Dog Training Experts, You're NOT that good.

YES, THAT'S RIGHT. YOUR'E NOT THAT GOOD!
If this statement offends you, it means your ego needs to be checked. There really shouldn't be much to debate. You may be the authority in your field, but there's still SOOOO much more to learn. And to say that you know pretty much everything there's to know, is to admit that you are no longer interested in learning.

Some of the best dog trainers I've had the pleasure of knowing are still learning! People I look up to. That's such a good lesson. 
The typical arrogant douchebags dog trainers get so hard on their own ego, it makes me throw up in my mouth a little. And they're not even that good! 

I've talked to dog trainers who struggle with the close-mindedness of this field. They see their co-workers, bosses and mentors act like they're all that but clearly are not. Or if they themselves come up with ideas, better, faster and more efficient ways to do things, the "expert" shows up and tells them it's wrong. Granted yes, sometimes you're just wrong and you have to be able to take criticism, but this is something I see myself on a regular basis.

I've had trainers question what I do and disregard it as wrong simply because they hadn't thought of the idea themselves or because it would have never occurred to them. I fight this urge myself. I tell people: "Hey, go for it, let me know how it works." But that takes effort.

Now now, there are BULLSHITTERS out there! I know this! 
"Check out my newest training method", "In this system, the dog learns to...", etc.
I realize this  makes me sound like a hypocrite. Here I am telling you to be open minded and on the next breathe I'm implying I don't listen to every new thing out there. That comes with experience, eventually you know enough to recognize bullshit when you see it, and see something that challenges your way of thinking. 

Some dog trainers are bullshitters, meaning they're not really coming up with a new way of doing things, simply restructuring or rewording something that has been proven to work so many times before. Making something sound more complicated than it actually is, isn't being creative, it's just being a good bullshitter.

I know, I know, I'm saying bullshit a lot. BULLSHIT! There, I got that last one out of the way.

"Who are you?"
"What have you accomplished?"
"The proof is in the pudding"
"Show me your dogs!"

Who am I? You're right, I'm not an expert. I'm a simple dog trainer in a sea of dog trainers. I am good, far from perfect and still learning. 

What have I accomplished?
Not much really, I was never  on TV, I have less than 500 subscribers on YouTube, 191K views total on YouTube and at the moment, only about 4000 followers on my FB page.
I worked in Afghanistan as a Contract Working Dog trainer. I was one of the trainers (and for a good period of time, the only trainer) responsible for ensuring civilian contractors met and maintained K9 certification requirements.
I've trained many dogs in different areas of dog training: police work, Service Work and Pet dog training and currently train my dog in PSA (Protection Sports Association)
I've helped many dogs stay home when their last option was training with me. 
I currently am the lead instructor at one of the top dog training schools in the industry.
By no means am I trying to sound like I'm all that, if anything, this only points to my lack of experience in dog training.

The proof is in the pudding, you're right. No dispute there. If anything, there are way too many talkers and keyboard warriors in the industry!

"Show me your dog!"
Ok.

Again, no dispute here. There are too many talkers in the industry who claim this and that. It is nice to see if you can keep up with your mouth. Again, nothing to brag about with my dogs. Still a lot of work that needs to be done.

In closing, I'd like to challenge you to read a book, re-read a book and/or go to a dog training seminar. If by the end of reading that book, or by the end of that seminar you only learned ONE thing, it was money and time well spent.

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