What would you pay for a dog trainer?

Kaneman · 08-13-2009, 04:14 PM

Well I'm getting ready to launch the website for my venture into becoming self-employed. After numerous people wanted to hire me to make their dogs as well behaved as mine I decided to have a go at it officially. I worked a couple of dogs free of charge with the promise of good word-of-mouth.

Everything is good, but I can't decide how much I should charge for a standard 6 week program. It consists of on location visits plus trips to public locations. I don't like to train in a group and do one-on-one. Training sessions range from 1-2 hours depending on the dog. Most of the dogs I work with have aggression issues of some type.

I've always thought places like Man's Best Friend are a rip-off and can't believe people shell out that much money to have their dogs trained...especially since they're (the owner) aren't learning much anyway. Essentially I'm teaching the owner and the dog at the same time.

So, I'm takin it to the motorcycle riding masses for some general opinions on a good, fair price for the service.
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marko138 · 08-13-2009, 04:17 PM

I dont know what a dog trainer typically costs. But I know my dog could use a few lessons. He's generally pretty well behaved and listens. But at the end of the day he knows or thinks he's in charge and if he doesn't want to listen, he won't. Maybe you wanna make a trip to PA?

Kaneman · 08-13-2009, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marko138

I dont know what a dog trainer typically costs. But I know my dog could use a few lessons. He's generally pretty well behaved and listens. But at the end of the day he knows or thinks he's in charge and if he doesn't want to listen, he won't. Maybe you wanna make a trip to PA?

Have you tried kicking him in the face repeatedly? THAT's the true secret to dog training!

I keed, I keed.
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marko138 · 08-13-2009, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaneman

Have you tried kicking him in the face repeatedly? THAT's the true secret to dog training!

I keed, I keed.

You know, I have not tried that particular method. I'll let you know tomorrow how that works.

Kaneman · 08-13-2009, 04:29 PM

I was thinking about $250 for the private lessons. More extreme cases can benefit from boarding, although $1500 is a lot of money. The problem with it is that if the owner doesn't keep their end up the dog regresses very quickly.

For the clients I've taken so far the first question I asked during the consult was, "Are you willing to exercise your dog every day?" If their not I let them know the training won't hold and likely won't work the dog. I figure its better that way so they're not giving me bad word of mouth.
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goof2 · 08-13-2009, 04:37 PM

There are some questions you need to ask yourself:
What are your expenses going to be?
Are you going to offer refunds if your method doesn't "take" for a dog?
How many dogs do you plan to train in a given period of time (per week, per month, etc)?
What is the minimum number you need to train to "keep the doors open"?
What is the maximum number you could realistically deal with?
How much do you need to make to break even?
How much on top of that do you need to make to live?
How much do you need to make for this to be "worth it"?
Ultimately, how much do you want to make?

The factors listed above are the basis for a (very basic) business plan. What your potential customers feel about the price is irrelevant at this point. You need to first figure out where the price needs to be to make a realistic go of this.

Figuring out all that should give you an idea of a range where your price should fall. Once that is done you can look at it through the eyes of potential customers. If the numbers you come up with seem fair or (hopefully) low, great. If they are high you might want to reconsider your plan's viability.

Rider · 08-13-2009, 04:55 PM

Shock(training) collar, treats and a firm voice is all you need to get your dog to do anything you want. Actually a voice isn't needed anymore. My dog knows hand signals.

marko138 · 08-13-2009, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rider

Shock(training) collar, treats and a firm voice is all you need to get your dog to do anything you want. Actually a voice isn't needed anymore. My dog knows hand signals.

I've got all three of those...and unless treats are in your hand Manward is doing what the fuck Manward wants to do.

He actually has a very accurate name. He was named after Manny Ramierez. They have similar personalities, despite having never met.

cuttle · 08-13-2009, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rider

Shock(training) collar, treats and a firm voice is all you need to get your dog to do anything you want. Actually a voice isn't needed anymore. My dog knows hand signals.

Not all dogs are the same, some learn from corrections, other with positive reinforcement. I have a previously mistreated dog and if you yell at him he "freezes" and you get nothing.

karl_1052 · 08-13-2009, 04:22 PM

Our cocker was a pain in the ass when we got him.
We took him to a trainer whose rates were:

Group lessons(8 max):$200/ 8 weeks(1 hour a week)
Group refresher(mixed in the group class):$100/ 8 weeks(1 hour a week)
Private lessions:$500/8 weeks(1 hour a week)
Boarding school:$1500/month
For the boarding school, he takes the dog to his home, and trains it all the time. He will also bring it to class to use it for examples and stuff.

He went to some University in VA for dog psychology, and people will pay lots of money if you have a piece of paper on the wall.

08-13-2009, 04:14 PM	#1
Kaneman AMA Supersport Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Odessa, TX Moto: 2000 Honda CBR1100XX Blackbird Posts: 4,931	What would you pay for a dog trainer? Well I'm getting ready to launch the website for my venture into becoming self-employed. After numerous people wanted to hire me to make their dogs as well behaved as mine I decided to have a go at it officially. I worked a couple of dogs free of charge with the promise of good word-of-mouth. Everything is good, but I can't decide how much I should charge for a standard 6 week program. It consists of on location visits plus trips to public locations. I don't like to train in a group and do one-on-one. Training sessions range from 1-2 hours depending on the dog. Most of the dogs I work with have aggression issues of some type. I've always thought places like Man's Best Friend are a rip-off and can't believe people shell out that much money to have their dogs trained...especially since they're (the owner) aren't learning much anyway. Essentially I'm teaching the owner and the dog at the same time. So, I'm takin it to the motorcycle riding masses for some general opinions on a good, fair price for the service. ________ Zx14 Vs Hayabusa Last edited by Kaneman; 05-09-2011 at 09:45 PM..

08-13-2009, 04:29 PM	#5
Kaneman AMA Supersport Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Odessa, TX Moto: 2000 Honda CBR1100XX Blackbird Posts: 4,931	I was thinking about $250 for the private lessons. More extreme cases can benefit from boarding, although $1500 is a lot of money. The problem with it is that if the owner doesn't keep their end up the dog regresses very quickly. For the clients I've taken so far the first question I asked during the consult was, "Are you willing to exercise your dog every day?" If their not I let them know the training won't hold and likely won't work the dog. I figure its better that way so they're not giving me bad word of mouth. ________ Honda Sl70 For Sale Last edited by Kaneman; 05-09-2011 at 09:45 PM..

08-13-2009, 04:22 PM	#10
karl_1052 sergeant hatred Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Ottawa Moto: The bus Posts: 2,723	Our cocker was a pain in the ass when we got him. We took him to a trainer whose rates were: Group lessons(8 max):$200/ 8 weeks(1 hour a week) Group refresher(mixed in the group class):$100/ 8 weeks(1 hour a week) Private lessions:$500/8 weeks(1 hour a week) Boarding school:$1500/month For the boarding school, he takes the dog to his home, and trains it all the time. He will also bring it to class to use it for examples and stuff. He went to some University in VA for dog psychology, and people will pay lots of money if you have a piece of paper on the wall. __________________ My wife was afraid of the dark...then she saw me naked and now she's afraid of the light.

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08-13-2009, 04:37 PM	#6
goof2 AMA Supersport Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 4,756	There are some questions you need to ask yourself: What are your expenses going to be? Are you going to offer refunds if your method doesn't "take" for a dog? How many dogs do you plan to train in a given period of time (per week, per month, etc)? What is the minimum number you need to train to "keep the doors open"? What is the maximum number you could realistically deal with? How much do you need to make to break even? How much on top of that do you need to make to live? How much do you need to make for this to be "worth it"? Ultimately, how much do you want to make? The factors listed above are the basis for a (very basic) business plan. What your potential customers feel about the price is irrelevant at this point. You need to first figure out where the price needs to be to make a realistic go of this. Figuring out all that should give you an idea of a range where your price should fall. Once that is done you can look at it through the eyes of potential customers. If the numbers you come up with seem fair or (hopefully) low, great. If they are high you might want to reconsider your plan's viability.

08-13-2009, 04:55 PM	#7
Rider Moto GP Star Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 12,156	Shock(training) collar, treats and a firm voice is all you need to get your dog to do anything you want. Actually a voice isn't needed anymore. My dog knows hand signals.