Wow! - just read this, & I wish the USA-apdt would espouse the same stringency

[leashedForLife]

a fellow trainer in the U.K., Nina Bonderenko, just told me about the Animal Behavior & Training Council [ABTC].

While exploring the website, i read their practitioner standards page - applaudably specific, & very clear on academic requirements - & then came across their newsletter, which included an announcement that they are working toward regulating the dog-training field.

My opinion:
The current lack of any regulations means that the most appalling claptrap can be sold at a profit as 'training', & that outrageous claims for speed or guarantees of results are made;  any shortfall in the outcome is blamed on the owner.  Old-fashioned tools designed solely to cause discomfort or outright pain are justified by their long history, such as choke-chains AKA infinite-slip collars, or prong collars - both pre-date the World Wars, & in those 77 to 100-plus years, we've learned a lot of new things about dogs - how they learn, their capabilities, dog cognition, dog emotions. So why are we using the same aversive tools, with the same punitive mindset, as our great-great-grandfathers?!
I'm delighted that ABTC plans to set standards & push dog-training out of the 19th century & into the 22nd. It's well-past time that actual credentials & assessed knowledge were required, before someone can advertise their services & charge dog-owners for their supposed expertise. Soon, anyone advertising will have to back-up their claims of knowledge with where & when they acquired it, & grandiose claims for "cures" in a few hours' time will be banned, consigned to history with the patent-medicine hucksters of the 1880s thru the 1930s, that these trainers & their self-promoting spiel so much resemble.  


Back to the ABTC -
after reading the newsletter [ see link below ], i followed up a note that they'd published a position paper on ethical dog training. So i read that - it's wonderful.  :cheers:

I can't help but wish, foolishly, that the USA-apdt had kept their original dog-friendly mission, & had gone on to publish a similar document, standing by their original mandate to spread science-based, reward-based, training & behavior modification without flooding, confrontation, brute force, intimidation, applied pain, ad nauseum.
Sadly, the USA-apdt now has approx 40% membership who use 'traditional methods' - choke, prong, & / or shock collars, rattle cans, throw chains, pin-the-dog a'la the Dawg Wrassler, water balloons, air-horns, & all the other things that can hurt, frighten, or startle a dog into "being good", when if we're truthful, in 99% of cases, the dog was NEVER BAD - simply being a dog.  //  
The USA-apdt's mission has utterly changed, from 'educate owners & trainers in dog-friendly methods', to 'become the representative organization for professional dog-trainers in the U.S.A.'.
It's too big a tent, & has divided the membership irrevocably, IMO.

"Ethical Dog-training' by the ABTC can be found here -
http://www.abtcouncil.org.uk/images/EthicalDogTraining.pdf

I will be asking if they accept applicants from outside the U.K.

their most-recent newsletter is here - with the announced intent of national regulation of dog-training:
http://www.abtcouncil.org.uk/images/abtcnewsletter7.pdf ] 

 

[arealhuman]

As a first time dog owner and previously looking at training in a lot of detail, this desperately needs regulating in the UK IMHO; there are so many bodies and individuals offering training, all listing differing and sometimes unverifiable bodies that they've supposedly been approved by or qualifications they hold, its' ridiculous.  I would also like to see a minimum training qualification for the dog trainers too, after all they are training people and dogs and they should be able to understand how people learn and coach them accordingly.  It would not be a stretch for me or anyone else to set up their own dog training council/institution/body, with the requisite snazzy website full of largely meaningless information, and go into business on the basis of that!  I am certain there are reputable and honest dog trainers out there, but from my research there are also those that are in it purely for the money.

 

[gypsysmum2]

We have the British APDT @arealhuman. Their motto is Kind, Fair and Effective. All members are required to have some experience, to have been studying and, most importantly, they have to be assessed. This means that another, experienced, APDT member sits in on one their classes and writes a report to the APDT. If the trainer passes on all these points it does not end there. They are required, for continuing membership, to undertake regular CPD (Continuous Professional Development). The APDT run lots of courses that trainers can attend and have an extensive library of appropriate books for members to borrow. So you see that any old Tom, Dick or Harry cannot just put their names on a register, as with some organisations, they really do have to have a good understanding of dog training in a Kind, Fair and Effective way. Most importantly, they also have to be prepared to keep learning.

If you scroll through the posts on here you will see many recommendations for the APDT whether it is for Puppy Classes, Adult Classes or One-to-One sessions.

 

[leashedForLife]

the APDT-uk is excellent, as is the APDT-Ireland & the APDT-Aus.
Ireland & the UK both assess all applicants before approval; Oz requires any applicant to have a sponsor who is already a member, knows the applicant, & who is willing to attest that the applicant does not use aversive tools, & does use humane training: pos-R primarily / neg-P rarely; no intimidation, flooding, confrontation, etc.

The USA-apdt was founded by Ian Dunbar, DVM - just like the APDT-uk.  Once it was well-established, he left, & it rolled on without him, electing Board members, voting on policy, etc.  So the organization was rooted in the same fertile concept, but the USA BoD decided later - for the Admins' own reasons, not any desire of the membership body! -  to go for mass appeal & sheer organizational size, vs grow a crop of humane trainers by educating trainers & retaining its original 'dog-friendly' mandate.

As a long-time member, i was stunned when i first realized that i'd need to personally vet any fellow member i referred to, per a long-distance inquiry; i had to check their websites, look at UTube clips, read articles they'd written, etc, before i could safely refer a dog-owner to my "fellow trainer".  The sole exceptions were trainers whose methods i already knew, but let's face it, the USA is a helluva big backyard, & when i joined, we were fewer than 2,000 members across 50 states.
It took a while for the original mandate to expire, & for growing numbers of traditional AKA punitive trainers to dilute our ranks, but it went on year after year. // Now, approx 40% of the USA-apdt consists of trainers who still use pre-WW-2 tools & methods, from choke, prong, & shock collars to double-handed leash jerks to "correct" a dog.  Some claim to be "force-free" because they never STRIKE the dog, nor even touch them; they use 'a nick' - known to the rest of us as an electric shock, delivered by a remote control.

Others are fans of the Dawg Wrassler or are merely riding his coattails, using his lingo ['red zone', balanced, dominant, etc] to mesmerize clients, & pinning dogs or stringing them up as needed, whilst boasting of their USA-apdt legitimacy.     Some are cross-registered with the IACP, "International Association of Canine Professionals" - IACP members are banned from criticizing any "recognized tools & methods" of dog-training, & may not criticize another member - as in, ever.  If a member is arrested & convicted of animal cruelty, s/he is stricken from the rolls; but until then, no one in the IACP may say anything critical of their tools or tactics.
The IACP is also famous for their in-house issued "certification" which evaporates if U stop paying dues - it isn't 3rd party assessed, & is not portable. U go? - it's gone.


U know things have come to a pretty pass when the Organization Previously Known As Dog-Friendly is touted by a franchise seller of shock-collars -
newly-minted franchisees of Sit-Means-S*it are urged to join the USA-apdt, not to learn other non-aversive methods!, Heaven forbid, but to expand their consumer appeal & add a professional gloss to their website, a logo to the facility door or their business cards, & most of all, to give the impression that they use reward-based training.
Since SMS franchisees are apparently incapable of teaching a puppy to sit without the franchise-approved shock collar, getting customers in the door is key to making the pitch & getting the sale; the USA-apdt logo helps them do it.

The USA-apdt was the 1st trainers' organization in the U-S; it could have been a force for great good. Instead, they divided their membership & lost momentum, allowed the IACP to outgrow them, & were finally co-opted by traditional training in the name of "mass appeal".  It was a sad trajectory.

The Pet Professional Guild has taken over what could have been USA-apdt's place, as a trustworthy source of humane trainers who specifically do not, may not use aversive tools or coercive methods. // The PPG has had growing pains, they claim to be "international" but publish all materials in English, which makes the member benefits of brochures, etc, useless to most non-USA prospective members. Hopefully they'll outgrow this insular attitude - soon.
- terry

 

[leashedForLife]

I will note that for some time, the APDT-uk accepted overseas members; if they still did, i'd be on their roster.   APDT-Ireland is also domestic only.

 

[arealhuman]

We have the British APDT @arealhuman. Their motto is Kind, Fair and Effective. All members are required to have some experience, to have been studying and, most importantly, they have to be assessed. This means that another, experienced, APDT member sits in on one their classes and writes a report to the APDT. If the trainer passes on all these points it does not end there. They are required, for continuing membership, to undertake regular CPD (Continuous Professional Development). The APDT run lots of courses that trainers can attend and have an extensive library of appropriate books for members to borrow. So you see that any old Tom, Dick or Harry cannot just put their names on a register, as with some organisations, they really do have to have a good understanding of dog training in a Kind, Fair and Effective way. Most importantly, they also have to be prepared to keep learning.

If you scroll through the posts on here you will see many recommendations for the APDT whether it is for Puppy Classes, Adult Classes or One-to-One sessions.

Point taken, but if you're new to dog ownership like me, the following sentence in your reply underlines my point:

"So you see that any old Tom, Dick or Harry cannot just put their names on a register, as with some organisations"

Someone new to dog ownership is unable to differentiate between, say, the APDT, or any other body listed online!  I did a lot of research and my conclusions were that there are a lot of organisations offering a wide variety of dog/owner training, backing that up with lists of qualifications or experience ("I'm an ex Police dog handler!". for example), making it almost impossible for the new dog owner to choose a reputable organisation.  Regulation should - should! - do away with that uncertainty, in my opinion anyway  

 

[leashedForLife]

In the USA, we do have one independent, 3rd-party assessment - the Certified Professional Dog Trainer, knowledge-assessed - a written exam, which anyone can study for, sit down, & take. // Last time i looked, it was $300-u.s., & those who earn it must maintain a record of their Continuing Educational Units [CEUs] - just like nursing professionals, Drs, teachers, etc.
Successfully passing the exam earns 'CPDT-ka' behind Ur name - & this is a genuine certificate; it's portable, & no one can take it away. it dies only if U fail to keep up the CEUs.

there are of course legitimate academic courses, but there are also shamelessly fraudulent ones that confer 'Master Trainer' status & overcharge student trainers, with stunning fees for texts, tuition, etc. // Universities offer behavior as a major within Biology, & some of the required courses slide into Psych.


On-line "colleges" are the shadiest of all, & our disreputable POTUS wants to set them free from the shackles of having to PROVE that their courses actually get their graduates into jobs which allow them to pay-off their massive college debts... Trumpster isn't a fan of fettering "the free market" nor of regulations of any sort that might inhibit business from fleecing a gullible consumer of every thin dime.   :rant:
Our sleazoid Prez thinks making money is the salvation of the world, & sees nothing wrong with squeezing outrageous tuition fees from marginal workers who want to better their lot in life, only to discover their "diploma" isn't worth the price of the paper it's printed on.   ...    :'(
 - terry