Straight answer
What questions should I ask a dog trainer?
Dog training is unregulated. Anyone can print business cards tomorrow, which means the interview is on you. The good news: a handful of direct questions will sort serious trainers from confident amateurs in one phone call. Here is the script, what a strong answer sounds like, and the responses that should send you back to your search results.
The interview script
Seven questions that separate pros from hobbyists.
Start with method: how will you teach the skill, and what tools will you use on this specific dog? A professional explains markers, rewards, slip leads, or e-collars in plain language and tells you why each one fits or does not. Then ask capacity: how many dogs are in training at once, and where do they live? You want a number and a room, not a shrug.
Then move to the part most people skip: your own education. Ask what you will be taught at handover, what happens if progress stalls after the program, and whether the trainer has worked with dogs like yours, same age, same problem, and can speak to how those cases went. Finish with pricing. Exact numbers, in writing, tax included. Vague pricing usually predicts vague everything else.
- Methods and tools, explained plainly
- How many dogs at once
- Where dogs sleep and live
- Exact pricing before you commit
Warning signs
The answers that should worry you.
Be wary of any trainer who dodges the tools question or hides behind jargon. 'Balanced', 'positive', and 'pack leader' are labels, not explanations. Watch for a refusal to give numbers: on dogs in the building, on price, on follow-up. And treat promises of a fixed dog by a fixed date as marketing, not training. Behaviour does not run on a warranty schedule.
The other red flag is a trainer whose plan ends when the program does. If nobody mentions a handover lesson or follow-up support, the results are being rented, not transferred. We built this site so you can run the whole script without a phone call: our methods, tool choices, program details, and every price sit openly on these pages. Book a consultation and interrogate us anyway.
The programs
What choosing us looks like.
The formats below are how most owners start; prices are public on every one.
W · One-hour session
Private Training
One-on-one coaching with you on the other end of the leash.
Includes a written weekly plan to work from
S · 5–6 week board & train
Behaviour Rehab
Kaitlin's specialty, and the work she loves most.
Includes assessment-built plan, 2 follow-ups, deep owner education
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
What questions should I ask a dog trainer before hiring?
Ask about methods and tools, how many dogs train at once, where dogs live, what you learn at handover, what happens if progress stalls, and exact pricing with tax. A serious trainer answers all six without flinching. Vague or defensive answers are your cue to keep looking.
How do I know if a dog trainer is any good?
Credentials are unregulated, so judge the answers, not the letterhead. Good trainers explain their tools in plain language, show you dogs like yours they have worked with, and put prices in writing. Then judge the handover: a good trainer teaches you, not just the dog.
What should a dog trainer be able to tell me about their methods?
Exactly how a skill gets taught, which tools they would use on your dog, and why. If the explanation needs jargon to survive, that is a problem. You should leave the conversation able to repeat the plan back in your own words.
Is it rude to ask a dog trainer about pricing and results?
Not at all. You are hiring someone to live with your dog and shape its habits, so exact pricing, program contents, and follow-up terms are fair questions. Any trainer offended by them has answered a bigger one.
Keep reading
Run the script on us
Our methods, capacity, and pricing are already published. Book a consultation and ask everything else in person.
From real owners
Rated 5.0 on Google.
Real Northline dogs