![5 Places To Hold Group Classes]()
by Liz Wyant | Nov 8, 2014 | Business
If you are a dog trainer without your own private training facility, you can sometimes feel relegated to holding only private in-home sessions. However, with some creativity and planning, you can hold group classes in many different places.
Public Parks
Public parks can often provide you wide open spaces to hold group classes. They enable you to spread dogs out so even space-sensitive dogs can succeed. Holding group classes in parks is often easier if you have somebody to partner with so that one person can teach while the other can run interference with curious bystanders or loose dogs. Be sure to check any city regulations about using parks for personal gain.
Veterinary Offices
Many veterinary offices have spacious lobbies. They often love having a trainer “on staff,” so to speak, so they can refer clients to you. If you can establish a good working relationship with a vet, it can become mutually beneficial with each party referring potential clients to the other. Classes are a great way to keep clients coming back to their office and you’ll be able to make new relationships with clients.
Local Pet Stores
Most of the big box pet stores have their own staff trainers, but many local pet stores have decent open areas and would love to have a trainer hold group classes there to bring customers in their doors. If you promise to promote their products, they may even allow you to use the space for free. Additionally, holding group classes in a pet store provides for GREAT distraction training!
Parking Lots/Garages
Parking lots/parking garages can be fantastic for group classes. Being on concrete allows for distracted dogs to focus a little more easily, yet there is often still grass close by for potty breaks and sniffing rewards. Also, like public parks, they are very large and permit you to spread your clients out so all the dogs have ample space. Just make sure you have permission to be there.
Halls/Basements
Sometimes churches or AmVets type clubs will rent out their halls or basements for a reasonable fee. Be aware that some may require you to be an active member to get this benefit, but it certainly does not hurt to call around and ask.
Remember that when you are out in public or using somebody else’s space, it is important to leave the space as clean as or cleaner than it was when you arrived. Doing so ensures that you and your clients will always be welcome in the future.
What other places do you use for group training?
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![5 Reasons To Encourage Crate Training With Clients]()
by Liz Wyant | Nov 7, 2014 | Training Methods
Crate Training Can Seem Peculiar To Clients
For those unfamiliar with crate training, it can seem cruel, almost as if the dogs are being caged like zoo animals. However, as a savvy trainer, it is important to be able to explain to your clients a few reasons they should strongly consider crate training.
Know Where The Dog Is
Explain to your clients the great peace of mind that can come from knowing exactly what scene they will be walking into upon their arrival home – their dogs, happily wagging, safely contained in a crate, nothing in their home destroyed. Day after day, consistently.
Home Security Systems
Many people these days have home security systems. Remind your clients that if their alarm system goes off and the police are notified, the police WILL enter their home, with or without them present. Wouldn’t your clients rather know their dog is safely out of harm’s way due to being happily crate trained?
Windows = Automatic Dog Trainers
When dogs have access to windows during the day because they are free roaming, they can learn some valuable lessons. Valuable to them, at least. These include: barking scares the mail carrier away; barking scares pedestrians away; barking scares passing dogs away; barking scares delivery people away. That means your client’s dog has learned that barking excessively makes things go away. This is not really a lesson most people want their dogs to possess! Crate training keeps the dogs away from windows, preventing them from getting over-aroused multiple times throughout each day.
Learn To Relax
Dogs that are permitted to roam around the house, pestering the cats, barking out the windows, and finding other ways of entertaining themselves have a high probability of getting into trouble. Crate training teaches dogs to relax and enjoy downtime, especially when left with a lovely chew toy or work-to-eat toy in their crate.
No Issues With Other Household Animals
Many of your clients will be multi-pet owners. Whether those pets are all dogs, dogs and cats, dogs and birds, or some other combination, crate training ensures the safety of all animals in the household. Encouraging your clients to crate train means they will not ever have to be concerned about coming home to an injured or dead pet due to a fight that may have started over something as insubstantial (to people) as a tissue on the floor or play that escalated without supervision. Clients enjoy knowing that all of their beloved pets are safe and happy and will remain so.
Many clients may balk at the idea of crate training. Being able to calmly explain different benefits of it will enable them to start working through their antipathy towards the idea.
What are some other reasons you can think of to encourage crate training?
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![5 Ways To Reduce A Dog’s Stress In Class]()
by Liz Wyant | Oct 25, 2014 | Training Methods
As a modern dog trainer, you’ve studied canine body language. You are confident in your ability to identify when a dog is experiencing stress. But now that you’ve identified that dog, how do you help it?
Increase Distance From Dog’s Stressors
If space permits, this can often be the easiest way to help a dog. If the dog is experiencing stress due to proximity to other dogs, move him away. Getting him away from his stressors can allow him to relax enough to benefit from counter-conditioning and desensitization and learn the material you are covering in class.
Put Up A Visual Barrier
Sometimes your space is limited and you can’t move the dog away from her stressors. At this time, consider a visual barrier. Even something as simple as a ring gate with a sheet tossed over it can help the dog relax. This can be especially beneficial if the dog is experiencing stress due to other dogs looking at her. Blocking eye contact is quick way to reduce stress in class.
Increase Rate Of Reinforcement
If the dog in your class is still eating but perhaps getting a bit “sharky,” there is a good possibility the dog is experiencing stress. These dogs might be looking around at their environment while doing the bare minimum required to get a treat from their owner. Encourage the owner to start rapid-firing treats, rewarding for each task. This can help dogs focus on the training instead of their environment.
Do Simple Tasks At Which The Dog Is Proficient
So often when dogs get to higher levels of obedience/skill, owners don’t reward the little things as much. However, when a dog is experiencing stress, it can be beneficial to have owners drop back to beginner-level skills and reward for those to help build the dog’s confidence up. Those behaviors have a strong history of reinforcement so the dog will be able to successfully complete those tasks and get heavily praised. Training should not always get increasingly difficult because that can be very discouraging for a dog.
Massage
Some dogs are very tactile-oriented and want to be by their owners when experiencing stress. If you have a dog like this in your class, encourage your clients to do some slow, steady massage on their dog. You might find that all the dogs in your classes benefit from short breaks from training with massage and perhaps relaxing music playing (check out “Through A Dog’s Ear”).
Being able to identify stressed dogs is just the first step. You need to have the skills to successfully help the clients ease their dog through the stressful event. Having many options in your toolbox can be of great benefit to both your clients and their dogs.
What is your recommendation for reducing a dog’s stress in class?
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![5 Reasons You Should Refer A Case To Another Trainer]()
by Liz Wyant | Oct 13, 2014 | Business
As a professional who takes pride in your work, it can be difficult to accept that sometimes you are in over your head. Having a network of other trusted trainers you can either consult with or make a referral to makes you a stronger trainer. There are several reasons you may decide to refer a case on to another trainer.
Not Your Field Of Expertise
What is most of your education/background in? If you do mostly pet obedience, there is no shame in making a referral to another trainer if you have a potential client who is interested in IPO/Protection Sports.
Cases Beyond Your Experience Level
Sometimes cases come along that are just beyond your experience level. If you are a new trainer, it makes sense to make a referral onward if a client has a dog with aggression issues. If you have no experience in training service dogs, this would be a proper time to make a referral. Perhaps when making that referral, ask if you can shadow the other trainer while they work on the case so you can learn more and gain some personal experience. Most modern dog trainers are eager to share their expertise with those newer trainers who are sincerely interested in learning more.
Bias Against Breed Or Owner
This can be a tough one to admit to yourself. Nobody likes to admit that they might have a bias against a person or breed of dog. However, as human beings, it happens. So if a client comes along with a breed of dog that you just inherently have a dislike or distrust of, make a referral to another trainer. The same goes if you just feel you cannot work with the client for some reason.
Don’t Have Time
Some cases require a lot more training hours than others. If you are a part-time trainer and a potential client comes along with a dog that is going to take extensive work, and you just know you will not have the proper time to dedicate to the case, make a referral.
Don’t Have Facility
If you are a trainer that works without a facility, either going to people’s homes or working in public places, there are times you will need to refer cases to those trainers who do have facilities of their own. If a client comes to you with an extremely reactive dog, a trainer with a facility of their own will be better suited to properly set up the environment for the dog to succeed and make progress.
Knowing when to refer clients to other trainers benefits everybody involved. The dogs and clients will get proper, safe instruction. You will create stronger bonds with other local trainers, who might then reciprocate the referral. And the clients will know that you are an honest person who can be trusted, making them more likely to return to you and refer friends/family to you.
