"AKC Responds to inquiries about certification for pet dog trainers."

Below is a response to a letter I sent to the American Kennel Club requesting information on a single standard obedience certification for obedience trainers. I sympathize with those looking for a trainer since there are quite a few trainers and it seems there is no real recognized standard or certifying authority.  Not all or any particular trainer or training method is going to work for everyone.
Why is AKC the authority. The American Kennel Club is the oldest and most respected dog organization/club. AKC provides Financial support for Rescue, Research on dog diseases, Search and Rescue and much more.
Trifecta Training Center

From :  obedience <obedience@akc.org>

Sent :  Wednesday, December 6, 2006 6:05 AM

To :  <trifecta_training_ctr@yahoo.com>

Subject :  RE: Customer Inquiry Re: Other

  |  |  | Inbox

 The AKC cannot license, endorse, register or recommend any training

school, dog training certification program or training method.  There

may be a program that is developed by AKC for dog trainers in the

future, but this is not in place at this time.

There are many organizations out there that offer instructor

certifications. Only you can decide which one is right for you and if

you agree with their methods and school of thought.

If you have any questions regarding the AKC regulations for obedience,

please let me know. 

If responding to this message, please include a copy of your previous

correspondence.

Thank you,

Sydney

-----Original Message-----

From: online accounts

Sent: Monday, December 04, 2006 3:44 PM

To: obedience

Subject: FW: Customer Inquiry Re: Other 

If a reply is necessary, please include all previous correspondence.

Kathy Hairston

AKC Online Support Services

Basically if you subscribe to one method of dog training you can apply to become a member of one of the training societies. There are at last count about ten. Since I believe in the ability to use a number of different methods (one doesn't always work with every dog) I don't belong to these organizations. They have no standardized criteria accepted by any accredited authority on dog training.