July 21st, 2020

How Much!?

As Trainers and Behaviourists we here this a lot!

What clients don’t often see is what we have put in to ensure we offer the best possible service, we spend most of our careers doing courses and ongoing CPD. It doesn’t just end at doing a course and then never having to learn anything again. We often can spend a fortune building our skills to bring the best possible service ongoing!

Many Trainers and Behaviourists don't just take a couple of courses and set up shop. Many of us shadow and learn from others mostly through volunteering for years before we are comfortable in going out and Training others. These are the Trainers and Behaviourists you want to employ rather than someone who offers a quick fix or cannot prove their qualifications or experience.

Even once we are set up working alone we are still learning, we still pay for courses which aren't cheap and when accredited we have to do a minimum of hours of Training just to keep our accreditation. Just like Teachers.

As Behaviourists not only is CPD a lot heavier and more expensive but we also read, research and study case studies to continue to keep up to date and deliver the best service possible.

There is no standard way to teach a Dog and their handler as each are unique and individual and what may work for one won't work for another. There is no one size fits all approach.

It is also unethical for us to give advice over the phone or the Internet especially social media unless we are specifically signposting for example to the Vets, Canine Chiropracters, Colleagues etc

Sometimes the answer isn't simple to the behaviour you are seeing or don't like in your Dog there has to be an holistic approach as well as understanding all of the circumstances and we cannot rely on what we are told as we are qualified and trained to see what's going on and we have to observe the dog and their handler and family in order to identify the issue.

Many times we are told that the Dog is aggressive for example and upon meeting the dog this isn't true and for this exact reason this is why we simply can't give out advice over the phone or Internet.

For Dog Trainers and Behaviourists it isn't as simple as doing an hours session and then leaving like a 9-5 job going home and enjoying the evening and the weekend.

For Trainers and Behaviourists it is writing up the day, making notes, discussions with Colleagues, CPD, training our own Dogs and setting up lesson plans. This is time unpaid for that we do. Teachers in schools are still paid for Training days. We do this voluntarily to keep our services and knowledge up to date and there is no Governing body which pays for this.

You wouldn’t go into the hairdressers and ask for them to tell you how to cut and colour your hair and then just walk out, you wouldn’t hire a electrician and just ask them to show you how to fix the problem and not pay. We are no different we offer a service.

There are hidden overheads in which Clients do not see and its not that Trainers don't have shops and therefore can't be seen because the studies, the travel, the phone bills, the accreditations, the fuel, the insurance, the Venues, the stationary and so much more it all adds up. Many Trainers and Behaviourists don't make much of a profit at all or none at all and are lucky to break even.

As Trainers and Behaviourists it’s not always about just the dogs we are often a counsellor and shoulder to cry on! Sometimes we can spend hours and hours trying to find different solutions to problems and we have had sleepless nights to make sure we can help you.

So please bear in mind when wondering why Trainers and Behaviourists appear to be expensive think about this and our running costs to offer you a service.