Evaluation Process
A master trainer is needed for a professional evaluation
Testing the dog and their owner for training courses needed
The evaluation process involves 3 steps
- Know why you and your dog need to be evaluated
- Take our online preliminary evaluation test
- Schedule in person (hands-on) testing
EVALUATING THE DOG
I perform a professional evaluation on every dog in person, in order to obtain an accurate assessment of the dog’s specific needs.
After completing a series of tests, I will achieve a profile of your dog’s disposition, temperament and personality, which determines their learning skills or their true potential.
Without this testing, there's no way to determine the type of course the dog is capable of completing!
DISPOSITION
A dog’s direct responses to people or animals while they’re being socialized.
Some dogs are friendly; others show aggression when meeting people or animals.
Conducting tests with people and animals are necessary to find out these social differences.
TEMPERAMENT
The high and low range of a dog's behavior.
Some people call this the dog’s attitude. This is based on the dog's responses to different stimuli from people or animals.
To determine a dog's attitude, I perform what's called a sensitivity test, or doing things to the dog to bring out the ranges of their reactions. Some examples are ignoring the dog, being friendly, yelling, or making threatening gestures. All of these things are stimuli that determine exactly what the dog will do under certain circumstances. I must test a lot of different stimuli in order to find the extreme ranges of a dog's behavior. Some schools go as far as to use weapons on the dog, but I find it's only necessary to use the dogs' natural suspicions to learn their range of actions.
The way the dog reacts to these tests is the temperament.
PERSONALITY
The combination of disposition and temperament makes a dog’s personality.
To determine the basic personality of the 6-7 week old pup, I need to know what rank it held in the litter. Within 1-3 years of age, the personality is completely formed; the exact age depends not only on its rank, but also by how gently or cruelly it was raised. The socialization with people and dogs decide the total personality and the age when it reaches full development. You must also factor in that the domestic dog (more than any other animal) reflects some of the traits of its owner's personality.
Like us, dogs have many different personalities, which means they learn at different levels. For example, some dogs require extensive repetition while others learn quickly. All dogs require periodic reinforcement before actually retaining what they’ve learned. Dogs use short-term and long-term memory. Long-term is used for habit patterns to be formed permanently so that the dog will not challenge any of what’s been taught. After the trainer completes a course, the owner’s work must continue. At this point, dogs are only using their short-term memory. By practicing at home what has already been taught, the long-term memory is engaged and what has been learned goes into the dog’s lifelong memory banks.
I must know the personality of each dog to determine their true potential; only through evaluation testing is this possible.
EVALUATING THE OWNER
The capability of the handler is one of the most important parts of the whole process.
Everyone learns differently; sometimes, what works for one will not work for another! The owner must learn how to properly handle their dog. They will need a Master Trainer to achieve the one-on-one personalized training for both. This type of expertise is what you receive at my school. I teach the owner how to accurately handle their dog so they can bring out the best in their dog. In addition, people have different views of how they want their dog socialized.
I must see you both working together to determine the strengths and weaknesses of your working relationship. After this testing, we can discuss the type of course needed to achieve the correct training.
Now you understand why I MUST see you and your dog to do an evaluation to know the pertinent FACTS that are needed to give my assessment. Without the FACTS, it’s impossible to select a course and there is no way to quote a price on any course. All people and dogs are different; they will learn differently. Obviously, each will have to be evaluated for an accurate evaluation assessment.
There is no other way to know these answers either (Example...How long will each lesson be? How many lessons per week? How many weeks to complete a course)? Remember, time is money. I cannot know which course (s) will be needed on the telephone or by email, nor can I guess exactly how much time will be needed for both you and your dog. Remember, these TESTS can only be done in person!
In fact, a master of ANY profession cannot give their assessment on the phone or by email (or in person) until after a hands on diagnostic evaluation is performed in person.
An expert's assessment is a must, before any work can be done correctly!
No school offers our written warranty for the life of the dog & your training.
This is the most important part of EVERY master's field; it certainly is the main part of my entire process. Anything else is just plain guessing!