Questions for potential obedience trainer?

My biggest question would be what his/her philosophy of training consists of.  Does the trainer believe in the "dog should be dominated" philosophy or the "dog should be a happy subordinate/partner" philosophy.

Thanks for the tip Xerxes- I just got home from meeting with him and the trainer seems fantastic! He's had loads of experience (e.g. training dogs for movies, the police force) AND the best thing is that he's all about +R!
No choke/check collars are allowed at his classes, and if he catches anybody using inappropriate force they're kicked out- how cool is that. hehe
 
He's very much about dog/owner relationships being a partnership, and I could tell that he had a lot of passion and respect for canines.
 
What's even better is that he said he'll give me a 50% discount since I'm a student (and probably wouldn't be able to afford the classes otherwise)
 
I'm really excited!
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That's wonderful!  I am glad he seems to be a great trainer![]
 
From my experience, the best thing you can do is go to a couple of classes and observe the trainer.  Aside from that, I like to know how many dogs are in the course and if he rely's on an assistant.  I also look for trainer's who have titled their dogs and of course those who follow ositive reinforcement!

He does all the training himself at his house, and it seems that me and ocket would have a class to ourselves (!!- is that such a good thing?), with maybe one of his trainee trainers, because he doesnt have any other dogs that are a similar age training with him at the moment.
 
I completely forgot to ask him if his dogs have been titled- silly me! I got to watch a video of him working with a GSD (it was his daughter's, which apparently he wasn't allowed to do anything with). It was very impressive! he had the dog's full attention 100% of the time, even when a kitten ran past them in the background And it didnt look like it was set up either (which I thought it might have been, since it was his daughter's dog, at his house), since the dog mis-followed (I'm not sure if that's a word)  a command (which he corrected).
 

Don't forget to ask about follow up. Is it six classes and you're gone? Or is he available for follow up questions, help and advice. A good trainer is committed to you and your dog being successful -- and will go above and beyond to help make that happen. The ones who are looking to take your money and push you out the door are not going to be with you for the long haul.

Before I hired my trainer, I observed his classes and saw his relationship with the dogs and people. I saw how he interacted with Jessie during our evaluation. But the thing that really sold me was when I told him I didn't think I could afford it. I'd just closed on a house and literally did not have a single penny left (in fact, I was working on negative money because the movers hijacked my furniture and wouldn't give it back to me unless I paid three times what the original estimate was).

And his response was, "If you want to do this, we'll figure that out later. The important thing is the dog."

Now I recognize that trainers need to make money, too, and they have a right to expect timely payments. But this guy was so clearly more interested in helping my dog than he was in getting his money...I just knew he was going to be the right one.

Someone who loves training, and love solving problems and still gets joy out of saving a "problem dog" from being booted or put down...is half the battle.

If you can get someone who does a "lifetime training" package, and who's been in business for a while, even better.

But trust your instincts, too. Sometimes you just need to find someone who shares your training philosophy and seems to "get" you and your dog.

Oh yeah, if you have a complicated breed, ask about his experience with that breed. My trainer owned three malinois, so I felt really good about his ability to help me with the challenges specific to the breed.

Lots of luck with it!

Jan