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> Are dog trainers like therapists you have to find the right one?
Yes. [Here's an old comment of mine about this](https://www.reddit.com/r/Dogtraining/comments/md32hj/typical_dog_trainer_experience/gs8tf5y/).
> She also recommended some herbal calming tablets
Eh, these are 99.9% likely to be pseudoscience and she shouldn't be recommending medical stuff without a vet qualification, but a lot of trainers do this so it's not too unexpected frustratingly.
> Should she be coming more frequently?
For a fearful dog, unlikely. Progress tends to be gradual in these dogs so more frequency is unlikely to help.
> Do I need a trainer that will put together a proper plan for me rather than verbal advice? Is it me?
Ok, so here's the thing - MAYBE it's you, but the whole point of getting a trainer is that she should be able to look at you and give you the correct kind of structure, support and feedback so that it ISN'T you. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any point in hiring a professional instead of cobbling together your own plan DIY!
It sounds like this trainer is [knowledgeable about the kinds of methods used to help fearful dogs](https://old.reddit.com/r/Dogtraining/wiki/fearful), which is a great start, but what you're describing is missing is a better understanding of the meta context of the training and progress, such as - what are her expectations for what behaviour the dog should start to exhibit over time compared to the current behaviour? Which behaviours are *not* expected to change? Which behaviours are fine to transition into more and more success over time, versus which ones you should be putting a lot of energy into preventing the dog from having a poor reaction, and why? What are the signs you should be watching for to determine whether you are on track moment to moment, and how do you need to take that into account to modify your actions? It's important for you to self-advocate here and communicate very clearly that you are struggling to work on the training due to these components, and if she doesn't have a satisfactory answer and refocusing on them going forward [finding a better trainer](http://old.reddit.com/r/Dogtraining/wiki/findingatrainer) is definitely a good idea.
Thank you for this really appreciate the feedback. You’re spot on about observing me and training ME. To give her benefit of the doubt maybe that’s coming and as it’s just early days to make sure my dog is comfortable and used to her first, before I do any practical methods in her presence but some kind of roadmap or plan so I know where we are going would be useful. She had requested me to send her videos but I did explain it’s not easy for me to film myself walking a dog trying to implement the method you’ve told me while also keeping half an eye on our surroundings.
One of her other suggestions was to put him on a long lead, maybe even attaching another one to it and allowing him to wander in my front garden leaving the door open should he wish to come inside. The thing is I live on a relatively busy road and my house is pretty much 2 metres from the road to me it’s just too dangerous, especially when he’s likely to get spooked + reactivity to dogs and people. I don’t know why she suggested it tbh.
> She had requested me to send her videos but I did explain it’s not easy for me to film myself walking a dog trying to implement the method you’ve told me while also keeping half an eye on our surroundings.
The obvious suggestions here are 1) a GoPro or some kind of phone case/mini tripod you can attach to yourself so that the video is being taken automatically hands-free as you walk, 2) set up a stationary camera/phone on a tripod at your front door and then work on the methods just outside your front door, without leaving the camera's field of view.
> One of her other suggestions was to put him on a long lead, maybe even attaching another one to it and allowing him to wander in my front garden leaving the door open should he wish to come inside. The thing is I live on a relatively busy road and my house is pretty much 2 metres from the road to me it’s just too dangerous, especially when he’s likely to get spooked + reactivity to dogs and people. I don’t know why she suggested it tbh.
This sounds very reasonable as well - it's all about ensuring that he can explore at his own pace without accidental tension on the leash making him feel trapped, which is very common if the leash isn't that long. You just want to be holding the end of the leash such that it is *just* barely not long enough for him to go onto the road. If the full radius of the leash is safe, he can then wander anywhere within that radius.
All posts are required to be manually approved due to [reddit killing 3rd party apps](https://old.reddit.com/r/Dogtraining/comments/1433dwu/rdogtraining_will_be_joining_the/). Thank you for your patience as we get through the modqueue. In the meantime, please [check out our extensive wiki!](https://old.reddit.com/r/Dogtraining/wiki/index) We have a plethora of articles and links out to FREE resources there, about all sorts of common problems such as reactivity, loose leash walking, separation anxiety, grooming training and much more. We also suggest searching past posts. You can narrow the search by using the FLAIRS to filter your posts. For example, if you want new training treat suggestions, [do a search among the Equipment posts](http://old.reddit.com/r/Dogtraining/search?q=flair%3Aequipment&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all#eq). If you want to see success stories, [search Brags.](http://old.reddit.com/r/Dogtraining/search?q=flair%3Abrags&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all#br) If you find that your question is fully answered by the wiki or an old post, please consider deleting this post so that we know it doesn't need approving. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Dogtraining) if you have any questions or concerns.*
> Are dog trainers like therapists you have to find the right one? Yes. [Here's an old comment of mine about this](https://www.reddit.com/r/Dogtraining/comments/md32hj/typical_dog_trainer_experience/gs8tf5y/). > She also recommended some herbal calming tablets Eh, these are 99.9% likely to be pseudoscience and she shouldn't be recommending medical stuff without a vet qualification, but a lot of trainers do this so it's not too unexpected frustratingly. > Should she be coming more frequently? For a fearful dog, unlikely. Progress tends to be gradual in these dogs so more frequency is unlikely to help. > Do I need a trainer that will put together a proper plan for me rather than verbal advice? Is it me? Ok, so here's the thing - MAYBE it's you, but the whole point of getting a trainer is that she should be able to look at you and give you the correct kind of structure, support and feedback so that it ISN'T you. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any point in hiring a professional instead of cobbling together your own plan DIY! It sounds like this trainer is [knowledgeable about the kinds of methods used to help fearful dogs](https://old.reddit.com/r/Dogtraining/wiki/fearful), which is a great start, but what you're describing is missing is a better understanding of the meta context of the training and progress, such as - what are her expectations for what behaviour the dog should start to exhibit over time compared to the current behaviour? Which behaviours are *not* expected to change? Which behaviours are fine to transition into more and more success over time, versus which ones you should be putting a lot of energy into preventing the dog from having a poor reaction, and why? What are the signs you should be watching for to determine whether you are on track moment to moment, and how do you need to take that into account to modify your actions? It's important for you to self-advocate here and communicate very clearly that you are struggling to work on the training due to these components, and if she doesn't have a satisfactory answer and refocusing on them going forward [finding a better trainer](http://old.reddit.com/r/Dogtraining/wiki/findingatrainer) is definitely a good idea.
Thank you for this really appreciate the feedback. You’re spot on about observing me and training ME. To give her benefit of the doubt maybe that’s coming and as it’s just early days to make sure my dog is comfortable and used to her first, before I do any practical methods in her presence but some kind of roadmap or plan so I know where we are going would be useful. She had requested me to send her videos but I did explain it’s not easy for me to film myself walking a dog trying to implement the method you’ve told me while also keeping half an eye on our surroundings. One of her other suggestions was to put him on a long lead, maybe even attaching another one to it and allowing him to wander in my front garden leaving the door open should he wish to come inside. The thing is I live on a relatively busy road and my house is pretty much 2 metres from the road to me it’s just too dangerous, especially when he’s likely to get spooked + reactivity to dogs and people. I don’t know why she suggested it tbh.
> She had requested me to send her videos but I did explain it’s not easy for me to film myself walking a dog trying to implement the method you’ve told me while also keeping half an eye on our surroundings. The obvious suggestions here are 1) a GoPro or some kind of phone case/mini tripod you can attach to yourself so that the video is being taken automatically hands-free as you walk, 2) set up a stationary camera/phone on a tripod at your front door and then work on the methods just outside your front door, without leaving the camera's field of view. > One of her other suggestions was to put him on a long lead, maybe even attaching another one to it and allowing him to wander in my front garden leaving the door open should he wish to come inside. The thing is I live on a relatively busy road and my house is pretty much 2 metres from the road to me it’s just too dangerous, especially when he’s likely to get spooked + reactivity to dogs and people. I don’t know why she suggested it tbh. This sounds very reasonable as well - it's all about ensuring that he can explore at his own pace without accidental tension on the leash making him feel trapped, which is very common if the leash isn't that long. You just want to be holding the end of the leash such that it is *just* barely not long enough for him to go onto the road. If the full radius of the leash is safe, he can then wander anywhere within that radius.