LOL looks like we were all posting simultaneously. Amazing how the topic of certification stirs up such a quick reaction.

While I am sure Triple Crown and Tom Rose are great schools, I still wouldn't pick a trainer based solely on that certification either. I've heard some less than flattering things about folks that come out of those schools too. Hey, there are good mechanics and bad mechanics even if they are all ASE certified.

 Quote: Mike J Schoonbrood

Any idiot can become a certified trainer

hmmm, really?...

and you can probably find a lot of people who actualy learned a lot and loved it. this means nothing, you can get anyone to say negative things about anything or any school. I making a good living with what i do thanks to them, everyone is diffrent, i also know people who hated the school. evryone of my clients have benifited from training, its easy to train a dog, its hard to train the human.

 Quote: Lynne Barrows

 Quote: Mike J Schoonbrood

Any idiot can become a certified trainer

hmmm, really?...

http://www.pennfoster.edu/dogtraining/index.html

100% online. Accredited and all.

'nuff said.

Judge any "dog trainer", on their own merit.

Ask them about their training philosophy. Ask them how they intend to correct your aggression problem, before you ever let them near your dog.

A bad trainer can exacerbate your problems.

If they plan on using loud noises to startle the dog when it's being aggressive, chuck 'em. Apparently there is a new fad in the dog training world, which entails using compressed air to startle the dog to modify it's behavior.

The only thing that will fix aggression issues is strong pack structure, harsh corrections for people-directed aggression, and control of the dog's surroundings and circumstances.

Quick fixes, neat tricks, etc, are the mark of a crappy trainer.

 Quote: Mike J Schoonbrood

 Quote: Lynne Barrows

 Quote: Mike J Schoonbrood

Any idiot can become a certified trainer

hmmm, really?...

http://www.pennfoster.edu/dogtraining/index.html

100% online. Accredited and all.

'nuff said.

and if that isn't enough...
http://doggiesparadise.com/online-training.shtml
http://animalbehaviorcollege.com/index.asp?id=411&type=GoogleAdWordsSearch
http://www.universalclass.com/i/crn/7550034.htm

it helps to know what your doing mike, and your right about the piece of paper, but my dogs sell it for me. your as good as your dogs, thats the standard. if a so called trainer has unobediant dogs chances are he/she isnt a good trainer. understanding thier personalities and why dogs do what they do also helps. and Will stick to cookin, your probably better at it. if you go to someone who says they are a trainer and they cant fix the problem, there not a trainer.

 Quote: michael hubert

I went to National K9 in ohio, they have three and six week courses. the school was an amazing experience and i learned more than i could of imagined, it is one of the top schools in the country. they have combined 70 plus years experiance training. iv talked to a lot of so called "trainers" that give out misinformation. who are not certified. you woulndt go to an uncertified mechaninc or uncertified doctor or uncertified dentised or uncertified groomer etc. etc...

Hmmm...let's see...if a "certification" is made up by the school, it's only as good as the school - to compare it to the certification that Medical Doctors go through is just silly.

MD's go through an extremely difficult test that is run by a National Certifying Board - *all* MD's take the *same* test - they're all held to the same standard, that's what makes it a "certification".
Now....do all dog trainers take the same certifying test? No, they don't, so please stop comparing two things that have nothing in common and think a little before you type.

And who exactly considers National K9 "one of the top schools in the country"?
All the professional trainers that I know consider the place a complete waste of money that is filled by well-meaning but uninformed beginners.

I lived in Cleveland for several years and I met many graduates from National K9......and I'm still waiting to meet a good one. The trainers from my obedience club in Cleveland that attended that school came back no better than they had left, but they now thought that they could train protection dogs, aggressive problems dogs, etc - they couldn't , and the results were awful to watch.

there are bad doctors bad mechanics, and bad trainers ive met alot whats your point.

LOL, it's deja vu all over again.