When training isn’t enough: The skill gap most dog professionals eventually face

When you’ve worked with dogs long enough, you'll stop being surprised most of the time. And then, a dog comes in who doesn’t fit the patterns you know. You try the training tactics that usually work; you slow things down. You adjust the skill level of the task for the client or for the dog. You lean on your experience, remembering how 100 other dogs responded perfectly to the exact things you're doing now. And still, something feels off or isn't working. Maybe the dog's behavior isn’t improving in the way you expect, or the situation feels like more than a “training problem.”

For many of us, this can be a sign that our work is evolving.

Most people who have long-term success in the field of dog training and behavior have expertise: We can read dogs. We notice changes in body language. We know how to set up sessions that are productive and help the dog feel at ease. We have probably handled dogs who show signs of fear, frustration, and reactivity. We may even have resolved more complex issues, like resource guarding or stranger aggression.

But eventually, many professional dog trainers run into cases where training alone doesn’t feel like it's getting the job done.

That gap can feel uncomfortable. Sometimes it feels like being back at the beginning, even after years of experience. It can be easy to wonder if you should know more by now.

If this has happened to you, don't fret! This is a common and very normal place to land.

Training skills and behavior consulting skills are not the same thing

Training skills are super-important and can't be glossed over to be a successful behavior consultant. We need to be able to teach dogs new skills and set up clear communication between dogs and their people. We will always be better behavior consultants when we work to be excellent trainers. But behavior consulting asks a different kind of question than dog training.

Training often focuses on helping the dog learn how to co-exist peacefully in a household, neighborhood and community. Behavior consulting looks at why the dog is doing what they’re doing in the first place, and how to best close the gap between a client's expectations and the dog's behavior.

For example, teaching a dog to settle on a mat is a training skill. Understanding why a dog cannot settle in a specific home, with specific people, at specific times of day, is consulting-level thinking. The behavior might look the same on the surface, but the work underneath is different.

Consulting skills involve holding lots of information at once, like the dog’s emotional state, the environment, the people or other animals involved. Consultants also need to pay attention to what choices are available to the dog, the risks if things go wrong and the limits of what is realistic right now.

None of this replaces training, but behavior consultants follow a specific process rather than relying mainly on a "feel," which most great trainers have in spades.Many pro trainers hit trouble when they try to solve consulting-level problems with training tools alone. This isn't because they aren't competent trainers; it's because the question has changed.

Complexity is the name of the game

Most professional trainers don’t wake up one day and decide to work with complex behavior cases. We're usually called into them! It might start with a dog who snaps during handling at the groomer's, or a daycare dog who seems fine most days but then suddenly is having trouble getting along with other dogs there. Or it may be a shelter dog whose behavior shifts once they settle into a new home. Sometimes we have a training client whose dog improves in class, but the client struggles with the dog at home.

At first, these situations often look like skill or information gaps – maybe you just need a better training protocol? Maybe you didn’t set things up well enough? Maybe you’re missing a piece of information?

Sometimes those things are true. But more often, the issue isn’t missing knowledge, it’s that the situation involves layers that training alone doesn’t address.Fear, anxiety, and aggression are about patterns over time, understanding the environmental antecedents, the consequences, motivating operations and the animal's learning history. We need to consider these factors in a methodical way to change the dog's behavior.

When cases get more complex, progress is often slower and less predictable. This can be hard for professionals who are used to seeing clear results from good training.

Function, risk, and context: Why these matter when changing behavior

When behavior consultants talk about function, they’re really talking about purpose, or the "why" behind the behavior. What does the behavior accomplish for the dog?

For example, a growl might create distance. Freezing might buy the dog time with a favorite toy. Avoidance might prevent something scary from happening. These behaviors aren’t random or spiteful – they’re doing something important for the dog in that moment.

Risk is about what could happen if the behavior escalates or continues. Not just to people, but to the dog. Loss of housing. Restricted access to care. Increased stress. Hard decisions made under pressure.Context is everything around the behavior. Where it happens. Who is present. What happened just before. What usually happens next. The same dog can behave very differently in different contexts, and that matters.None of this requires diagnosing or labeling. It requires curiosity and restraint. It asks you to slow down and look at the whole picture, even when that picture is messy.

If you're feeling frustrated, you're ready to learn

Feeling stuck as a dog trainer can bring up a lot of feelings: Frustration, doubt, even disappointment for the work feeling harder or less enjoyable than it used to.Most of us as dog professionals are used to feeling competent. You’re often the calm one in the room. When that confidence wobbles, it can feel personal.

There’s also pressure to perform, not only from clients but perhaps your community as well. When you’re working in environments like shelters, daycares, or grooming salons, the stakes can feel especially high.

But remember: struggling with complex behavior cases does not mean you’re doing something wrong. It just means you’re seeing the situation clearly and you're taking the dog's behavior seriously.

Ethics shift as complexity increases

As cases get more complex, ethical responsibility grows too. Consulting-level thinking includes knowing when a situation is outside your current role or scope, and when to call in help in the form of colleagues, a mentor, or a veterinary behaviorist.

Responsibility also includes respecting the limits of dogs and humans. Not every environment can be made safe enough and not every family can meet every dog's needs. Recognizing those limits can be painful, but it’s part of ethical work that takes practice and study to develop.

Taking the next step towards behavior consulting is easier than you think

Developing behavior consulting skills has one main requirement: expanding how you think.

Many dog training professionals make this shift to behavior consulting gradually. They start asking different questions, and they learn to tolerate uncertainty a little better. They become more comfortable saying “Let me find out.” They learn a systematic process for changing behavior and rely less on solutions they used to reach for without thinking much about the problem.

Behavior consulting done well feels less about fixing behavior and more about understanding the animal and the client. If you’re noticing that training alone doesn’t always feel like enough for your cases anymore, it's time to build on your skills and get ready for a more satisfying, more nuanced way of working with dogs and the people who care for them.

The good news is there are many paths to learning animal behavior consulting! Use the guide below to get started.

Dog trainers ready to move into behavior consulting can combine structured courses with ongoing reading and CEU-style offerings from professional organizations like the IAABC, CCPDT, and IAABC Foundation.

Articles to understand dog behavior consulting, certification, and applied behavior analysis

• What is the ABA model of behavior change? – Walks trainers through using applied behavior analysis as a practical mental model for behavior change, comparing ABA with instinct, temperament, and cognitive models, and showing how to analyze antecedent–behavior–consequence to build cleaner behavior plans.​
• Animal Behavior Consulting 101 Part 1: What is an Animal Behavior Consultant? – Defines what consultants do beyond basic training, outlines how they assess cases and design behavior plans, and helps trainers decide whether consulting is the right next step.​
• Animal Behavior Consulting 101 Part 2: What is Certification? – Explains what IAABC certification is, how the process works, and why certification matters for scope of practice, standards, and client trust, giving readers a concrete picture of “what comes after” advanced education.​
• How becoming an IAABC Certified Behavior Consultant can help your business  – A business‑focused “how this works in real life” piece that connects certification to referral flow, perceived expertise, pricing, and long‑term sustainability of a behavior consulting practice.​
• IAABC Recommended Reading – Curated resource list organized by general behavior plus dog, cat, and other species, including titles such as “Ethics for Behavior Analysts,” “Learning and Behavior,” and species‑specific behavior texts to support credential preparation and consulting practice.​

IAABC Foundation courses for aspiring dog behavior consultants

• Beginning Behavior Consulting Mentorship – An 8‑week, CEU‑eligible small‑group mentorship with weekly live meetings, focused on foundational ABA concepts, functional assessment, behavior plan writing, and real‑case troubleshooting for issues like aggression, reactivity, resource guarding, and separation anxiety.​
• Animal Behavior Consulting: Principles & Practice – A 12‑week, multi‑module course covering learning science, functional analysis, intervention design, ethology, welfare, case studies, and the “human side” of consulting, with weekly mentor meetings and contributions from more than 20 subject‑matter experts.​
• Fundamentals of Animal Behavior and Learning – A 4‑week online course that teaches core behavioral science concepts (conditioning, reinforcement, environmental variables), uses weekly readings with guides, and culminates in a final project analyzing real‑world training materials.​
• Professional Dog Training: Science & Application – A 5-month online course that focuses specifically on professional dog training skills grounded in learning theory and is positioned as a next step for trainers who want to deepen the science and application side of their work.​

Resources from the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers

• How to become a certified dog behavior consultant – Outlines eligibility (hours in canine behavior consulting, case types such as fear and aggression, attestation, and ethics requirements), and helps trainers map MOOC and formal coursework into a certification pathway.​
• Approved CEU Events – Searchable list of online and in‑person CEU events and courses; many offerings focus on behavior consulting topics like treatment planning, psychopharmacology, and reactivity, and can double as advanced education while maintaining certification.​

University and MOOC‑style courses

• Animal Behaviour and Welfare (University of Edinburgh on Coursera) – Introductory MOOC covering animal welfare concepts, behaviour assessment, and using behaviour and physiology to evaluate welfare, with a companion‑animal module that helps trainers think more critically about welfare in behavior cases.​
• B.S. in Animal and Poultry Sciences (Virginia Tech) includes a behavior‑focused option separate from the pre‑vet track. This behavior option lets students concentrate on animal welfare and behavior, with the chance to focus on companion/lab animals, equine, livestock, or poultry.
• Certificate in Applied Animal Behavior (University of Washington) – Three‑course online certificate covering evolutionary theory, learning theory, and applied behavior for companion animals, aimed at professionals who want to assess, prevent, and address behavior problems using science‑based methods.​
• Clinical Animal Behaviour (Online Learning) MSc (University of Edinburgh) – Fully online postgraduate program in clinical animal behaviour, validated by CCAB Certification Ltd, that gives an in‑depth academic route for trainers planning to specialize in behavior consulting.​
• Dog Behavior: Problems and Solutions (Arizona State University on edX) – University‑level course specifically on canine behavior problems, functional analysis, reinforcement, and critical evaluation of different training methods, designed for trainers and behaviorists.​
• Online Graduate Programs in Animal Welfare & Behavior (University of Pennsylvania) – Online graduate certificate and MSc programs emphasizing evidence‑based animal welfare and behavior, with core courses in welfare science, behavior assessment, and applied solutions for welfare challenges across species.​

Not sure where to start? Ask one question: Are you missing concepts, a process, or a pathway? If you feel shaky on why behavior happens or how to analyze it, start with the ABA and behavior consulting articles and the recommended reading lists. If you understand the concepts but struggle to organize real cases, look first at mentorships and practice-focused courses. If you already do the work and want clearer scope, standards, or referral credibility, focus on certification pathways and CEU offerings.

Remember...

• You don’t need more information than the job requires—just the right information at the right level.
• Choose resources the same way you choose interventions: based on risk, context, and what actually needs to change.
• Use what fits the cases you’re seeing. You can always come back and learn more later on!