I had a difficult time finding a good dog trainer for my Shiba Inu.

He is not an easy dog to handle, and most trainers that I visited initially were not very familiar with the Shiba Inu breed.

Finding a dog trainer

1. Get a list of all the dog trainers in your area. If you live in the United States you can use quickly generate this list using the Association of Pet Dog Trainers search tool.
2. Decide which dog training style most suits you and your dog.

There are generally three groups of dog trainers -

• those that mostly use reward techniques,
• those that mostly use aversive techniques, and
• those that use a combination of the two.

Here are the pros and cons of the different dog training styles.

3. Visit the websites of all the dog trainers on your list, and filter out the ones that do not use the dog training techniques that you think are appropriate for you and your dog.
4. Call up all the trainers that are still on your list and quiz them about the dog training techniques that they use. Tell them some of the problems you are facing with your dog and evaluate the answers that they give you in return.
5. Pick the top three trainers based on your phone conversation, and set up a dog evaluation session with them.
   Most trainers will want to evaluate your dog first before coming up with a training program. These are usually private evaluation sessions that last from 1-2 hours and cost from $50US to $100US. These sessions are also useful for evaluating the trainer in action with your dog.

Do not just follow whatever a trainer tells you.

The dog training profession is not very well regulated so you may run across some mediocre or bad trainers before finding one that suits you.

If you feel uncomfortable about particular training techniques, ask them a lot of questions and do some online research of your own. If the trainer is rude to you or does not want to answer your questions, then leave and find another trainer who will actually work for his pay.

Remember that you are the boss because you pay them, not the other way around.

Do not be afraid to terminate training if you discover in the middle of the program that the trainer is not knowledgeable, does not suit you or your dog’s temperament, or is making your dog stressed and unhappy.

It is also a good idea to ask a trainer what his policy is if you decide to terminate training early.

A great resource in my Shiba Inu trainer search was my local SPCA.

I had very good experiences with the two SPCAs that I visited. Both of them had very knowledgeable dog trainers, and very reasonable prices. They were also very willing to accommodate my training requests, and had a variety of balanced dogs at the shelter that they were willing to use to help train and socialize my Shiba Inu.

Often, the best teacher for your dog is another dog, especially with dog-to-dog aggression issues. While we may try to learn dog to better communicate with our Shiba, a well socialized, balanced dog, is not only extremely fluent in dog language, but knows when, and how to use it to achieve the most effective results.

Using other dogs is often an invaluable tool in dog training. Therefore, find a dog trainer with good access to other dogs, if you can.

In addition to the SPCA, dog trainers who are attached to a dog daycare or dog walking service will frequently have access to appropriate dogs that they can use in the dog training process.

Also consider getting help from your breeder. Good breeders know their breed well and can point you in the right direction to get help for your dog. They may even provide your Shiba with some good playmates.

Dog trainer vs. boot camp

An alternative to getting a trainer is to send your Shiba to boot camp.

I have never sent my Shiba to boot camp.

My poor guy got stressed from going to daycare once, for about 8 hours. He came back sick, depressed, stressed, and car reactive. I don’t think he would handle boot camp too well.

My opinion is that boot camps are risky.

You don’t know exactly what is happening to your dog during his time there. A trainer once told me that she subdued a Shiba by giving him an extremely strong correction with a choke chain and then holding him down in a forceful alpha roll while looming over him and growling at him. The Shiba defecated and after that incident, he was very "well-behaved".

Even if my Shiba miraculously became well-behaved, I would lose a lot of hard-earned trust.

Finally, the training done at boot camp may not transfer to you. If you are still fearful of your Shiba, projecting weak and unbalanced energy, and inconsistent in enforcing your rules, your Shiba will return to his old ways.

My Shiba Inu trainer experiences

Shiba Inus are still not very common in the United States and it can be difficult to find a trainer that is familiar with Shibas.

Shibas are primitive, stubborn, and extremely strong willed. Therefore, it is best to get a trainer with a lot of Shiba experience, is knowledgeable of the breed, and has successfully trained them.

After over a year and a half of meeting with trainer types, I have finally met one who knows Shiba. She handled my Shiba very well and very correctly identified him as a "reaction junkie" (playing, chasing, or fighting are all rewards to him as long as he gets a reaction. The bigger the reaction, the better it is.).

Previous trainers who "said" they knew Shiba, but really didn’t, have alpha rolled him to detrimental results. Others were uncomfortable dealing with a dog that mouthed so much, would not surrender, and would be constantly trying to push their buttons.

Remember that if at first you don’t find the right trainer, find another one.

To quickly get a feel for the trainers around you, enroll for classes in a variety of places, and take your Shiba to a nearby SPCA, daycare center or training facility to get advice and evaluations.

If you have more tips or stories about finding a good dog trainer, please share them with us in the comments section. Thanks!