Cedar City Dog Trainer: 5 Ways to Save Money on Dog Training

If you've ever looked into training or have actually done training with a professional trainer, you know it's an investment! Recently I wrote a blog post on why dog training appears on the surface to be on the more expensive side, but I thought I would share some additional information on how you can cut costs when training your dog. I hate to break it to you- but like a lot of things, getting the most out of training often boils down to old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. While occasionally your local dog trainers may have special offers or discounts, the following are common sense things you have full control over now to save yourself money.

1. Get a Dog Trainer As Soon As You Get Your Dog Really. Getting a dog trainer to come out and do even just a consultation with you can help you become aware of preventable problems that may arise for you that may be difficult for you to forsee. Trainers have experience with many different different personality types, human lifestyle factors, and dog behavioral problems. Preventing problems such as multi-dog household fights and resource guarding is often as easy as just tweaking your routine. Why spend money on remedial training for serious behavior problems if you don't have to? Even though you'll get a lot out of just a consultation with your dog and a trainer, I actually recommend purchasing a quality obedience program for every dog. Countless moderate to severe behavior cases I deal with (often problems that did not develop until later in life) essentially boil down to dogs not having any obedience skills or household boundaries and manners from the beginning. Moderate to severe behavior cases are often more costly, time intensive and stressful because we must first address those obedience deficits in addition to working on the actual problem.

2. Do Your Research Before Hiring A Trainer Training isn't something you want to pay for twice. Meet with each trainer you are interested in and find our what qualifies them to handle your problems. Are they insured? Do they have credentials? How many years of full time training experience do they have? How did they get their education? If they went to "YouTube University" or learned most what they know from TikTok or a TV trainer... run fast! When you purchase training from them, what resources do they offer for continued support (group activities, socialization, follow ups, etc)? If you need/want to do both group classes and private lessons, maybe look for a trainer that has all of that included so you don't have to sign up with two different trainers at full cost. Who is responsible for the purchase of your dogs equipment? Can they demonstrate success using a variety of methods? If all they know is basically only e-collar or only training with food.... run fast! Most dogs need a tailored, well-rounded approach. If there is a way to view their process and see what their client results look like, make sure you pay attention to that. If it's hard to find evidence of their results and methods, why is that? You are about to make a huge investment so make sure you shop around and know what you are buying before committing.

3. Use the Equipment Your Trainer Recommends Your trainer can tell a lot about what is going to make your case successful from the getgo- from observing your lifestyle time constraints to your physical strength. We are never going to purposely lead you astray and make you spend money on equipment that isn't going to benefit you, or recommend equipment that poses a serious threat to you and your dog. In fact, when we insist that you consider equipment such as a crate, baby gate, slip lead, e-collar, long line, prong collar, bait pouch, clicker, etc we are trying to save you time and money overall and make sure that your investment in a training program is actually successful! At this point in my career, I basically insist that if the reason someone seeks training is due to a serious behavior problem, whatever I say goes because I have watched as clients in past cases insist on choosing their own equipment and ultimately waste their own time and money by not making the progress they wanted. Many of those people ended up deciding eventually to do it the right way and had to start over to some degree and purchase additional sessions to integrate the new equipment. If you are paying a behavior professional to help you with training, accept that you do not know what you are doing and they do. That is why you hired them. Use the equipment they provide or purchase exactly the item they tell you to purchase.

4. Do the Work Sorry, this one is going to sound exactly like equipment. It's hard to watch people purchase a training program and essentially never do the homework or go off and do exactly what they were instructed not to do for various reasons. There is no way around the fact that dogs are living things, and in order to train them and get the most out of life with them, this takes some time and effort on your part. It's not forever! Even I do not train my dogs every day ongoing. But initially, you have to just do the time. I have seen some truly untalented people get amazing results with their dog just because they did the work with any degree of consistency. I have also see truly talented people who could even be dog trainers if they wanted to never make any real progress because they can never get out of the "planning stage" or keep allowing things to get in the way. When you sign up for training, make sure that you make space to do the work. There will never be time, you have to make the time. If what your trainer is asking you to do is too much, you need to openly communicate that to your trainer so they can make things more accessible to you and make reasonable adjustments to your goalposts. Since we don't live with you, it can be hard for us to figure out what the problem is so we'd rather you just tell us! There are plenty of things that just cannot be avoided (such as crating to potty train a brand new puppy) but there are also plenty of workarounds.

5. Research Before Getting a Dog I know, I know. This one is basically unreasonable when you see that cute puppy in the window or the sad one on Craigslist that is "free to a good home." But it's important to understand that some breeds need more training, upkeep, and stimulation that others. Perhaps if you get a pug all you need is a one time visit with a trainer, just to get into their system for emergencies and get some starter info on how to keep him from digging in the trash. But if you get a Malinois- you just bought yourself season tickets to training for a while- these guys need ongoing development, maintenance, and stimulation often with professional oversight. The type of equipment you may need often also depends on the breed/temperment of dog you choose- a wire crate from Walmart is probably more than enough for the pug, but you'll likely need something a lot sturdier and escape proof for that young Malinois.

These are just a few of the ways that you can be proactive to save yourself a lot of money and headache with your dog in the long run! And like I said, in addition you can keep an eye out for local deals on training and equipment.

If you're ready to get proactive and give your dog the best life ever, give me a call for a FREE training consultation and behavior assessment at 385-220-5403 so we can get you on the right track!