Please consider using the following list of certifications and other credentials listed below when searching for a dog trainer or other pet professional to work with you and your family. If a dog trainer tells you they are certified you can check their certification against this list to better evaluate that they are the right fit for your family.
(CDTK) CATCH Canine Trainers Academy.
(CPDT-KA or CPDT-KSA) Certified professional dog trainer through the Association for pet dog trainers.
(CBCC-KA)Certified Behavior Counselor Canine.
( PMCT) Pat Miller certified trainer.
VTS (Behavior) Veterinary Technician Specialist with Specialty in Behavior.
(AVSAB) Member Of The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior.
(DACVB) American College of Veterinary Behaviorists Diplomat.
Dog Trainer vs Behaviorist.
The term “behaviorist” is too commonly used in the dog training community. CAAB (Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist) is the only professional non-veterinary certified to use the title, “behaviorist”. There are strict educational and practice requirements to become a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist. This includes having had to earn a Master’s or Ph.D. degree in behavioral science with specific courses in animal learning, ethology, biology, zoology, and learning theory at accredited universities.
Otherwise, when speaking about “behaviorists” we are normally referring to Diplomates of the American College of Veterinary Behavior (DACVB). These are veterinarians who are specialists in the field. These specialists have completed a residency or training program in the discipline of veterinary behavioral medicine. You can locate a board-certified veterinary behaviorist through their website.
Becoming certified as a dog trainer, on the other hand, does not require having earned the same level of educational requirements that CAAB and DACVB have. However, dog trainers who achieve certification will have gone through a substantial study in animal learning, ethology, and learning theory, they will have often worked with a mentor and will have proven their knowledge, skill, and ethics to an organization of professionals in their field. Often, dog guardians living with dogs that have complicated behavior issues will seek out both a veterinary behaviorist and a dog trainer (The dog trainers can often assist with the hands-on and week-to-week training practices while the Behaviorist can recommend initial protocols, rule out medical issues exacerbating the behavior, and prescribe medication for stress support).
When it comes to your own dog, you must acknowledge that their behavior is a result of many influences. When seeking support for those behaviors and looking to create a behavior modification plan you must take steps to guard the physical, mental and emotional health of the dog. Unfortunately, even among certified trainers, there is a wide range of experience and expertise. This lack of consistency in skills and knowledge in the training profession results in an inherent risk that can lead to harming dogs.
“There are trainers who may not be aware of the possibility of a mental illness in a dog because they have not been exposed to science. These trainers may proceed to negative reinforcement or positive punishment with every good intention of helping the Dog. There is also a risk of over-dependence on the hierarchy by less experienced and less knowledgeable trainers. A new trainer may not succeed in obtaining the behavior change goals that they would if they were more experienced. An inexperienced trainer may be more likely to proceed quickly through a hierarchy to positive punishment assuming that since the guideline is there it must be okay to use it. Another risk of being unwilling to pause as we work through the hierarchies it that trainers who use punitive methods as an ordinary way of training dogs may point to some parts of these hierarchies to rationalize what they do. A cursory look at the websites of a few trainers in my area support that this outdated method of training still persists. One company includes a list of reasons that dogs “misbehave”. The reasons listed include; a lack of motivation and a lack of respect. There is even a franchise company that includes the opportunity to purchase an electronic shock collar with settings for sensitive, normal and stubborn dogs. Sadly trainers who continue to subscribe to this outdated method of training are not likely educated on the most recent research in animal behavior Rather a trainer is new or experienced, trainers can reduce the risk of damage to a dog by choosing to think outside of the hierarchy. We can do this by choosing to refer to a higher-level specialist before proceeding on to using negative reinforcement or positive punishment. This still allows those certified trainers to stay within the guideline of their certification and to exercise autonomy in their decision-making.”