People occasionally call me for help after having had bad experiences with dog trainers who’ve made no difference in the behaviors of their dogs or even made their dogs worse. These people needed help, unwittingly invested in ineffective and/or inappropriate training and lost money while their dog was handled carelessly. In some professions, this would be called negligent. But…
Dog training is an unregulated profession, and formal education, experience, nor certification is required for a person to call themselves a professional dog trainer. The dog training profession is like the Wild Wild West where everyone and anyone can either sell snake oil or tried and true remedies. Most consumers are in the dark about the lack of regulation in dog training and may hastily chose a dog trainer thinking they’re all the same, when in fact, we are a wide-ranging group. The choice of trainer will have a great impact on the mental and physical well being of their dogs for years to come. Fear can be installed into a dog in the snap of a finger. Rehabilitating a fearful dog takes much much longer. Buyer beware.
My credentials are listed on the credentials page page and my testimonial page includes comments from a few of my clients. My current certifications as a dog trainer are through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers and Do More With Your Dog and I’m an honors graduate of the Academy For Dog Trainers, which is known as the Harvard for Dog Trainers. I am also the only dog trainer in the state of Florida with an approved Continuing Education course for veterinarians, Housetraining 123. You can also take a look at the activities and training I do with My Dogs.
Please take time to do your due diligence before hiring a dog trainer. Choosing a Dog Trainer is a page I created to help consumers understand the importance of selecting their dog trainer and the Guarantee page discusses what ethically can be offered guarantee-wise in behavior training.
My session fees include the homework and prep work I do on each client’s specific case before meeting, the session itself, and post-session questions addressed through email. The initial consultation requires a dedicated 60-minute time slot. Follow-up sessions can be purchased in a lesson-by-lesson format or via packages.
The cost of dog training is an investment in the lifetime of your dog’s behavior, and when you calculate the years to come, training is a wise investment. Whatever you learn today you will be able use in the years to come. Packages can be customized to each client’s goals. Whether you come in with a trained dog who has one problem area or a brand-new dog who needs training from the ground up, I can provide a board-and-train package to focus on your dog training goals. Please contact me, and I will be glad to discuss the options in training packages.
Helen Verte Schwarzmann
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Certified in Training and Counseling
Certified Pet Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed
Certified Trick Dog Instructor
Your Board-and-Train Dog Trainer for south Florida
