Pass a multiple choice test, start seminars (not too choosey and will give credit), write articles, then write a book. It's a time tested formula, and the reason that many great dog trainers have left the APDT for something a bit more real and ethical.

When my wife started as a trainer, she felt this would be a non-political career LOL. Early on, it was realized that dog training is a career in marketing and politics. I give APDT kudos for coming through with a great marketing strategy, and a way to double speak while maintaining a goal and extremism consistently.

One APDT dog trainer blogged about a seminar that she was putting on.   She exclaimed that othes had to tell her how the basics in dog training help with behavior modification.   She does not value nor seem to practice dog training, nor does she call her sessions dog training.  Yet she has been not only certified by passing a simple multiple choice test, but she is also allowed to give such seminars not only for money but for CEUs for their members.  She considers herself an expert on handling fearful dogs, yet has never found the solution for her own dog.

It's one thing to trap one's own dog into a state of fear. It's another to talk "professionally" and tell others that methods won't work for them.

Someday it is our hope that results in standardized performance tests will be required to be a licensed dog trainer. Hopefully the organizations that we value (IACP and NADOI) will also support such legislation when the day comes. My wife will be submitting her case study certification soon to the IACP, and agrees it has only been her fault that it has not been done. However, we value the time and referrals that the IACP requires before certification can even be taken. A panel of judges scores not the multiple choice questions, but the results of the case studies documented in both material presented to the clients, but also what the actual clients have to say:) These are exciting times coming up.

Maine and New Hampshire Dog Trainers

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