One on One: A Dog Trainer's Guide to Private Training

by Nicole Wilde

Have you always wanted to do private training, but didn't know how to go about it? This guide is like having a friend explain it all. You'll start with exercises to assess your current skills, learn about sales and scheduling, and view sample phone scripts. Then it's on to the ins and outs of taking a questionnaires are broken down into lifestyle, training and behavior issues, and include explanations of what your clients' answers might mean. You'll get pointers on designing lesson plans and protocols, tips on promoting client follow-through, and an entire chapter devoted to commonly asked questions. There's even a bonus section with ready-to-use forms, contracts and handouts! - Pros and cons of selling single sessions vs. packages
- What to do if an owner cannot perform an exercise correctly
- Which exercises should never be done back to back
- Which questions are crucial to ask in aggression cases
- How to work with two dogs in a home
- Special considerations for working with elderly clients
- Whether to offer discounted rates to shelters or rescues
- How to handle a recommendation for euthanasia
- Where to get further training on behavior issues
...and much more!

Genres: Dogs, Nonfiction

216 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

About the author

Nicole Wilde is an internationally recognized, award-winning author and lecturer, as well as a professional canine behavior specialist and Certified Professional Dog Trainer. Her twelve books include Help for Your Dog-Reactive Dog, Don’t Leave Me, Help for Your Fearful Dog, and Keeping the Peace: A Guide to Solving Dog-Dog Aggression in the Home. She is on the Advisory Board for the Companion Animal Sciences Institute, the Advisory Board for Victoria Stilwell’s Positively Academy, and the Advisory Board for Apex Protection Project. She is also the Behavior Consultant for Villalobos Rescue Center and has appeared as a trainer on the television show Pit Bulls & Parolees.
​
Nicole has written training and behavior articles and blogs for various publications including the Huffington Post, as well as for her own blog, Wilde About Dogs, and is a regular contributor to Modern Dog Magazine. She co-stars in the DVD "Train Your Dog: The Positive Gentle Method," and co-hosted the Dog Talk radio show where her experience, humor and quick wit were put to good use. Nicole lectures worldwide at conferences and for training clubs, humane societies, and other groups.
​
Always having had a special place in her heart for dogs in need, Nicole served as Volunteer Coordinator for the City of Los Angeles’ Animal Services, where she instructed volunteers in handling and behavior, worked with hundreds of dogs, and acted as an adoption counselor. After moving to L.A. County, she volunteered for a County shelter. At both shelters, her efforts were instrumental in many dogs finding loving homes. In addition to working with dogs,

Nicole has worked with rescued wolves and wolfdogs for over twenty years and is considered an expert in the field. She was Executive Director for Villalobos Rescue Center, which was at the time a sanctuary for rescued wolves and wolfdogs, as well as pit bulls and exotic animals. Nicole’s specialty was socializing the fearful wolves who were to live out their lives at the center, and she ended up bringing home three of the especially needy residents to live out their lives with her and her husband. Nicole has presented wolfdog education seminars to animal control officers, schools and specialty groups. Her experience is rounded out by having supervised 40-50 off-leash dogs daily at a doggy daycare, working at a veterinarian’s office, serving as Editor/Chief Writer for Get-A-Pet magazine, and many years of teaching dog training group classes as well as private lessons.
​
Nicole is also a photographer and digital artist who loves to use her talents to help animals in need. She photographs dogs to improve their chances of adoption, and donates artwork to various animal-related organizations to raise funds. Nicole owns and operates Gentle Guidance Dog Training in Santa Clarita, California. She lives with two rescued northern breed mixes, sled loads of dog hair, and one very understanding husband. Nicole continues to write books, teach seminars, train dogs, volunteer, assist in wolfdog rescue, and to help dogs in any way she can.
​
You can find Nicole's books, seminar DVDs and Wilde About Dogs blog at www.nicolewilde.com, her pet portraits at www.goodmojopetportraits.com, and her artwork at www.photomagicalart.com.
​
And you can find Nicole on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/NicoleWildeA...) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/NicoleWilde)

Reviews

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-read for every new or aspiring trainer. It gives great advice from an excellent dog trainer who had been there and done that. She actually cleared up some confusion I had about DBA and made it much more simple to understand from other literature I’ve read on the topic. She also confirmed that I’m doing a lot of things right, which is relieving. Thanks Nicole Wilde for writing such a helpful book.

[Timera Cyr · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most helpful guide on how to run one on one dog training sessions I have found. Nicole breaks it down into managable chunks and helps keep ypu on the path to being the dog trainer you want to be.

[Alex Writz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good baseline to have in any trainer's library. This is one I refer back to again and again as I develop and improve the training programs I offer.