# Wondering about trainers



## stillkate (Sep 6, 2012)

Hi,

I have become the proud new owner of an adorable Havanese girl. I have been looking through the boards and I have a question about trainers. Is it necessary to have a trainer or is it only in cases where there are behavioural issues? She is 1 year and 8 months old and from what I've seen so far she is a typical Havanese. She loves attention, plays really well with my kids and is incredibly patient with them, has no problem with other dogs, backs off when she wants to play with the cats and they don't want to, and has no problem with strangers on walks. She is very well socialized. The only two areas she needs to work on are sitting on command and not barking when someone comes in to the apartment upstairs. Ours is downstairs and there is another apartment upstairs and when they come in she barks. I'm confident that she can learn these two things fairly easily so I'm wondering if a trainer is necessary? Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks,
Kate


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

I would say not absolutely necessary if those are the only things you need help with, but it would greatly simplifiy things for you if you could get someone to get you started on how to train something like the sit to start with.

It's sounds like she is doing great.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

I agree with Tom. I always recommend puppy classes at a very early age. Whether you need a trainer depends on the issues at hand. If anything is getting worse instead of better, I wouldn't hesitate to get help. Basic commands are important in overall training but this is something that you can learn from videos or a friend who is experienced. Any sort of aggressive issues always need a professional. Many problems do not heal with time, so if you're not making headway , get help.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Another thing to consider is that even if your dog has no "behavior problems", you will find that taking some clesses with your dog is a great way to strengthen your relationship!

I LOVE training with my dog!


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## stillkate (Sep 6, 2012)

Thank you all three for you input! 

@Karen I'm going to look into some classes to do with her. You're right, it will help us bond and get to know each other better.

I'm finding some other issues the longer she is with me. I knew that she barked when someone comes in but when my husband just came in the back door (we are in the front of the house) and she was trembling and peed a little bit. 

Between the points that Karen made and seeing a few more of her personality traits we should do some classes.

Thanks again for your replies.


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## Beau's mom (Oct 6, 2011)

I am a huge proponent of trainers. At least, I'm a huge fan of our trainer! If money is not a BIG issue for you, the value is immeasurable. These Havs are sooo smart. It is a joy to witness their learning processes. And, my early frustrations with puppy Beau became manageable fairly easily with the trainer's help. As she clearly indicated, Beau is brilliant -- I'm the idiot. All of his "failures" are mine, as he has learned to "play me." The trainer has been so good at helping me to not let him do it! He can seem to be stubborn but he's really just very clever in getting his own way.

Beau and my ongoing training experiences have solidified our bond and deepened our love. I can't say enough good about developing a strong relationship with a trainer!!!!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Beau's mom said:


> I am a huge proponent of trainers. At least, I'm a huge fan of our trainer! If money is not a BIG issue for you, the value is immeasurable. These Havs are sooo smart. It is a joy to witness their learning processes. And, my early frustrations with puppy Beau became manageable fairly easily with the trainer's help. As she clearly indicated, Beau is brilliant -- I'm the idiot. All of his "failures" are mine, as he has learned to "play me." The trainer has been so good at helping me to not let him do it! He can seem to be stubborn but he's really just very clever in getting his own way.
> 
> Beau and my ongoing training experiences have solidified our bond and deepened our love. I can't say enough good about developing a strong relationship with a trainer!!!!


Beautifully said!!!


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## stillkate (Sep 6, 2012)

Thank you Beau's Mom. The more people who tell me about the positive experience trainers have on relationship between owner and dog the more I realize that it is a good idea for Cupcake and I. I'm looking for a good trainer that does classes too. She needs to be able to listen to my kids as well.

I've read about some really good trainers in our area and I'm going to start calling them. I've read too much about bad trainers so I want to "interview" them and make sure their philosophies and techniques are in line with mine.

Again, thanks for your perspectives, it's helped a lot.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

stillkate said:


> Thank you Beau's Mom. The more people who tell me about the positive experience trainers have on relationship between owner and dog the more I realize that it is a good idea for Cupcake and I. I'm looking for a good trainer that does classes too. She needs to be able to listen to my kids as well.
> 
> I've read about some really good trainers in our area and I'm going to start calling them. I've read too much about bad trainers so I want to "interview" them and make sure their philosophies and techniques are in line with mine.
> 
> Again, thanks for your perspectives, it's helped a lot.


Good for you. Give them lots of questions Look first for their credentials ie, where they learned their training. \If they don't have any of these credentials , I'd keep looking. If you have any questions, I'd be willing to help you out. http://www.apdt.com/petowners/choose/certifications.aspx Some of these organizations are much better than others.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

just to show you an example of what's out there, here is a blog by Jean Donaldson http://academyfordogtrainers.com/blog/2011/the-weasel-files-part-two/


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## stillkate (Sep 6, 2012)

davetgabby said:


> just to show you an example of what's out there, here is a blog by Jean Donaldson http://academyfordogtrainers.com/blog/2011/the-weasel-files-part-two/


Dave,

This is terrible! This is the trainer that I've found that I like best. I don't know how familiar you are with Toronto trainers but have you heard of this one?

http://www.whenhoundsfly.com/

They seem good but if you wanted to give your input I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks for your help,

Kate


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

stillkate said:


> Dave,
> 
> This is terrible! This is the trainer that I've found that I like best. I don't know how familiar you are with Toronto trainers but have you heard of this one?
> 
> ...


Yep, they are a Karen Pryor affiliate. No problems.


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## HannahBearsMom (Jul 31, 2011)

The trainer who taught Maccabee's puppy class does not do in-home training, or I would have hired her to come over a few times and work with us in our home. So yesterday, when I saw a deal (groupon or living social) for a dog trainer with a location very close to my home, I checked out the website. They use e-collars! The info on the website says it is the best way to train a dog and can be used even with the tiniest dogs. That was all I needed to read before putting them on my do not call list!


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