New dog trainer, about to meet my very first dog client. Where & how should we meet?

[melissac]

EDIT:
Re comments questioning my experience level: just to clarify--despite the training mentioned in my description of the dog client, I decided to take this job specifically b/c it's a fairly light training role. Client wants dog to gain some refreshers in training along with walks + mentally enriching/ behavior games. There is potential behavior work involved (ie men w beards) but it doesn't seem v urgent/intensive.

Also, I have more (about 3-4 years) animal/canine behavior consulting experience than I do dog training experience. I actually put off completing the apprenticeship at first, b/c I thought I only wanted to be a behaviorist. I finally realized that the path to becoming certified in canine behavior consulting BEGINS w/ gaining training experience/certification. Also finally realized behavior consulting really involves both dog training AND canine behavior modification techniques...

Anyhoo. Hope that clears it up a lil....

Hi all,

I'm a new (recently certified) dog trainer/beginner animal behaviorist, and I don't have much of a community of fellow dog trainers IRL yet. So I'm really relying on help from the internet and communities like this one...

Sorry this is long! If in a rush, you can skip the "About Me" section and scroll down to "Main Question" and/or "Summary" at the end of this post.

About Me:

• I recently completed a 6 mo
  dog training + basic canine behavior apprenticeship, followed by another 6 months as an assistant trainer.
• This is my first solo dog training role/first client on my own.
• I have worked with dogs in other settings and roles (as a vet assist, in animal shelters, and as a handler/head of behavior assessments at a well-respected doggy daycare) altogether for about 10 years.
• I live in a large city

About The Dog Client:

-1.5 year old male mutt/mix of working breeds.
-Medium to large size.

-Is apparently well trained and generally great with people, BUT gets easily overstimulated, and only listens when he "chooses to."

-Has shown some reactivity to random males with beards in the past (luckily I'm a female, sans beard).

-Also may have some minor resource guarding issues. Supposedly is not an aggressive dog, otherwise...

So those are the main things we will be working on.

Main Question:
All I'm really wondering right now is what the best way to meet the new dog is...

I remember the trainer I apprenticed under telling me something about the importance of meeting new dog clients/starting new training sessions on "neutral territory" --aka an area outside of the home, that dog doesn't think of as "theirs" -- thus eliminating potential issues with resource guarding/dominance/reactivity.

But he told me to do this while teaching me how to get two dogs to either meet, get along again, or train together in the same vicinity... not exactly about how best to introduce a dog to a new human trainer (me).

Summary:

Fellow Dog Professionals/Trainers: As a new trainer/behaviorist about to meet a new mildly/occasionally reactive, easily overstimulated dog client, is it best to meet the dog (with their pet parent) for the first time inside their home, outside on their street/front yard, or outside in a neutral area (ie a few blocks away, a park, etc..)?

Thanks again!

 

[royalpriestess]

@melissac Are you able to share just which certification you have? I'm a little unsure about what your program entailed which would affect some of this stuff.

 

[huskysizeguy99]

@royalpriestess 6 months seems a bit short but I could be wrong, may be different in the US. Also 6 months as an apprentice trainer would usually mean OP has met dogs before at their home and addressed this issue. I don't fully grasp the situation.

OP, I don't mean to question your skills and I may be way off, but inexperienced trainers who take on more than they can chew is a big problem in the industry. I definitely hope this isn't the case and I apologize for my self-righteousness, but it seems like a very basic issue you're asking about on the surface

 

[melissac]

@huskysizeguy99 No worries! Makes sense. If interested, I added an EDIT to intro of post, clarifying experience level and what the role entails. I definitely wouldn't ever want to take on a role I wasn't ready for. No offense taken

 

[melissac]

@royalpriestess Oh, sure, sorry! I am now CPDT-KA certified. I am working towards gaining my Canine and/or Multiespecies Behavior Consulting hours and certification through the IAABC (but am still looking into which certification program is best for that). Am open to advice on that if you have any!

I also have completed 2 semesters in an animal behavior MA program but I'm taking time off of that right now to get more real-life experience.

 

[royalpriestess]

@melissac Then I think you're actually underselling your experience. Your initial description made me think this was some kind of sketchy apprenticeship program that was printing their own graduation certificates.

Just be honest with the owners about your experience and comfort level so their expectations are reasonable and you should be fine. I normally meet dogs in their own home unless and take precautions as needed so if someone says their dog is fear reactive I want them behind a barrier or muzzled (if already trained) and I may keep that client virtual until their dog is muzzle trained, or longer if they're doing well virtually. For puppies I usually just say to keep a drag line on their harness when I come over to avoid any land shark behaviour. If a dog were reactive in their own home but fine outside of the home then I may meet in a neutral location.

 

[melissac]

@royalpriestess Thank you thank you! And sorry about the confusion with the experience. I have a tendency to undersell my experience. I need to work on that. It still never feels like enough!

 

[melissac]

PS Thank you!!! So helpful.

 

[dmac0505]

@melissac You'd want an enclosed (also visually) and low excitement environment for control of the situation. A courtyard or enclosed garden with low stimuli would be good. It could also be indoors of course.

 

[melissac]

@dmac0505 Awesome! Thanks

 

[joeychris]

@melissac If the dog has no issues with visitors entering the home, then I would personally prefer to start there. If there's a risk that my entry-without-introduction would ruin the visit then I would take more care and meet them on neutral ground before heading back together. But I would save that for dogs who struggle with strangers.

 

[erics]

@joeychris Do NOT do it at their house. Recipe for disaster. Do not listen to this person.

 

[shepherd88]

@erics And why would that be? Explain please.

 

[erics]

@shepherd88 Because it sets up a non-neutral starting position. If the dog has ANY innate guarding tendencies your relationship is already at a disadvantage. You’re a foreign entity walking into a dogs habitat. Do you as a person feel different if someone is in your home as opposed to standing with you in a field? How could that not have an effect on your training. Go ahead and downvote me but one of the things I have heard from the best trainers is to set your dog up for success. Entering into their domain and expecting them to accept you without complications is not setting a dog up for success.

 

[tombombidil]

@erics As a trainer, if I knew the dog was resource guarding or especially set off by visitors, then I agree, I'd start outside for initial introductions.

However, in 90%+ of my clients, that has not been the case. It's perfectly fine to go into the home, ignore the dog initially and talk to the human. Then when the moment is over, you can greet the dog. I start with the consultation anyways, so the dog can relax while I chat with the human.

I think you're being overly cautious and thats fine, but lets not say it's a recipe for disaster and every dog should be greeted outside. It's simply not necessary in the vast majority of household dog training.

 

[erics]

@tombombidil But I think my statement that you are not setting the dog up for success is correct. There are so many variables that you have no control over that are just not an issue in a neutral location. Just because you have done it successfully doesn’t mean you wouldn’t have done better in a different location.

 

[royalpriestess]

@erics

There are so many variables that you have no control over that are just not an issue in a neutral location

What neutral locations are you thinking of? A public location seems to me, for most clients, to be more hazardous as you risk the dog getting loose, a loose dog approaching, random people trying to pet the dog, any number of triggers etc...

 

[erics]

@royalpriestess For free ones it really depends on the municipality on your ability to conduct business on their property. Some offer a license others you are free to use if you a resident and everything in between I’d imagine. But tennis courts, basketball, lacrosse, baseball diamonds in the summer when they have the fencing around. I’m sure there are others.

Also if you have a tiny bit of money you can rent land from on a periodic day basis. Rent the construction perimeter fencing for dirt cheap and run your clinic there. Again depends where you are. Going to be harder to find someone with surplus land in NYC than Wyoming.

 

[melissac]

@erics Im not downvoting you I've heard the same. This is exactly why/what I was asking about.

All opinions are helpful. Thank you!

 

[erics]

@shepherd88 There are also so many issues that could be home dependent. Anxieties with going into the back yard because of a bad experience; discord in the house between commands, expectations and results; guarding and resource protection. All of these things are not present in a neutral setting.