Retractable leashes are gaining in popularity unfortunately.
More likely than not, your future clients will be using retractable leashes when you meet them. When you recommend that they use a regular 6 foot leash instead, they might question why. Here are some great replies you can respond with.
Possibility for Injury to People or Their Dog
One the design feature (or rather a flaw) is that the wire is thin and light weight. This makes it easier to retract without tangles, but also means it is easier to injure yourself or your dog if it gets wrapped around a limb. We have personally experienced rope burns that are extremely painful and would not recommend a retractable leash to dog owners (and especially not novice dog owners).
They Teach Dogs How To Pull
The basic principle of the leash is that the dog gets more freedom when they pull the leash. This is inherently rewarding and teaches dogs how to pull their owners along walks. Often when a dog is put on a regular non-retractable leash the dog continues to pull because they don’t understand the difference. Clients inadvertently train their dogs to pull without know it by using these retractable leashes.
It’s Easy For Dogs To Get Loose
The handle is designed to keep an easy grip. However, as the dog pulls he can pick up momentum and ultimately yank the leash out of the owner’s hands. We have seen this happen numerous times. What happens when a client’s dog sees a squirrel across the street and takes off without notice? Dogs can get hit running across the street while on a flexi or retractable leash.
Increased Chances For Dog Fights
Dogs can easily get too far ahead of their owners with retractable leashes. This means they could turn a corner only to come face to face with an unfriendly dog. The confusion and sudden appearance without warning on both parties can cause a dog fight where the owners have no way to untangle the dogs withouth giving themselves a rope burn. This kind of experience can give dogs a life-long struggle when it comes to interracting with other dogs in the future and can even lead to leash reactivity.
Accidentally Dropping The Leash Can Spook Dogs
If an owner accidentally drops the handle, it can spook the dog. The dog could then take off running and get lost or, worse, get hit by a car. The leash only chases them as they run away making them run away even faster. This can be incredibly dangerous and traumatizing for dogs.
Educate your clients about the dangers of retractable leashes. Sure they are convenient, but so many things can go wrong. We always say, “Better to be safe, than sorry!”
The dog loving world is catching up with modern technology.
Dog lovers play a part in all professions, but only recently has that translated to technology that can help owners love their dogs more. These machines help people communicate with their dogs. From training to enrichment, this technology is a small step into the future.
The Petzila allows you to see, speak to, and treat dogs. This machine is great to check in with your dog throughout the day and give them a special treat. With regard to training, you can remotely reward dogs for good behavior such as not barking or being destructive. It comes in at about $169.99 on their website.
This toy is ideal for dogs that love to play fetch. When used within reason, it is a great tool to incorporate more exercise for dogs with people with mobility issues. Of course, in the dog’s eyes, part of the fun of fetch is the interaction with their person. With this machine, the dog drops a mini-tennis ball into the large hole and the machine throws it out the smaller hole. The iFetch would probably be a wonderful Holiday gift at only $99.95.
The Pet Chatz machine allows people to talk with their pets while they are away. It also has the treat dispensing feature. This is another great option for remote training to reward and encourage good behavior. It connects to your home’s wifi so you can easily connect remotely. You can pre-order this machine for $350.00.
The Pet Cube is a camera and laser entertainment system for people and their pets. It connects through wifi and video tapes your pets as they play with a laser pointer that is integrated into the cube. This project was funded by kickstarter. This machine is ideal for cats who need daily exercise. You can pre-order it for $179.
The Pet Tutor is the ultimate remote training device. It has a sensor to reward the dog when it doesn’t bark so it can function automatically or manually. Trainers often use this for distance behaviors as well as separation anxiety cases. The Pet Tutor comes in at $379.
Anyone can be a trainer. How are you setting yourself apart?
Wondering why the word “trainers” is in quotation marks? That’s because we want to emphasize the fact that anyone can call themselves a dog trainer. There are no regulations in the dog training industry – not even minimum standards that must be met. That means anyone off the street who decides he wants to train dogs can call himself a “dog trainer.” It is unfortunate, but it is true.
When you’re in the midst of starting your own dog training business, there are some ways you can show potential customers that you’re different and can provide more value than other trainers in the area.
Provide (Free) Value
Before bringing a stranger into their home to work with their beloved dog, owners want to know who you are and why you’re better. What better way than to share your knowledge with them? Setting up an email marketing campaign will help you connect with your potential clients by giving them information they need and want. Create a free email newsletter through MailChimp with our tutorial and then get started helping out your clients! The most important part of this concept is to allow customers to volunteer their emails and provide them with information they want – not what you think they ought to know.
Walk a mile in their shoes.”
Provide More Than Your Competitors
Clients are always interested in getting the best bang for their buck. Find ways to provide them more for their money. Here are some ideas:
Create a special educational email newsletter or ebook just for clients.
Create follow-up pdf handouts that they can print and tape to their fridge.
Offer monthly seminars that are 1-2 hours long for a small fee, but that are exclusive for current clients.
Offer unique services such as training walks or outings for clients who don’t have time to train their own dogs every day.
Host a monthly or bi-weekly “yappy hour” for clients whose dogs are social.
The possibilities are endless! You just have to get creative. The ultimate goal is to help your human client’s lives return to a peaceful and normal state.
State Your Mission Clearly
As modern dog trainers, you need to make it clear why you’re different from the man off the street who has no education. Make your mission clear on your website and marketing materials. Briefly explain why you became a dog trainer (don’t forget the part about helping families), discuss the science that drives your methods, and share the results your clients have achieved with your training.
Promote the End Result
In the end, clients are looking for training that will fix their problem. If the behavior issue is driving them insane, they are usually desperate to find a quick fix – and we can’t blame them! Everyone gets a dog to improve their lives, not to increase their stress or anxiety. Make it clear that your methods work and share with them the end goal you are looking to achieve. Training can be fun and games, but will it truly help them with their situation in the end.
Bonus Idea: Make a referral program for existing clients. Entice clients to share information about your services to their friends and reward them for promoting your business!
It was announced this afternoon that Dr. Sophia Yin has passed away. We are overwhelmed with shock and sadness as we process this news. She has played a critical role in the modernization of dog training. Her Facebook profile shared this picture to announce this unfortunate news:
Over the years, she has been a strong role model for veterinarians and dog trainers alike. She shared her knowledge and skills with thousands of teachers both in person and online. There is no doubt she increased the quality of life of many, many animals through the demonstration of her veterinary handling videos and resources.
She will be dearly missed and will never be forgotten.
The APDT offers a fun and challenging CLASS curriculum for new pet owners.
The Association of Professional Dog Trainers is the leading organization for professional dog trainers in North America. They offer a wonderful program for trainers to get involved with local rescues as well as increase their income by teaching a specific kind of class. Canine Life and Social Skills (CLASS) is targeted towards shelter dogs who need to build their life skills and social skills to successfully get adopted or stay adopted. Becoming a CLASS Instructor & Evaluator is a great way to set yourself apart from your competition.
Becoming an Instructor
To become a CLASS instructor simply sign up for an account. Once you’ve registered, you have access to the CLASS curriculum so that you can easily begin teaching. The APDT also supplies advertising materials so you can help clients or potential clients learn about the CLASS program. CLASS for shelter dogs is a great program to use if you want to begin a relationship with your local rescue or shelter.
Certification for Evaluators
To become certified as a CLASS Evaluator you’ll need to pass a video exam, be the minimum age of 21, have at least 60 hours of training experience, and maintain liability insurance either through the company you work for or through your own business. The cost is only $40 to become certified. Once your students complete the CLASS curriculum in class, being certified allows you the possibility to graduate your clients and help them become certified as well! Getting their dog certified is a fun way to encourage excellence in pet ownership and responsibility.
Dominance in dogs is something that is constantly debated among dog trainers.
Recent research suggests that dominance should simply be used to describe one animals relationship with another and not as a type of behavior. Conflict resolution is something that all animals must come to terms with in order to survive. Injuries caused by unnecessary fighting between individuals of the same species is detrimental to the species survival. Dominance and submission relationships are critical to keeping peace between members of the same family. Click HERE for a link to the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior Position Statements on Dominance.
David Mech, the original researcher who coined the term “alpha,” now retracts his statement about wolf packs competing for alpha status. He now states that wolf packs are similar to families. The “alphas” are usually the parents and the subordinates are offspring. Dominance is simply a matter of “respecting your elders.”
Dominance Is Expressed To Keep Possession Over Resources
When one dog has possession of a resource such as food, a mate, water, or comfort, they can express their dominance over other animals to keep that resource. Keeping possession over resources is a critical survival skill that is necessary to all animals. If an animal is unable to keep possession, then they will likely perish or go through severe hardships. Unfortunately, just because a dog is now usually located in a home with ample resources doesn’t mean they will stop guarding their possessions. Clients often fail to understand this and are quick to label their dogs as dominant or submissive when conflicts occur.
How do you explain dominance to your clients? Share in the comments below.
Here’s our favorite explanation to the common question: What is clicker training?
Clients always ask: What is clicker training? Even if they don’t ask, what they think they know may be incorrect or incomplete. This video by Kristin Crestejo is our favorite video explanation of what clicker training is and how to use it to train animals.
Clicker training is a wonderful training method that precisely identifies what behavior the animal performed that earned them the reward they were working for. This allows them to acquire the behavior accurately, quickly, and with great enthusiasm. The clicker is simply a piece of metal that makes a “click” sound when you press it with your thumb. The click should always be followed by a reward that the animal values. Clicker training is used worldwide to train zoo animals, wildlife for military operations, and top performance competition champions. Fortunately, it is easily applied to the needs of the common owner and their dogs.
Using food in training is your best option to create social, confident, and obedient dogs for your clients.
Many modern dog trainers utilize food in training. While food is an incredibly practical way to motivate dogs, it serves another important functions when it comes to the dog’s confidence. Simply put, food has the power to change how an animals feels about certain situations.
In the article “Preventative Counterconditioning…because bad stuff happens” by Awesome Dogs, the trainer uses an unexpected life event as a chance to countercondition her dogs before they get a chance to make an emotional connection to the situation. Her neighbors were having a huge and loud party and she took the opportunity to feed her dogs chicken. This ensured that the dogs made a good, positive association with the experience before they could decide for themselves.
Proper Socialization
Proper socialization should occur in this manner as well. Its important to help the puppy learn about their environment and teach them that the world is a fun a safe place. Socialization will occur either way so you need to step in and make sure they are creating positive connections with their discoveries by using food in training. In other words, this is also a form of “preventative counterconditioning.”
Chicken Is Powerful
Food has the power to change a dog’s emotional reaction towards stimuli (people, dogs, and other possibly scary things). It is easily deliverable to the dog’s mouth as they observe their environment which makes it an ideal tool to use in training. Granted the dog is not over threshold and too close to their feared trigger, food can help teach a dog new behaviors while creating positive associations and connections in their brains. Just like when people eat their favorite comfort foods, those “feel good” chemicals called endorphins are released in the brain. That warm fuzzy feeling is then paired with the dog’s trigger to make a new connection – “that scary thing makes awesome stuff happen, maybe it isn’t quite so scary anymore!” Basically, food has the power to make the world less scary for any dog.
Breaking down dog-dog play is an important part of teaching dog training and socialization classes.
In this video, Donna Hill narrates two dogs playing together. She helps us identify what dog play body language is occurring.
These two dogs demonstrate appropriate and reciprocal dog-dog play. The narration describes what is occurring as it happens. Rolling over, initiating play, and chase should be reciprocated by each dog. If one dog is doing most of the chasing or tackling, the pair maybe an uneven match and one dog may be bullying the other. The most important thing to remember is that each dog should take turns reciprocating the play and breaks should be taken frequently. Intervene using only positive interrupter to keep the interactions fun and upbeat while initiating breaks for the dogs.
Increase a dog’s accuracy in competitions by practicing back end awareness exercises.
Back end awareness is not something that comes naturally to dogs. Most dogs don’t realize they have anything behind their shoulders. Back end awareness exercises help dogs learn how to move their back end in order to increase accuracy in obedience, agility, and other dog training competitions. Donna Hill demonstrates several types of back end awareness exercises for dogs in this video:
Walking over ladders, over agility obstacles, and backing up over steps are some of the 22 exercises that are demonstrated in this video. Fortunately, you don’t have to purchase any special equipment to work on these exercises. Your students will likely enjoy watching their dogs discover this whole other part of their bodies which can make for great comic relief in class!
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Dominance in dogs is something that is constantly debated among dog trainers.
Here’s our favorite explanation to the common question: What is clicker training?
Breaking down dog-dog play is an important part of teaching dog training and socialization classes.
