I put a lot of thought into choosing a trainer. I read up on the different methods and organizations out there. I figured this isn't something you want to half ass, your dog's welfare depends on this kind of thing. I spoke with many different trainers about their education, experience and affiliations before I found Anna.
We spoke on the phone and she told me about her education (studied at a university in Canada), her experience (over a decade training dogs even though she looks kinda young), and her affiliations, (APDT, Pet Professionals Guild and AKC CGC certified). I was pretty intrigued at this point so I asked her about her methods, she told me that she's a "fan of the clicker" and then right off the bat told me how it works and what studies have been done on it. Since I didn't ask her for that information, I was pretty impressed that she volunteered it. Girl after my own heart.
We arranged a meeting so she could do an assessment, which she assured me was free. When she arrived at my place a week later, I was a little skeptical, she's as skinny as a reed and looks like a stiff breeze would blow her over. I have an American Staffordshire Terrier who weighed 60lbs, I thought there would be no way she could handle her. When I mentioned my concerns (I phrased it more politely than I just put it, of course) she told me "no worries." She said that "real leaders lead from behind." And that "anytime you find yourself using force against a dog, your doing it wrong." I don't know why, but that stuck with me.
Cut to 4 weeks later and Peewee is doing great! We still have a lot left to do, we're only half way through the program, but Anna's a fountain of knowledge. It's amazing what I've learned so far. read more