You are quite right. I have trained dogs and my father was a dog trainer with international renoun. Every dog is different and some require dramatically different methods than others.
Another issue is the content tested by the board exam. Is it specific to simple obedience / pet quality type training? What about dog trainers for police forces or for entertainment venues? What about more advanced training like tracking, open, or utility? What about manwork? How would this affect dog clubs that have classes where they essentially teach you to train your dog?
What I'd be more worried about is the animal rights activists (one position required on the board) that will force positive reinforment techniques to the point where they become silly. It will be training the PETA way or no trianing at all. Prong collars and choke chains are prime examples of controversial training tools that do have a place if used properly.
I see a New Jersey with a lot fewer trained dogs and a lot more out of control ones.
All excellent points. I have a deep distrust of the AR people, so I expect they are neck deep in this. After all, Ingrid Newkirk's goal is for animals to be enjoyed at a distance. Not as pets (slaves).
susie
Well at this point they're grandfathering in all dog trainers who have been training dogs for at least a year without any competency test.
Honestly, if written by dog people, I'd love to weed out the stupid clicker-trainer people who are experienced training shelties and golden retrievers for AKC obedience and so put up a shingle calling themselves a dog trainer.
They don't have a clue how to handle a dog who actually needs trained, or has a difficult behavior problem... I've seen it.
Heh... oh well.
And what on earth will they do with the electronic collars that retriever trainers use to "reach out and touch" Bullet when he's two fields away and not listening to the whistle?
It's a "controversial training tool," even more so than a prong collar -- but judiciously and carefully used, it works. I went to a seminar with a high-up retriever trial guru (and N.J. would no doubt touch this fellow up for the license) and he used my dog as a guinea pig to show how to train the "here" command. He never took the collar above high "2" (3 levels on each number, goes up to 15), but she was zooming to heel like she'd been shot out of gun in 10 minutes.
If you have a hard-headed Lab like mine that you're trying to train for retrieving work, you pretty much have to have the Ecollar. (In the days before Ecollars, trainers used pellet guns or slingshots with BBs . . . wonder what PETA would think of THAT!)