Pit Bull Training 101: Everyone is an expert

Sally tells her cousin Rob, “Tank is jumping all over me! It’s driving me nuts!”

Rob tells Sally, “Knee him in the chest. It’s the best way to stop him from doing that.”

Sally says, “Okay I’ll try it.”

Sally tries it and breaks Tank’s ribs in the process.

When it comes to training every one becomes an expert. Uncle Bob, Cousin Rob, Mom, Dad, Husbands and wives, they all offer training advice and suggestions.

There is only one problem with their suggestions.

Not a single one of them is a certified trained professional dog trainer/behaviorist/behavior consultant.

Think about it this way, would you take legal advice from someone who has not graduated from law school and passed the bar exam?

Would you take medical advice from someone who has not went though medical school and earned a PhD in medicine?

Obviously the answer to both these questions is NO.

Why is it that people take advice about dog training from people who have never had any training in the field then? Dog training is a complicated field. Despite what you see on those 60 minute highly edited dog training shows dog training is a professional field with highly trained professionals available to you.

I am bothered both as a Pit Bull owner and as a training professional by the lack of logic people show in regards to their dogs training. Of course not all people are like this but it is not uncommon and I’m sure at some point someone you know has offered you advice on a behavior/training issue you were facing with your dog who was not trained in the field of canine learning and behavior.

My hope is one day this trend will stop. That one day, like law and medicine professionals will be held to high standards and rigorous testing in order to receive our professional status.

The winds of change are blowing right now. Certifications by third party organizations are helping legitimize the training industry. Pioneers in canine behavior and training are helping usher in a new age of professional dog trainers who really do know what they are doing and use humane reward-based training methods to help owners like you and me find solutions.

Books, electronic books, video training, DVD’s, these products are awesome if they are created by actual professional dog trainers who have earned their certifications (or their “street cred” as I call it) but hiring a certified professional trainer to work with you and your Pit Bull personally is the best option. Hands down.

In my last article I said, “be careful who you listen too.” That advice remains. If they don’t have the education to back up their advice don’t listen to them.

Best Regards,
Jason Mann
Author – The Pit Bull Training Handbook
PitBullLovers.com – Helping Pit Bull Owners and Their Dogs Since 2004