Our Standards for Trainers

At DigUp, we know first hand that the right trainer can make a world of difference in your daily life and your relationship with your dog. Given that anyone (really anyone!) can call themselves a professional dog trainer, it’s a daunting task to maintain a database of trainers that we would entrust with our own dogs. While we’re constantly iterating and improving, here are few principles that we adhere to when we recommend trainers:

• We only recommend trainers who use force-free methods. This humane and compassionate approach avoids harsh punishments or aversive techniques, ensuring your dog’s physical and emotional safety. Force-free training helps create a trusting and cooperative bond between you and your dog, making the learning process more enjoyable and stress-free for both parties. It also leads to more lasting results. For more information on why we don’t recommend punishment – read more here
• We prioritize education and experience. Although there is no standardized qualification or licensing system for trainers, there are reputable organizations that certify that a trainer has undergone rigorous study and adheres to recognized, science-based principles of behavior. Holding a certification from one of these organizations is a valuable indicator of a trainer’s commitment to professional growth and staying current with the latest developments in the field.
• We make recommendations specialized to your family. Every animal is an individual, and every family has its own needs. When you search on DigUp, you can search and filter our results by the factors most relevant to you. Unlike a more general platform like Google or Yelp, your results will be verified by our team to ensure that the trainers recommended have the expertise you need.

To ensure the trainers we promote are in line with these values, we maintain our database using information from reputable organizations that certify trainers. Many of the organizations we collect data from, such as the Council of Professional Dog Trainers, have their trainers attest compliance with the Humane Hierarchy or similar guidelines that prioritize the well-being of the animal and lasting behavior change. We also maintain robust data on specializations a trainer may have, using information from various continuing education organizations, such as Fear Free. 

We recognize that our methodology is in no way perfect or comprehensive. There are certainly good trainers out there who don’t hold any of these certificates, but at our current scale, we don’t have a systematic way to find them and verify their training chops. We are always learning and iterating- if you are industry professional with ideas for how we can improve, please reach out at hello@digup.nyc.