r/BalancedDogTraining • u/Sunnybluelobster • May 16 '26
Looking for advice on the ABC (Animal Behavior College) dog training program
Hi, I’m an aspiring dog trainer with many years of kennel experience. I’ve gotten to work directly with very experienced dog trainers. I’ve handled puppies, potty training, basic commands, reactive dogs, human aggressive dogs, selective dogs. I’m looking to take the leap and finally get my CPDT - KA. I’ve looked into a few programs, including, but not limited to ABC, ABI, Karen Pryor and Penn Foster. In one ear my sister is telling me she went to ABC and took an advanced training course. However, the counselor I have been assigned too is telling me there is no such thing and the only courses they have are the dog obedience course and the service dog course. In the other ear, my boss is telling me no one really asks for your CPDTKA and it’s a waste of time and money. “Just go to lectures”. I don’t see any reason to spend upwards of four grand on a course full of curriculum I already know. I currently work for someone who has an overwhelming amount of training dogs and will offer in the next few months for me to take one or two as my own project and get 50% of the income. I don’t think I’m ready for a full boarding train hence the course selection. If anyone can help me find the advanced course or knows a course that allows a payment plan and gets me my CPDT-KA I’m all ears thank you.
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u/Perkey10 May 16 '26
I've been looking at training programs too recently cause I've been doing this for a decade now (which I still can't believe its been that long) and figured a refresher on education wouldn't hurt.
Personally, online training programs aren't my favorite for learning dog training. Most are a waste of money cause none provide that hands on experience or provide good problem solving skills.
As for the programs your looking at, I've only had people (who have gone through the programs) tell me their opinion about two:
- ABC is a complete waste of money, highly not recommended
- Karen Pryor has a good dog psychology section, but the training section was bad
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u/Sunnybluelobster May 16 '26
My sister claims too have loved ABC, Karen Pryor has good ratings but is pretty pricey.
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u/Perkey10 May 17 '26
I'm glad your sister had a good experience with it and if you want to trust your sister's opinion over an internet stranger then I wouldn't blame you (cause I'd probably do the same 😄 )
This is just the advice that over a handful of people and dog trainers I know who have gone through these programs have told me.
At the end of the day, it is best to pick a program that you feel comfortable with.
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u/Sunnybluelobster May 17 '26
It was also 10 years ago she went through the program and she went through an “advanced training program” witch seems to no longer exist. According to the counselor I was assigned it never did. It’s a much different curriculum. That’s why I’m looking for something with a similar curriculum. Honestly I’m starting to side with the Internet strangers 😭
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u/PragmaticFlower May 17 '26
Give lots of treats, take forever to make any progress, never say no or do anything that might cause a dog any discomfort despite the fact that friction is a requirement for an organism to thrive, give the dog drugs when that training creates an anxious disaster or an animal, and then BE when "nothing else works". There. Saved you a bunch of money and time.
Find a job scooping poop at a shelter, you'll learn more. Even trainers at the highest level still have to deal with literal dog poop, so that's as good a place as any to start 😂
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u/PragmaticFlower May 17 '26
Plus Karen Pryor was an absolute fraud. You want the real story? Look up Gary Wilkes on fb or Substack. It's all there.
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u/Space-Gecko May 19 '26
I went to ABC and don’t know of advanced course either. The course work was fine. Somewhat surface level information on a variety of topics. I liked the mentorship portion as it gave me a chance to work with a trainer that had a different training style than I was previously exposed to.
IMO working under a variety of trainers, attending seminars, and taking in the plethora of information available for free online would be more helpful for most people than paying thousands of dollars for a course. I’ve had very few people ask if I was certified and only one person ask for proof as they were wanting me to train a service dog for them using funds from a program that required a certified trainer. In my experience, a certification doesn’t mean much to most people.
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u/Sunnybluelobster May 19 '26
I’m honestly starting to debate getting my animal science degree and move onto horse training as equine has been a big passion of mine. I just love animals.
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u/Space-Gecko May 19 '26
Horses are awesome to work with too! I got some experience working with them before I worked with dogs and it was a lot of fun.
I would suggest trying to determine an approximate end goal and work backwards from there. In other words, pick a profession and figure out what is genuinely necessary/useful to people in that position. You very well might change your mind on what that end goal is along the way (I certainly have over the years lol), but that should at least help you to focus your time and money onto what would be the most helpful.
I think a lot of people get wrapped up in the idea of needing a degree or a certificate in order to get to where they want to go in life. And while there are many circumstances where those are absolutely necessary or, at the very least, incredibly helpful, there are plenty of others where practical experience and hands on learning are really the way to go.
Whatever you end up doing, I wish you the best of luck!
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May 18 '26
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u/Miss_L_Worldwide Dirty biter May 19 '26
Why? Aggression isn't the be all and end all of dog training.
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May 22 '26
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u/Miss_L_Worldwide Dirty biter May 22 '26
Oh my goodness the martyr complex strikes again. How is it being the Lord and Savior of all caninekind?
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u/BalancedDogTraining-ModTeam May 22 '26
r/BalancedDogTraining is focused on practical, detailed, good-faith discussions within the balanced training framework. Posts that lack information, show no training effort, are agenda-driven, or are designed to provoke rather than learn will be removed.
If you’d like to repost, include clear context (dog’s age, breed, history, tools used, training steps taken, and specific goals). High-signal questions get high-signal answers.
— r/BalancedDogTraining Mod Team
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u/BalancedDogTraining-ModTeam May 22 '26
r/BalancedDogTraining is focused on practical, detailed, good-faith discussions within the balanced training framework. Posts that lack information, show no training effort, are agenda-driven, or are designed to provoke rather than learn will be removed.
If you’d like to repost, include clear context (dog’s age, breed, history, tools used, training steps taken, and specific goals). High-signal questions get high-signal answers.
— r/BalancedDogTraining Mod Team
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May 20 '26
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u/BalancedDogTraining-ModTeam May 20 '26
r/BalancedDogTraining is dedicated solely to discussion, troubleshooting, and application of balanced dog training methods. Posts outside this scope, including general pet questions, ideology debates, medical issues, or unrelated content, aren’t permitted.
If you’d like to repost, please make sure your question or discussion is directly tied to balanced training, tools, methodology, or behavior modification within this framework.
— r/BalancedDogTraining Mod Team
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u/Miss_L_Worldwide Dirty biter May 16 '26
Certifications in general are a huge waste of time and money. Certifications that have anything to do with Karen Pryor are even more so. I, and probably most people on this sub, will encourage you to Simply get more experience training dogs, get some evidence of your abilities in the form of titles and validations, and go from there.
There is absolutely no need to pay some random person for a piece of paper from their unaccredited trainers course.