Thoughts about a Possible Trainer....After the Evaluation

[shelly]

I left a blog, but here's the long of the short of it..... Our possible future trainer had asked for Tori to not be in the room when she arrived so as not to stress her out, but as soon as Tori saw her coming, she started her barking.  She went over the questionnaire, and asked a lot of good questions to clarify things.  We let Tori in and she went right over to her and started barking and nudging her with her nose.  finally she told her to sit and treated her... she did this all night and Tori listened,  She even did some "mini - lessons" with her.  I even liked that she wants to work with everyone involved - all of us and my in-laws.  She even suggested having one of my son's friends come over as well as my nephew (the "herdee) to work with her and even show us what to do to help her in these situations.  As far as the trainer's qualifications and training???? She said she took a course under some guy (I still have to google him).  She says she goes once a year to classes held all over the US to take courses on different topics (once even took a class under Victoria Stillwell), she's been doing this for 7 years.  She also said that she has worked with people that kind of live in my neighborhood, I could call, but I don't think they'll have anything negative to say since they've been working w/ her quite a while.  She seems very good and I feel comfortable with her.  She does NOT demand a certain amount of lessons and she is like 1/2 the price of others....

Now for my 'concerns' -1)  the no dog thing... she says she's had dogs all her life, but after getting married they lived in a no-pet apartment, and now, since moving into her own home, doesn't have time right now.     2) this 'course' she took to get certified....    3) When I asked when she was available to come back next week, if I wanted her to, she picked her date book up off of the table to look thru' it.... could this suggest an empty calendar????   I don't know, my husband says I'm nuts.... maybe he's right! LOL

[Donna K & Quincy]

If you feel comfortable with her give her a chance, the fact that she wants to work with everyone involved sounds like a plus. I guess you don't have to own a dog to love dogs, but not having time, I find that a litlle strange. If she has time to work with other peoples dogs why doesn't she have time for one of her own?

[shelly]

Thanks Donna... yeah... that kind of seems a little strange too, but maybe she needs the money first before she can fill her desire to have and pay for all of the costs of having a dog????

[Carol and Banjo]

Wow Shelly....you sound like me!!!! : ) It sounds as tho you're first visit went well. I agree with Donna....give her a chance. If after a few sessions you still have doubts...and aren't seeing positive results...move on. Tori's a lucky little girl to have such a loving Mom!

[Holly Doodle]

I think you should give her the benefit of the doubt. I'm big on first impressions, did she seem like a genuine person who you were able to communicate well with? It sounds like she gave a lot of great ideas, and she's willing to do more than most trainers at a lower price, so why not? If you try her for a few sessions and aren't feeling her than you can call it quits. Give her a chance! :). Good luck and keep us posted...

[shelly]

Thanks Laci! She did give us lots of ideas, she seemed very confident in what she said and did... the only thing that kind of 'rubbed me funny was when she said "well she's part 'aussie' and she was bred to herd'... I think I got a bit defensive when I said, "well I'm Italian, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to like pasta", LOL ~ I truly can not say her "line" of aussie was not bred for herding as I did not see the parents myself, but I do know that not ALL aussies are used for herding..... despite my little quip, she still was confident we could stop her from herding my nephew I will definitely keep everyone posted!

[Adina P]

While not all in a breed meet goals of that breed's standard or purpose...you can't deny that Aussies, in general, were bred for a purpose (just like every other pure breed). So if a pure breed exhibits tendencies that fit with its breed---that usually is a GOOD thing. Good pure breed breeders TRY to breed dogs that fit the mold rather than someone's idea of a 'pet'. So I wouldn't look at it as a judgment...and it is very different than 'ethnicity' in many ways.

[shelly]

Yes, I know... I just got defensive about my little 'baby', I took it as tho' she was saying it wasn't a good thing because when I told her about my nephew being the herdee, she said "oh that's not good' (which it's NOT) - my husband said the same thing to me last night about breeding for certain characteristics- I stand corrected!

[Kyoko]

I'm thinking that I like the way Tori responded to her, and what seems to be the trainer's approach - positive reinforcement.
Charlie's trainer also spoke about the breed, and what they are bred for. I see what you are saying about it though. I am Japanese, but I am not very submissive!! LOL! But in dog's case, I think it may be somewhat true. I see my friend's boarder collie always wanting to herd the dogs at the dog park, My chow can careless about anything, he keeps to himself a lot. Off course, there are always exceptions. Also, IF she has a lot of empty space in a calender, she may be able to focus and invest more on Tori!! I know for me, when I am not booked with clients, ( mental health) my treatment for that session can be better prepared and more invested. ( Sorry... But that really happened... Guilty...) Keep us posted!!

[shelly]

Kyoko - you make excellent points! TRUE - she is a 'herding dog' and her actions prove that... TRUE - about the empty calendar - that could very WELL be a good thing and if she IS just starting out, we could be a good reference for her, and TRUE - if she spent sooo much time with us last night, I do believe she already has a vested interest in helping Tori with her 'issues'....And right now - you are truly helping ME with MY mental health - as (I think I stated before - lol) I can never sit with my decisions when I first make them.. but I'm working on that - LOL
Thanks again for the insightful look on this!

[shelly]

Leigh - THANK YOU so much for your insight and advice! We have been working diligently this week with tori's barking.... we are trying to get her to "quiet" when she barks at visitors coming, leaving and walking around my home. I think she really is starting to calm down faster... I think I was hoping for a dramatic change faster than is happening, but I am plesed with what she is doing in just a week. I don't know why I got so defensive w/ the 'aussie' comment, I guess I though she was 'blaming' her behavior on that and saying she may not break that....especially since I know many who do NOT exhibit that trait (but from a different breeder). We are going to start using a clicker as well the next time she comes... actually my husband has been on vacation and we haven't had a day to set aside for her to come (BAD US - but then again I haven't heard back from her either - hopefully she hasn't given up on us - lol). She also suggested putting her on leash when my nephew comes - which we actually do... but she definitely needs more help here - as she is very stuck to him when he comes... Sorry to ramble, but I feel comfortable spitting this all out to you being a trainer who is actually training an aussiedoodle too - I guess these traits are stronger than I thought.... just out of curiosity, is the aussiedoodle you're training a male or female? As far a s the Ceaser techniques"... she says she tends to follow more of a Victoria Stillwell method. thanks again... and any other advice you can give is truly appreciated! Thanks so much - it has helped to hear that from you!

[Sandra Griffith]

I agree with Leigh. Not having a dog at a specific moment in one's life does not neccessarily indicate a lack of interest in owning a dog. There are so many reasons why she has chosen not to have a dog at this point in her life from the loss of a truly special friend (and therefore a desire to not rush out and get another dog right away), not feeling that she has the time to devote to raising a puppy (or rehabilitate a shelter dog), having trouble finding a home that she could afford that allowed dogs, etc. Knowing about breed tendencies can go a long way in understand a particular dog's reasons for behaving in a particular way. Humans have spent centuries developing specific traits in certain breeds for very valid reasons and a full understanding of these traits is extremely valuable in how to proceed in the training process. The fact that your trainer seems to be keeping up with the latest developments in training research (there has been very rapid growth in this area in the last ten years) is wonderful. I would just make sure that she is sticking to only positive behavioural techniques rather than a punishment based approach. I vote for giving the trainer a chance.

[shelly]

Thanks Sandra.. YES! we are going to work with her! Those things didn't really 'bother' me until I started talking to people. I agree... I was truly impressed with how she was when she came to my house with the dog,and the methods of training she described that she would use... she did mention she would bring a clicker and incorporate THAT also - (I just read your bio and saw you train w/ a clicker too)... I honestly am beating MYSELF up more with this whole thing.... I wish we would have started this sooner, but DH was pretty convincing that it was our fault for not following thru' w/ our DVDs & on-line training tips.... he's right. But we ARE doing something NOW - I just hope it's not too late.. she's awesome - UNTIL someone comes and then she gets like a mad dog. I keep saying I have to video tape it and put it on... I will try and do that this weekend.. off to Jones Beach for a concert... Thanks for your help!!!