knowledge.

Amy Castro (02:30.646)

And then, you know, a level of training that can say that you uphold some type of standard. And that's what I wanted to talk to you about today, because I don't know that pet parents have the resources or maybe they do to make those good decisions. So the first thing I want to ask you is, you know, at what point does a pet parent need a trainer? Like, should I get one from day one? Does everybody need one?

Bradley Phifer

You need a trainer before you get the dog. 

And I say that because the world is evolving and how we care for our dogs and how proactive we are. But the reality is for a long time, dog training occurred when there was a problem for a lot of pet owners, right? They said, well, I got a puppy, everything's fine. Now I have a problem. I got to hire a dog trainer. The reality is a qualified dog trainer can help you figure out which breed is right for you, which individual dog is right for you and successful dog ownership.

It starts at the beginning, right? Getting the right dog for your personality, your lifestyle, your family, that is paramount to your success. Paramount to your success. so the dog trainer will able to help you with those decisions, be able to help you create a plan for how to transition the dog from wherever they were into your home, how to introduce the new dog to maybe existing dogs or what does the first three or four days look like? Sometimes we get this new puppy and we want to bring them home and then we forget that we a vacation or...

Bradley Phifer (03:53.954)

We bring them home and all the kids friends want to come over and see the new puppy. so having an expert who could help you from the onset be successful is paramount in my opinion. And I think that's where you should get a dog trainer before you even get the dog.

Amy Castro

is such a good point. Are there dog trainers that can actually source the dog for us? and whether it's whether it's buying a dog from a breeder or will a dog trainer go with me to the local shelter?

Bradley Phifer

Today's professional dog trainer offers a menu of services that will range from anything from breed selection to possibly helping you connect with a breeder, going with you to look at puppies, whether that's at a rescue group or at the breeder's house. Not every dog trainer is gonna offer those services, but many, many do. And I think a lot of people, a lot of dog trainers are, they want to offer those services. They want to create a relationship with you from the onset.

My own company, 90 % of our dogs start as puppies that are, you know, that 12 to 16 week mark. They are raised at one of our facilities, not physically raised, but they do their training or classes. And once they do the training classes, they can go on to do daycare or grooming and overnight care. So we've really cultivated a relationship over the past 15 or 16 years where we start with you from the onset of getting a puppy and we are with you throughout that dog's life.

for all of their needs. And so when they're with us, we know them, we know them well. We know their strengths, we know their stressors, and more dog trainers are moving towards that sort of a program. And it's helping build stronger relationships with dogs and their owners. It's preventing behavior problems. One thing that's probably important to say as we start this conversation is that dog training in the United States is an unregulated profession. So we have to be really conscientious. There are a lot of people who offer dog training services, but it's important to know that anyone can...

Bradley Phifer (05:42.988)

identify as a dog trainer, begin offering services to the public. And so to your point, are there people who can help us source a dog? There certainly are people who will help you find a dog from a breeder and help you get one. But it's important that as consumers that we're doing our due diligence and we're working with people who are effective and ethical. These are certainly the extremes that we hear stories where people have purchased a dog from.

someone or so and so help them get a dog and they get the dog and it's not, wasn't delivered. What was delivered wasn't what was supposed to be delivered, right? The dog's temperament and so forth wasn't right or somebody took someone's money. And so it's just really important that we're doing our due diligence in these situations to make sure that we're hiring someone who's qualified, effective, ethical.

Well, and I think it's shocking to me that people, they don't want to spend the money on that, but they'll go out and spend $5,800 on a, I won't name any non-breed, but people think it's a breed kind of dogs, or they'll buy something at a pet store that they'll spend a ridiculous amount of money on and then just end up with God knows what.

That's the, isn't it? That's kind of the consumer way, right? I mean, we don't think about the prevention piece. We don't think about the investment. We think about the gratification of, decided I want a dog. I decided I want a doodle. I want one today. There's one in California. seems legit. I'm going to ship it here. And we don't have like, we don't have a problem spending the money on that, but really laying the foundation and the groundwork for success. That is something that a lot of people don't do. I'm happy to say in my world, my little area of the world.

we've really put an emphasis on that piece of it and we're getting more and more clients who are calling us from the onset and saying, help us find a breeder. We always like to help people figure out what breed or breed type is right for them. Maybe even do the groundwork for finding litters that are available or dogs that are available and then connecting the clients with the rescue group or the breeder so that we can, we don't want to broker dogs but we want to certainly try to make that connection. So everyone.

Bradley Phifer (07:41.61)

everyone is connected and has the best of intentions and we have a successful adoption. But I agree with you wholeheartedly that usually we have that impulse by we just got one and they're like, crap, this is easy. know, and so it would be it'd be less stressful, less heartache, a better use of your money, a better investment if you would start on the front end of it.

Yeah, such a good point. And I know we did a whole episode on mistakes that pet parents make that kind of reward or encourage bad behavior. But for those who haven't heard that episode yet, if I didn't make that investment upfront and now I'm at a point with my dog where I probably need a trainer, what would be the signs that you had mentioned in that other episode where it's like, yeah, you need help.

Well, I think you need help when you feel overwhelmed by your dog. You need help when you are feeling frustrated by your dog. You're behaving in a way that isn't natural for you or that you didn't envision. Like this is what dog ownership was going to be looking like. think on that last episode, you had made the wise, the wise comment about, you know, when you find yourself changing your lifestyle for your dog. So I'm not going out to dinner anymore. I don't have friends over. I'm living in a house full of baby gates because these two dogs are fighting with each other. You know, when it does it.

look like you envisioned it looking and you're feeling stress about it, it's time to get help.

So in trying to get help, pretty much anybody can hang out a sign, get themselves a little website or a phone number or whatever, and call themselves a dog trainer. How do we know we're getting a good trainer? What would be the things that we're looking for? And then I want to talk about red flags or you can merge those together, however you want to discuss that.

Bradley Phifer (09:22.862)

Yeah, so it's always important to remember that anyone can be a dog trainer and not all dog trainers are created equal. A great dog trainer is someone who has both knowledge and experience. And so we want to start by thinking about what are my challenges? What would working from dog trainer look like in terms of success? Do I have a puppy? Do I have an adolescent dog? Am I looking for basic obedience help? Do I have a behavior problem? We need to kind of identify who we're looking for because some dog trainers

may be really great with puppies, doodle puppies for instance. They're easy, pretty push button, but maybe they don't have a lot of experience with herding dogs or working dogs. Those can be tougher dogs, right? And so you wanna make sure that you are doing your due diligence to hire someone who has the knowledge and experience needed to help you with your individual situation.

So picking a trainer that really either, you know, that specializes and has experience in that particular area is key. I hadn't even thought about that before. It's like, but I've trainers tell me too. It's like, I did that when I was younger. I don't do that anymore. I don't want to mess with behavior problems, like aggression problems or whatever it might be. I respect that. Like be honest in what you're comfortable doing.

Well, with to that to that point, mean, something like aggression or separation anxiety, things like that. I mean, that takes a different level of knowledge and skill, even education, than working with a doodle puppy who's 12 weeks old that needs to be outside. And what happens, I think, in a lot of times is that you get into dog training and training, like learning how to train puppies and handling young dogs, do the basic sit, come down, go to bed, stay. That's relatively

easy in the big picture. And so then you say, wouldn't move on to behavior problems. And it kind of becomes sexy to work with fearful dogs or aggressive dogs. And again, though, it takes a different level of knowledge, experience, skill, and education to meet those dogs needs. But even if you're thinking of as simple as breed type, knowing how to raise an intact adolescent briard or a German shepherd puppy compared to a Cocker Spaniel puppy, understanding individual breed type and their needs,

Bradley Phifer (11:27.754)

and their desires, what type of exercise they benefit from, type exercise they don't enjoy, frustration tolerance levels. I mean, there's just so many variables. It's not just training the dog how to sit, come and stay. It's really about knowing the individual dog, their breed type, their needs, their wants, the owner dynamic, all those things play a part. so knowledge, skills, and experience cannot be underestimated when you're hiring a dog trainer. And you can find that out through

word of mouth referrals, you can find that out through your veterinarian. You can find that out through the CCPDT, which brings me to my next point. Credentialing is important, right? Because we know that anyone can offer services to the public and without any sort of minimum standards, hiring someone who has demonstrated competence in their field is also important. And so the CCPDT credential, those individuals have passed either a knowledge or skills-based exam. They are

held accountable to the CCPDT standards of practice and code of ethics that outlines how professionals behave when they are engaging with clients and their dogs, a priority on positive reinforcement, the minimizing of punishment and other reverses, consulting with behavior professionals and veterinarians. And when we have difficult cases, we're also held accountable to continuing education in order to maintain our certification. And so those two pieces between

the knowledge, and education to help you and having demonstrated competence in the field are two great measures that you're hiring someone who's committed to excellence.

And that's such a good point. And I know a lot of, like I mentioned, lot of trainers have pushed back on the need for that, but it's generally the ones that don't have it.

Bradley Phifer (13:08.246)

Ultimately, certification credentialing is about accountability, right? Accountability to have demonstrated my competence, accountability to the standards of practice and put of ethics, accountability to professional development. And as a professional, whether you need it or not, whether it's going to benefit you as an individual or not, whether it's going to bring more business or not, as a professional, we should hold ourselves accountable to those standards for both ourselves, our industry, and dog owners who we hope to serve and take their money.

You know, the idea that the evolution of the proper way to train dogs has changed. And so if somebody's not keeping up with that continuing education, they could definitely be using some outdated methods.

Dog training has certainly evolved way past what was common in the ease and maybe even early nineties. There are still people who use antiquated training methods, but today's dog trainer, especially those certified through the CCPDT are going to place a priority on positive reinforcement training and humane strategies that are family friendly, producible amongst various members of the family. It's not just that dad can train the dog, right? Or that you to come down with a heavy hand.

We've also, with the name of your show, the Pet Parent Hotline, we've gone from dog owners where dogs are in the backyard, or we've got to be the master, to pet parents. We've really evolved our relationship with the dogs. We have a better understanding of them, what they need, what they want, how they learn. And so with that has come better training strategies, better management strategies, an emphasis on the dog's wellbeing and creating resilience through our interactions. Yeah, so thankfully dogs have endured some...

nasty things and, but today's dog trainer, you're not, you're not going to see that. And if there's, we talked about this during our last podcast session as well. If, if you're in a situation, whether you're at veterinarian's office, you're with a dog trainer, you're at your local park as the pet parent, your primary role is to advocate for your dog. And so if someone's doing something that you're uncomfortable with, even if it's the right thing to do, if you're uncomfortable with it, you say, please stop. I don't want her treated like that. Right. I don't want her to experience this.

Bradley Phifer (15:17.516)

Let's step back, talk about it, reset. If you see your dog being uncomfortable because another dog is invading their space or someone's trying to engage with them, right? They're cowering, they're going behind your legs, their ears are back. Most people can observe their dog's body language and can figure out whether the dog is happy or not happy or comfortable or not comfortable. If you see your dog in a situation where someone's trying to make them do something don't like, then you say or uncomfortable with, you say, please stop, she's not comfortable. You step in between.

your dog and that other dog or your dog and that person and you advocate for them or you walk them away, not doing so, not advocating for your dog is going to create problems for you, your family, your dog, and it's just simply unfair. Yeah.

Well, and not advocating for your dog and not saying anything implies consent as well. right.

There's a lot of certifications in dog training. So a lot of certifications are tied to the completion of an educational track. So they're more certificate courses. And so I sign up for this dog training course. I go through the course, I take that person's test and then I'm certified through X, Y, Z. That's not to say that that certificate isn't valid, that the person isn't a qualified dog trainer, but I do think it's important to kind of separate a person who is credentialed through

somewhere like the CCPD team, which is an independent, credentialing organization that is not tied to any sort of educational track, that is certified through the National Commission for Certified Agencies. It's much more like a license in another profession compared to just a certificate course. Again, that's not to say the certificate programs are not great. There's a lot of great ones, but as you're doing your due diligence, you want to make sure that you have a firm idea. Because a lot of doctors say, I'm certified. Well, certified through what? What education did you receive? What training methods?

Bradley Phifer (17:02.018)

Did you learn? So just as part of that due diligence that we're doing, ask the question, who are you certified through?

Yeah. Well, let me ask you this too, even within your organization, because I was looking at the website, there's, there's, I forget the terminology, but it almost seemed like there's a, this person took a test, a written test. This person actually physically demonstrated. Yes.

Those are CPDT-KA, which means they've passed the knowledge-based exam. There is a CPDT-KSA, which means they've passed the skills-based exam. So that stands for Certified Professional Dog Trainer Knowledge Assessed or Certified Professional Dog Trainer Knowledge and Skills Assessed. And then there's also a behavior consulting credential, is Certified Behavior Consultant K9 Knowledge Assessed. So those are important components. It's one step in the process of determining what

dog trainer is going to be right for you in your situation is having earned those credentials. Even if you are looking at a dog trainer who maybe isn't CCPDT certified, but they have completed a certificate course, just do your due diligence and find out a little bit about that certificate course or ask them, say, know, have you worked with dogs that experienced similar behaviors or have you worked with a dog of my breed? I I raised the Singes and other hounds and very few people have ever raised an Afghan hound puppy.

or raised a bloodhound puppy or raised a Basenji, you know, and I've raised lots of them, but that's a different skill set than raising a Labrador or a Pit Bull mix or an Australian Shepherd, you know? And so you want somebody who has that experience. think one other indicator too, that is often overlooked because we said on the last time we're old school dogs people is someone who is competing with their dogs. Are they doing rally or competitive obedience or agility or barn hunt? I mean, there's so many activities that

Bradley Phifer (18:51.436)

dog people can do with their dog. So another measure that someone may be qualified to help you, we've got the CCPDT credential, we've got knowledge, experience and skills in your area or your breed, but also competition. They're out in the world, working with dogs, having their hands on dogs, competing with dogs, getting titles. That might be something that's also important for you, depending on what your goals are with your dog when you're hiring a trainer. And then obviously we have word of mouth referrals from your veterinarian, friends and family who've had success with trainers in your area.

Word of mouth referral would be another way of checking in. Always though, do an interview, ask the questions, make sure the person is right for you. Cause it is a relationship and there's in my career, I've had clients who I just, didn't relate with their dog for whatever reason. Like we just didn't jive or I didn't relate with the person. Maybe my goals were different or just personalities kind of collided a little bit. And you know, it's, it's much like, uh, maybe you're, I don't want to under, I don't want to undercut anyone, but like a hairstylist or your therapist or your gym trainer.

There's a relationship that has to happen with the trainer and the dog and the client to be able to really help build success. There's so many great dog trainers out there. These are just, these are, think what we're doing today is hitting on the high points of what are the boxes we want to check when we're screening someone, right? And really finding the right person because to your point, mean, dog training, CCP DT has 6,800 certified dog trainers in the world. Most of them are in the United States and Canada.

But there are areas of the country where we may only have one certificate in that state because again, it's a non-licensed profession. So you may have 14 dog trainers in your city and only one of them is CCPDT certified. And while I feel pretty confident saying they're going to do a good job by you, it may not be a good fit for your dog. know, every situation is a little bit different. They may not offer the services that you need. your dog, if this is a certified professional dog trainer and maybe you need something with a bit more in-depth behavior problems or.

know, veterinary behaviorists are working on a lot of behavior cases, but there's only a few of them in the country and those that are oftentimes spaced out as well. So these other boxes that we're talking about in terms of knowledge, skills, and experience, working with your breed type or competing with their dogs, getting titles and stuff like that. Those are just other boxes and things to consider when you're really trying to find someone who can help you on your path. So I think the good news is the tide is changing, right? The message is changing in terms of how we raise dogs.

Bradley Phifer (21:17.344)

And so many people are focusing on getting the right dog for them, starting training early, building foundation that hopefully that most dog trainers will be able to fit that bill.

Yeah. So does CCP DT, is there something on the website, like interview questions or, you know, things to look for?

Exactly.

Bradley Phifer (21:39.118)

So actually it's not on CCPDT's website, but we have a website called fetchtheanswer.com. And on fetchtheanswer.com, there is a checklist and some info sheets on how to select your dog trainer. just briefly, the questions that we should be asking are services do you offer? you know exactly, is it a puppy class? Is it a group class? Is it basic obedience training? So what services and programs do you offer? What are the costs associated?

with working with these programs. Do you offer any guarantees? And the answer to that question should be no. If someone offered you a guarantee, that to me would be a red flag. And I don't mean like your money back guarantee, that's not what we should. We don't want that sort of thing. It's fine if there's a program that says, you know what, we are willing to work with you. You're gonna do this group class and we have follow-up options for you. Or we're happy if you're not satisfied, we'll do another lesson with you to make sure that you understand what we're working on.

But when someone says, we're going to guarantee that your dog will do X, Y, or Z at the end of this program, that is a red flag simply because you can't guarantee it. Right? mean, dogs are sentient beings and their behavior is dependent on their emotional response to a situation. Their behavior is dependent on who's responsible for their daily care, exercise and overall wellbeing and how good the family is at incorporating training, exercise and enrichment into the dog's day.

Something I say all the time to my clients is I can help you. When your dog leaves here, I am confident they are going to understand how to walk on the lead, come on call with this level of difficulty, go to their bed stay, right? The parameters are clear, but we're working on what I can't do is parent your dog when they go home. If you don't do these things, your investment is gonna be gone. And so I can't guarantee you anything.

Yeah. That's why I don't provide guarantees with my human training because I can't guarantee you're going to take and use what I told you to do. So I can't guarantee outcomes like that, but.

Bradley Phifer (23:40.098)

The dog success and the trainer success and the owner success all depend on the owners committing to the training and committing to a lifestyle with their dog that is proactive and focused on teaching the dog how to behave in the world and what we want them to know. A lot of trainers are moving to programs where clients are being screened more and more because it's stressful when

you take pride in your work and you see how great a dog can be. And then you have an owner who might've been looking for a quick fix and thought they could just send the dog to a boarding training program for three weeks and the problem's gonna be solved. And they call you and they're upset or frustrated because the dog is still exhibiting X behavior or they won't do, they won't come back as quickly as they want them to. And a lot of that is dependent on the relationship the owner has with the dog.

Yeah. What are some of, like if I'm doing an interview or I've got a trainer that's coming to my house, let's say, what would be some things that I would say? Yeah, no, I don't. This is not the person that's right for us.

Red flags would be any sort of discussion about antiquated ideas. And I mean, what I mean by that is you've got to be the dominant dog. You and your dog are just part of the pack, right? And I say that sometimes we will use language or trainers will use language because it's like people relate to it. It's relevant.

like pet parent.

Bradley Phifer (25:08.524)

Right, but when you start saying, you gotta be, let's say the pack leader or you gotta show your dog dominance, not only is it wrong, but also it automatically puts you into this kind of combative sort of relationship where you've got to show your dog you're the boss. If you're not the boss, they're the boss. And so that antiquated methodology, those antiquated use of words, that would be a red flag to me.

Because it just tells me that the dog, the person wants me to be to challenge my dog. The person wants me to try to be my dog's boss. And certainly don't get me wrong. I think that dogs need to be managed well. Owners need to be proactive. They need to have solid obedience training. We need to be exercising them and enriching them every day. But you don't have to have this relationship where you got to tell them who's the boss. And if you don't, that they're going to be in, be combative with them. That's just, it's so antiquated. So that would be a red flag to me. Anything that is, if the training plan is more focused on

punishing undesired behavior versus managing, preventing undesired behavior or focusing on how to teach the dog what we want him to do. Right? When we're focusing on stopping the problem versus proactively teaching the dog what we want them to know, what we want them to do, that's going to be a problem. Sometimes people will call, they'll schedule a lesson and they think they're going come out here and let's say their dogs are reacting to other dogs. And so they just want them to, they just want us to

Take them for a walk, let them act crazy, embark, and then fix it. And really, the training has to start with determining if equipment is necessary so that the handler, the owner, has more control of their dog. Teaching the dog the understanding of some basic skills, like how to walk well on a leash. Because if you can't walk well on a leash, you can't walk well on a leash in front of your trigger, other dogs. And so there's got to be some foundation training. And so if there's not any sort of foundation training, that would be a red flag to me. So antiquated language.

the use of punishment based training strategies. When our training plan is only focused on how to stop the problem behavior. What we want to see is let's talk about how to manage your dog well to prevent the rehearsal of your undesired behavior. Let's focus on teaching your dog foundation skills that you and the dog both need to understand so you can communicate to the dog what's expected of them. Let's make sure that you are enriching your dog on a daily basis. You're meeting your dog's basic needs for physical health. That might be

Bradley Phifer (27:28.792)

Forging in the park, might be a long walk, that might be a play with other dogs, there's any number of factors. Those are the types of things you want to see. I don't think you want a trainer that is overly permissive, you know, don't ever tell them no, don't ever correct them. You've got to communicate with the dog. You got to tell them both where they're doing well, what you want them to do, and you've got to communicate to them when you need them to stop doing something, right? You need to be able to interrupt, say, hey, come over here, lay down, right? Give them direction, give them feedback. That's really important.

Yeah. You had mentioned the right equipment and things that pop into mind are things that to me are red flags, prong collars. I have some friends that, you know, by word of mouth, this is a great trainer. Send your, send your dog to this board and train. And they all come back with at least an e-collar. And it's like, does everybody really need that?

To me, that's a red flag. get a, you get the six foot leash and then you get the E-collar and that's the standard equipment or the prong collar or the whatever it is.

When every dog walks out of a training facility on a slip lead, prong collar or electronic training collar, that's more compulsion based training. And that should definitely be a red flag for you. You want to look at a trainer who I think is looking at each dog as an individual and saying between what the dog needs, what the owner needs, what is the plan that's going to get them there most successfully, right? Not doing any harm to the dog, making sure the owner and the community are safe.

Making sure the owner understands how to manage their dog and how to fulfill the dog's needs and is focused on teaching the dog what we want them to know.

Amy Castro (29:04.622)

And I think, you know, a point that I would like to make is that just like when I've done episodes about talking, you know, about taking your pet to the vet and you want to save money or you want to do this, you don't want to give that vaccine. This is a human being you're having a conversation with. So asking questions, why would you use that? What does that accomplish? know, I think people, they just kind of like take the package of stuff they're handed and use it without any thought. And the reason I bring that up is I've had some.

rescue dogs that have come through and come with an e-collar and it's like, I never used it after that and never needed it. Let's just put it that way. To me, if a lesser method works better, that's what we use around our house. And so I'm always very cautious of people that assume everybody's got to have this because every dog is so different.

It should always be do no harm and the least intrusive methods first, right?

Yeah, that's kind of what I was trying to say. You said it more eloquently.

I want to touch on your point about asking questions. Earlier we had said, advocate for your dog. And it's completely appropriate to say, again, what type of training strategies are you using? What will my dog learn? What are the exercises they're going to go through? And if a trainer is recommending a piece of equipment to you, whether it's a body harness or a prong collar, you should ask the question, how does it work? What are the pros and cons of the tool? How long will I need it for? Training equipment is there to aid.

Bradley Phifer (30:30.958)

the process. Dogs can be trained effectively on a flatbuckle collar and a leash. When you start putting on body harnesses or head collars, most of the time we're trying to inhibit the dog. We're using that tool as a management strategy, right? Because maybe the owners aren't, know, the dog's too powerful and the owners can pull out of a collar or he can pull the owner down on the collar, right? They're there to aid the process.

to help promote desired behavior and they're more of management tools. So, the pros and cons.

And shouldn't the goal of the training be that I shouldn't need a physical device to keep you from doing an undesired behavior. I should be at some point, hopefully getting to the point that I don't need that because you are now exhibiting the desired behavior.

I do think that's always the goal. Life throws you curve balls. People are committed and uncommitted to the process. Owners, based on their knowledge, skill, and experience, do oftentimes benefit from the use of equipment as a management solution to help them. Or if I'm having my younger child walk the dog, and I'm saying 12, 13 year old walk the dog, right? Having a head collar on the dog to help promote better walk behavior and to manage exuberance and things like that.

that may be a safety concern. Even the most well-trained Great Dane, and I would love to be pie in the sky, but the reality is, if that Great Dane decided one day to go see, you know, I saw this, there was a video the other day of this guy walking his dog, and this guy was like 6'2", this was also a Great Dane, ironically. This guy was probably 6'2", and this woman was walking, so he was over at this side of the lake, and the woman was over here, and...

Bradley Phifer (32:17.804)

The woman goes, my gosh, there's Bear, whatever the dog's name was, and that kind of like the higher pitched feminine voice, and the dog knew her. even, the dog, like the preview was the dog walking calmly just next door, next to his owner, being a good boy on his flat collar. And then when that woman said, Bear, the dog got excited, said, let's go, John. And he drug that young man, like, you know, down the sidewalk and over to see her. And he was fine, he didn't hurt himself, but.

That's a big powerful dog. if the dog gets excited by something, even the most well-trained dog, says, I'm going to be a dog today. I want to go left. The owner's going left. We need to make sure that everyone's safe. know, we don't want to get free from their owner, get free from the owner, get hit by a car. We don't want her to get her rotator cuff torn out or fall down on crack of tooth. So I think we need to.

You sound like you speak from experience.

We need to understand how the equipment works. We need to understand the pros and cons of the equipment, but we also need to look at the dog. How's the dog responding to the equipment? And there are a number of dogs, when head collars are used quite heavily and they are really effective in a lot of ways, but there's a lot of dogs, as soon as the head collar comes out, they run away and don't want to go for a walk. And even if you get the collar on, they're going walking down the street and they are fussing and fighting with it.

you know, digging in the ground and the owner feels bad. And so, you know, you've got to look at the whole situation. I think when you're talking about dog training, you're talking with your trainer to say, here's the situation. What is the best training plan for this situation to hit the goals and keep everyone safe, make sure the dog can be managed well, make sure the dog is getting out of the house for walks to get their enrichment, you know.

Bradley Phifer (33:59.506)

that the owner is also supported because there's a, to your point, the pet parent hotline is about owners and trying to make sure that they've got resources. So we want to make sure that the owners are supported as well in their efforts to raise their dog well. And that's why I've said a couple of times during this conversation that the relationship you have with your trainer is really important. know, every client I have is I don't go into the relationship thinking I'm going to do one lesson or two lessons. You're not coming to me. So for a couple of lessons, I can fix this problem. My goal is to you to know me.

you to like me and enjoy working with me, me to enjoy working with you and your dog. And so I'm a resource for you from puppyhood through your next five dogs. And whether you need boarding, grooming, training, whatever that is, we know each other well enough that we're going to cultivate that relationship. And then we've really tried to build that. And so if you're a new dog owner and you're hiring a trainer, really think about that piece of it.

If you're just looking for, if they're just looking to offer you a quick service and there's like 13 things on the menu, you know, that may or may not be someone that, you know, you want to work with. think relationships are so important in dog training and sometimes maybe they are underestimated, especially on the consumer end.

You kind of answered my last question, which was how is it that you get the most out of that relationship? And I think looking at it as a lifelong, know, at least the life of the dog, right? You know, a relationship from that standpoint and keeping that in the forefront of your mind as you're investigating this process, you're going to be a lot happier with that long-term outcome.

I've got clients who I'm, so I'm 45 this year and I started training when I was.

Bradley Phifer (35:38.99)

21, I got my first show dog and then I started training and I've got clients this year that are calling that I have not seen for a couple of years because you know, fall off the dogs older and stuff like that and they're getting puppies and like there's a client and we've got two clients that are starting here in the next couple of weeks that this is my, I think maybe third dog with them over the course like the past 20 years and so that's enjoyed. That's how it should be I think. That's the goal. Resources for the dog, resources for the owner and just again, looking at the whole situation holistically and

coming up with a training plan that works for the owner, that is enjoyable for the dog, that produces effective results so that the owners are happy.

Yeah, definitely. You know, and I totally forgot to mention in the last episode or ask when I asked you, you know, if people want to work with you or how they can get in touch with you, but where where in the country are you located? Did want to work with you. They know if you're

Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I'm located in Indianapolis and then we have the certification council has trainers all throughout North America, Canada. If you're listening overseas, we have some trainers in Japan and Australia. So yeah. The certification council is a great resource for dog owners who want to come up with a list of certified professional dog trainers in their state or their city. And then from there, you can just say, you know, now I have a list of trainers. You can start going through those other check boxes that we had.

Talk to later.

Amy Castro (36:59.842)

Earlier today, yeah. We do have quite a few listeners actually in Australia, so that's good to know.

So Bradley, thank you once again for being with me on the show and sharing your, your knowledge and your expertise. think this is such an important subject. I wanted to talk to somebody who had not only the experience because you're a trainer, but also representing an organization of trainers was super helpful. So I appreciate that so much.

Thank you for the opportunity.

All right. And everybody, thank you for listening to another episode of the Pet Parent Hotline. And please be sure if you've got a friend or a family member that's just gotten a new dog or they're even better, they're thinking about getting a dog or maybe you're thinking about getting a dog. Make sure you listen closely to this episode because I think all of the advice that Bradley gave here is going to be super helpful and, and preventing so many of the issues that I see that people run into with their dogs by getting an early start with a trainer. So.

Thank you again for listening and we will see you next time.

Amy Castro (38:06.734)

Thanks for listening to the Pet Parent Hotline. If you enjoyed the show, don't keep it to yourself. Text a friend right now with a link and tell them I've got a show that you need to hear. And ask them to let you know what they think. And remember, your pet's best life starts with you living yours. So be sure to take good care of yourself this week and your pets.