Dog Training is Expensive
and Other Dog Training Myths

Los Angeles, CA – The biggest myth about dog training, according to Matthew “Uncle Matty” Margolis, is that it costs too much. This professional trainer, behavior expert and author has been training dogs for more than 35 years and based on experience, he has calculated the financial expense and the stress incurred by not training a dog.

The cost of professional training varies depending on the area of the country, the size of the community as well as the experience and qualifications of the trainer, although cost does not always relate to professional experience. Small towns and remote areas may not even have the services of a dog trainer and if they do, cost per session can be as low as $35 or approximately $280 for eight in-home sessions. Metropolitan areas like Los Angeles and New York demand higher prices that may be $100 or more per private session or $800 to $1500 for a basic in-home, one-on-one training program.

Compare this to the costs of not training. “An untrained dog can cause thousands of dollars in destruction of property and personal possessions, not to mention the stress and anxiety,” says Margolis. “Our training is custom based on the needs of the dog and the owner and usually early training when a dog is eight to ten weeks old takes less time than working with an older dog that has established a host of bad habits.”

Margolis is quick to point out that the same people who choose not to spend a few hundred dollars on training when they first get a dog, frequently call after the dog has ruined a house full of carpet at a cost of thousands of dollars. The cost of ruined landscaping depends on the size and design of the yard, but can be in the thousands of dollars, not to mention the destruction of priceless antiques and irreplaceable heirlooms. “The average destruction is at least $2000 by the time a client realizes how important training is,” says Margolis shaking his head. Then there are those cases where untrained dogs dash out the door and into the street and are seriously injured or worse. “You can’t put a price on that kind of loss.”

Another Margolis Myth includes the idea that training will ruin a dog’s personality. According to Margolis, training with love, praise and affection does not change a dog’s personality; it brings out the best and allows true communication in a loving way between dog and owner. Negative training on the other hand, can launch a host of problems.

Then of course, there is the ever-popular “He’ll grow out of it” myth. Many people believe that if the problem is ignored, the dog will eventually grow out of it. “Dogs don’t grow out of problems, they grow into them,” says Uncle Matty. “Problems that are easier to correct in the beginning, become bad habits as time goes bad and they are more difficult to solve.

When asked what the ideal age is to train a dog, this expert suggests seven to ten weeks of age but he also states that he trains dogs as old as ten years or older.

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