FAQ’s About Training the Dogs

This week we’re focusing on teaching your staff to train some basic obedience cues to the dogs. Your goal is not to completely train a dog for a client (that’s an option I would reserve for a trainer who you hire as an additional revenue stream). Instead we are discussing the opportunity for your staff to use obedience cues to manage the dogs with less stress and frustration and to build a stronger relationship with the dog.

Here are a few of the common questions that come up when we talk about this issue:

Should we charge for this?

Obedience cues should be foundation exercises to establish leadership in your center.  In this respect, I would not charge an additional fee. This should be a part of your every day work with the dogs in order to operate a safe and fun pet care center. However, if a particular dog needs extensive one-on-one training or needs refresher training in order to be better suited for your center, then I would refer him to a qualified trainer and would charge training fees for that work.

Should we use treats to train the dog?

I am a huge fan of using treats to reinforce behavior if the dog is not with other dogs. So if you are working in the lobby or hallways of your center, then using treats is a great idea (assuming there are not allergies and the owner doesn’t mind you giving the dog treats). However, when dogs are together in playgroup, I prefer to use toys, petting and praise as reinforcements.

What about following the cues the owner uses? Will we confuse the dog by using our own words?

It’s much easier for your staff to pick specific words you will use with every dog than to try to remember every dog’s “at home” cue. Don’t worry if the owner uses a different word than what your staff uses. Dogs are very context specific and they can learn multiple words. I had a German Shepherd who knew both English and German cues! The trick is to be consistent in whatever word you choose. Even if the owner doesn’t reinforce the cue at home, the dog will still respond to it at the pet care facility if you are consistently reinforcing him there.

Should we demonstrate what the dog has learned to the owner?

I would let owners know what you do to manage the dogs and that you do work on some basic obedience cues. This is just good marketing and smart business. I would also stress your management protocols in any publicity you do. If you have the opportunity to let your clients know what their dog has learned, always take it. But I don’t think you need to set aside specific one-on-one time with an owner to show them.

What if a dog just can’t learn our cues?

For most dogs in off-leash play, you can teach behaviors by spending time with the dog during day-to-day interactions. However, for a few dogs who are overly stimulated or easily distracted, you may need to take them out of the play area and do some one-on-one work with them to teach the initial behaviors. If this is the case, I would refer these dogs to a trainer and charge additional fees for the private attention they are receiving.