Happy New Year!  January is “National Train Your Dog Month” and in this episode of the pawdcast, Karen and Jean chat with Trevor Smith, of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT). 

APDT was founded in 1993 by renowned veterinarian, animal behaviorist, dog trainer and writer, Dr Ian Dunbar.  With a goal of helping trainers improve their knowledge and skills through education, APDT provides an industry standard of excellence for the dog training profession.

With over 5200 members in 48 countries, APDT has grown to be the largest association of dog trainers world-wide.

It’s important to note that there is no formal training, state licensing or national criteria to become a dog trainer.  Anyone can become a trainer without following an approved, regulated, or standardized training curriculum.  Too often owners are enticed by flashy marketing and the promise of quick results and entrust their dogs to unscrupulous, unqualified or under-qualified trainers.  APDT is working to rectify that. A first step was the creation of the LIMA standard.  LIMA stands for LEAST INTRUSIVE MINIMALLY AVERSIVE.  Members of APDT pledge to learn and then provide training that does not involve dominance tactics or use of aversive tools such as choke collars, prong collars or shock and E collars. 

Trevor shares questions owners should ask when speaking with potential trainers and why all dogs and owners will benefit from some form of training activity.

You can learn more about APDT, their work, their standards and how you can identify a qualified trainer here - https://apdt.com/