“But I Know What I’m Doing!” (Why You Should Still Work With a Professional Trainer)

​I am a professional dog trainer. I have trained numerous service dogs and pet dogs for people over the course of several years, yet I still take my dogs to see other trainers. Sounds silly, but it’s important. 
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It’s the same reason why when people message me asking for behavior and training advice, I give them advice but also ask that they find a professional to train with. I’m typically met by a disgruntled and insulted handler telling me, “but I know what I’m doing!”  

Do you though?

As a trainer, I can walk into a home and analyze a situation free from bias and emotion. I have no involvement with the dog or the other people/animals in the household. I see what’s in front of me and that’s it. 

Dog owners almost always operate out of emotion rather than logic when with their dogs, leading to all sorts of misjudgments and situational bias. It’s very hard for them to take a step back and THINK rather than FEEL and make judgments off of that. I’m very guilty of it too. It’s why I take my dogs to see other trainers! They’ll tell me the same things that I tell other people, which I was somehow incapable of telling myself. 

Taking classes and private lessons from other trainers will also help you grow as a trainer! Everyone has a different set of beliefs, a different set of experiences, and different solutions to the same problem. Just last week I met with another trainer for my little problem child. He had me approach a situation in a totally opposite manner than I had been previously taught– and you know what? IT WORKED. Now I can add that method to my mental toolbox so I can later help dogs with similar issues.
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As trainers, we should never stop learning. Sure books and videos help, but there’s no better way to learn than hands-on learning fro another individual. Taking your dogs to see other dog trainers is the best way to do that.