The Institute of Modern Dog Trainers Reviews 190

What great courses! Anyone wanting to pursue a career in dog training or just wanting to enhance their knowledge about our 4-legged friends in general, I could not sing IMDT praises highly enough! The courses were fun and insightful and I can't wait to do a few more with them.
The tutors are amazing, funny and engaging!

And the cherry on the cake...my Bull Terriers all had a fabulous time too.

I can’t recommend the IMDT highly enough. All their courses are informative, welcoming and educational.
Thank you Steve, Tania, Alun, Mus and David for making my dream of professionally training dogs with kindness, empathy and respect a reality.
See you on another course soon 😊

Having already done the 2 day and 4 day courses on becoming a dog trainer I decided I was ready to start preparing for my assessment. I've been shadowing my wife (an Imdt qualified trainer) for the past 2years during her classes and 1-2-1 consultations so I booked my Assessment Prep Zoom meeting. Alun was really, really helpful. It has given me a heads up of what exactly to prepare for and what to expect on the day of the assessment. It helps you relieve some of the anxiety you may have about taking your assessment. I'd be lying if I said I still wasn't nervous but who isn't when it comes to exams/tests. So now to start studying and get ready for the big day. If youre considering a career in dog training using positive reinforcement, then these guys know there stuff.....just do it 💪 Thank you to everyone at the Imdt who have been so helpful so far on my new journey....see you soon 😊

What I liked:
1. Steady progression to running own class by the end of the week.
2. Positive reinforcement for and from participants.
3. Car park supervision for dogs in vehicles.
4. Consideration for dogs when in the small groups - space, noise etc.
5. Supportive and knowledgeable instructors.
6. I left with more knowledge and areas of improvement to work on

What could be improved:
1. Clearer advertising of course content and what will be taught, and how (only powerpoint/talked at or demo with plastic cones). Then I could see that perhaps this course wasn't right for me.
And better information for content/layout of the next day for participants to assess suitability for their dog.
2. More consideration for the dogs - day 1 caused a lot of frustrated/bored dogs (canine body language!) and day 2 was the first time I heard an instructor say that it is ok if your dog needs a break. Groups with dogs had to pass through a gate while groups with dogs coming through the same gate (1 way system was possible, or perhaps communication between the Instructors to create a 5 minute delay)
3. Oftentimes it felt like Instructors were going through the motions and not passionate anymore.
4. Missing the fun element they preached about inserting to classes - where was this for attendees? Without dogs, the course would be so dry. I dreaded returning the next day and counted down til the end of course.
5. I left with more questions than learning.
6. Course felt rushed and rigid. Instructors say they "cannot answer those questions, but you could complete this other course and pay for these basic answers" on how to train certain behaviours, the assessment process, CPD/membership and what happens after the assessment. Very much pass the buck and pay more bucks (£££).
7. Full days and homework each night - again no communication about homework prior to course so no arrangements made to create the time within other commitments and travel to/from course.
8. IMDT asking for feedback (verbally and in writing) says it all "If you enjoyed the course could you please spare a minute to leave a review". What if we didn't enjoy it? Do they even want to know how they can improve? Really made me doubt the integrity of the IMDT. All feedback should be valuable. If they did, many of the small niggles wouldn't exist.

Overall:
I wouldn't do this course again. The course (and some of the same instructors) has been running for over a decade, yet there's still so many minor points that need ironed out (see my point about constructive feedback). Really disappointed in IMDT and lost my excitement around any further training with them (having already learned with them, and been hoping to complete it all).

IMDT have great courses to retrain to be a dog trainer, or simply expand your knowledge about dogs. The instructors are knowledgeable and inject fun into the courses. Their ethos is all about positive reinforcement and not punishment which is better for all involved! I really recommend their courses.

What a week nervous to start but what a week with fantastic trainers knowledgeable and fun also

Don't bother. Had a course booked up for 19th July. Booked 19th off work.

18th July had a lovely email, welcoming me to course, advising me what i needed for next day. Sat in front of screen from 10 am on 19th waiting for course to start. Nothing.

Rang "customer service" numerous times, no answer. Emailed a few people, finally got a reply that instructor was sick.

IMDT hadn't emailed me on the corresponding email address, (same email address the invites were sent to) so I had no knowledge. If I want to book another course they will transfer my money, but I have to take ANOTHER unpaid day off work.

They even sent me the certificates in the afternoon saying I'd attended.

Useless.

Horrendous! Save your money. Customer service is utterly disgusting and the courses are basically the same information under a different title. requested contact to submit formal complaint and was told not to bother as the person being complained about was the one who dealt with the complaints!! Absolute scamming jokers - not worth the paper the ‘qualifications’ are written on

A totally honest review after 18 months of IMDT courses. I was really excited to get involved with the IMDT as I really wanted to understand more about my own dogs and also get to a good standard of dog training, to pursue this as a career.

To make sure this is at the top of the review: please don’t spend lots on courses with the IMDT expecting to get qualified at the end. Their assessment process assumes you already have a number of years experience as a dog trainer. You wont get through it with 70 percent unless you already have a lot of hands-on experience. Please read on for more info.

The online courses are good, Muz is very good with the content and the amount of questions he gets on chat (a distracting amount of unrelated questions). Dave who does the behaviour side is also very good. I also enjoyed the 4 day practical course with Alun and team. They were excellent. Please dont expect to see Steve Mann on any course. Although the slides have his name all over them (and after 18 months) I have never seen the guy. I even bought his BBC course to see what he looks like, which is a good practical course (but still wont get you through the assessment).

In total I have spent over £1800 on training and behaviour courses, accommodation (as the 4 day only runs in certain parts of the country) books, etc, to find out the assessment is really harsh.

I have learnt a lot and enjoyed it but the assessment process is totally different from anything you do on the courses. I was really disappointed at the expected level of the assessment and the lack of subsequent curriculum. The website points you to some PDFs which in turn tells you what courses to buy (or Steve Mann’s books to buy!). Honestly, really unprofessional website and PDFs. Some of the course material is also years old with '90s GIFs all over them. Given the price of these courses there should be a more professional approach.

Even though I attended the course on what was required for the assessment (to make extra sure I was prepared) I had questions totally unrelated to the content of the courses. I prepared solidly for 6 months on every area covered in the courses and the prep slides.

Examples from the assessment:
Questions on the Premack principle (not part of any of the courses, even the 4 day)
Questions on back chaining (not part of any of the courses, even the 4 day)
Questions on habituation (not part of any of the courses, even the 4 day)
Questions on “reward placement” (not part of any of the courses, even the 4 day)
Questions on dog law not covered in the material or pre-assessment slides!

The puppy example was on a behavioural issue (not a training issue!). Unless you have bought Steve's 'best selling' puppy book then you wont know the answer. Its not covered in the puppy course. The IMDT has 'training' in the title so you would think the assessment would reflect that.

The courses are at beginner/intermediate and the assessment questions are at an advanced level, which you would know if you had completed 3 or 4 years experience as a hands on trainer (with an experienced trainer) prior to signing up with the IMDT. Its implicit in the questions that you are already a dog trainer. I recorded my group session which was meticulously planned and it was torn to pieces. This doesn’t make sense as most people will come to the IMDT hoping to get qualified and go on to be a trainer.

I found the assessment process horrible and the person assessing was rude (frustrated at my level of knowledge on specific questions no doubt). She literally told me off for giving examples! Its like being at naughty school.

The feedback comes 5 weeks later in the form of a poorly constructed PDF with tables within it. Again, really unprofessional. The points deductions are for pretty much anything given the expected level. There is nothing in the final email to even thank you for trying (and spending more money in the process). It feels like you are being put through a meat grinder.

I worked most evenings re-writing notes and buying and reading a large amounts of books on training and behaviours before booking the assessment and I was shocked at the disparity between the course content and the questions.

PROS: Some lovely people and interesting courses
CONS: A lot of money to find out you need more experience to qualify. Assessment is way off the course material. They dont focus the assessment on training issues. The assesor was rude and wanted to move on as quick as possible. The comunication in general is poor, you wont hear anything directed to you as a person but you will receive a large number of emails from Steve Mann/IMDT on the latest courses. It really feels like he is pushing to generate money all the time.
Perhaps it could be called the Institute of Money Dog Trainers?

I signed up for the course, spending A lot of money thinking I would be supported by the tutors. I have heard absolutely nothing from them!
It’s a course where you basically go online and are constantly referencing where you got the information from
All they do is send you questions and you go away and find the answers yourself with absolutely no tutoring or guidance at all. They send very little literature to support the course.
Unfortunately I didn’t submit the first segment due to family ill health. You may have expected a tutor to ask where the course work was. Heard absolutely nothing but have taken the money for the whole course but have only received the first syllabus and send me email asking me to sign up for other courses!
Incredibly disappointed and feel all they want is your money.

***** with regards to your reply, which has taken months to get from you, if I had felt that I had continued support from the tutors, I wouldn’t have rated you 1 star.
As stated in my original post, I heard nothing from you.

I have enjoyed and learned such a lot with the IMDT, I found the level 3 Learning, Motivation and Reinforcement in Canine Behaviour an eye opener and it has given me a boost to continue this journey. The course tutors were very flexible with dates as I had a huge personal trauma during my studies and they were helpful and really supported my request for extended deadlines. Honestly, I have studied a lot, this was both challenging, enjoyable and informative.

Having completed the IMDT LMR level 3 course, I can tell you that this course is absolutely brilliant. The tutors are top notch, and so knowledgeable, they reply to any questions you have within no time at all, usually within hours. I have learned so much from this course, and would not hesitate to recommend to others. IMDT are the best around, thanks Daren.

I have completed several of the IMDT courses now, online and in person, and I have found them really helpful in furthering my knowledge.
I completed the 4 day course in January and really enjoyed it; it was exactly how I’d expected as I feel I was well prepared with what to expect by the IMDT. I had already been teaching classes prior to attending but this course offered me a new perspective and without it I would have been completely unprepared for my assessment, I’m still awaiting my results so fingers crossed!
I’ve always found the instructors really helpful and kind, there’s a great variety of personalities there and I’ve enjoyed learning from each of them. Alison has always been extremely helpful via email as well!
I can’t contest people’s concerns over the cost of the courses, however I have found it to be money well spent each time, especially with the years of combined experience you are getting from the team.

Looking forward to completing more courses in the future and have my fingers crossed for my assessment results upcoming!

I was very excited about my IMDT journey, i have spent a lot of money on multiple courses, i attended the assessment and passed three sections, i failed on the group class which means repeating the whole assessment again. I asked for help to make sure i didnt fail again and was reassured that if the few things that caused me fail were sorted i would pass.
The comments were things like, stay on the post and observe, nothing major.
I did the whole assessment again, and once again failed the group class by a point! The feedback was completely different even though i fixed the initial problems, it felt really flakey and unprofessional, there is no clear view of what is expected of you. The other thing was i got full marks in my report the first time and 5 less the second time for the same structure. When I appealed i got a very matter of fact defensive email, i feel very disappointed, i can take constructive criticism/feedback, but there seems to be no care for possible future members, there was absolutely no offer of help, i feel like it is all about the sales, which are constantly pushed, i have met a few others that have had similar experiences.

Horrible experience that has left me feeling robbed.
I purchased a course for £816 from the IMDT. I am already a qualified behaviourist with many years of experience but wanted to become a member of the IMDT as my ethics align well with theirs.
Due to the need for extensive surgery I cancelled my space on the course with 5 months notice with the intention of re-booking for the following year.
I was instructed (curtly and rudely) that I would loose 30% of the total cost as per the terms and conditions.
I had not received nor seen these terms. They were not pointed out at the time of booking nor in the confirmation email.
They are, however, hidden on the website.
Feeling I had no alternative but to accept this I waited for my refund.
During this period all my emails were ignored and I was not informed as to whether I would be getting a refund or when.
Eventually £517.20 was paid into my back account which is £53 short of the 70%. Further emails have been ignored.
The whole experience has left me stressed, frustrated and feeling powerless.
I would not recommend this organisation to anyone, if this is how they treat potential “customers” and members of the organisation.
I cancelled my space weeks after booking it and with many months for them to refill my space. I feel I have been stolen from, by an organisation that I had previously held in high esteem.
Please avoid or at the very least do your research before getting involved with these people.

I'd be cautious about the IMDT and don't be swayed by their 5 star reviews on their actual website as obviously they delete the bad ones. If you are choosing to do your assessment online be especially cautious. The 4 day training course itself is ok if you are a newbie but IMDT are very our way or the highway. The 2 day learning theory course is rubbish and so superficial especially on zoom where Muz spends all his time reading comments rather than getting into the technical theory of learning. Again ok if you are a newbie but very basic and a waste of money. The assessment can set you up to fail which goes against their ethos with dogs. Although I agree that the guidelines for completion of the assessment need to be thorough they over complicate it so much that it makes it very confusing and the support pre assessment is not good. Email responses are very vague when you ask for specific help and no one will pick up the phone. They grade the score on compliance of how it was filmed, quality of sound, quality of vision, length of class which with 5 people and dogs in a field is very hard. I had to get the people together 3 times in order to successfully do the recording. I failed this section on the length of the class but it was not made clear that it had to be 20 minutes exactly and with all the other technical things that you are worrying about with sound/vision etc it was almost impossible. If IMDT are going to offer an online option it needs to be clear and supportive not just pages and pages of rules to adhere to over the quality of the actual training you are delivering. The pre assessment zoom will not prepare you sufficiently. During the zoom assessment the instructor was very abrupt and curt which did not help at all and again they blind you with realms of guidelines that it becomes over confusing and you enter on the back foot worrying about technicalities rather than your actual training knowledge itself. Alun had a go at me as soon as I got on screen for not printing out the schedule, which was just basic 9-9.20 section 1, 9.30-9.50 section 2 etc so hardly necessary. He then had a go at me because I didnt ask him to go and get his dog from the back room, again over complication of the rules as I was so confused by then about what they wanted. At one stage he was pretending to be a very rude customer and it wasn't hard for him to do this. In my experience as a dog trainer I have never ever had a customer like that. I actually got over 90% on my knowledge which proves that I know my stuff but I came away very upset about the whole experience and failed on technicalities rather than my actual knowledge. I am not the only person to have had this experience where they intimidate trainers but as one of the biggest no one seems to really talk about it. There are many more kind supportive companies out there which will provide a more in-depth variety of learning. Set up to succeed does not seem to apply with IMDT.

Purchased the Level 5 course, after having a phone call to discuss suitability. Felt very welcoming and supportive.

Received the material along with study videos. These videos are extremely poor quality;
- Audio spikes very continuously, physically causing my ears to hurt every time.
- Narrators constantly 'erm', 'ehhh' and losing track of thought. At some points making a statement, realising it was wrong, then back tracking - very unprofessional and confusing!
- Videos were not edited at all, making for very long, frustratingly confusing videos.

I continued with the first module (after buying multiple expensive books from their reading list!) I couldn't find resources to answer a question, so I asked for help. Only for them to suggest buying another course from them just to answer one question. (Scam?!) I refused. Asking for a pointer on where to look, they could NOT recommend a book, website or source to answer this question; after multiple attempts of asking for help. They continued to give me vague answers, making me feel like the problem.

I finally said I wasn't happy with the 'tutoring' or support they were giving, they turned it back on me; once again making me feel like the problem. Causing me a load of stress and feeling depressed.

I love to learn, hence buying this expensive course. Very quickly, due to the 'tutors' - I hated learning and even had a panic attack at the thought of it. These people are NOT here to help.

I said it would be best to leave the course and ask for a refund (having not passed the first module and paid £600!) Not a single reply. At this point it is causing me too much stress and emotional damage to even speak with these people.

I will continue to deter people away from IMDT courses until I know their practices have changed for the better.

Other things of note;
- No designated tutor; every time you ask for help, you get a different person replying. So no one can build rapport and the tutor can not learn your learning style.
- No designated tutor video or phone calls; with regular calls with a designated tutor, the tutor can do their job and make sure you are happy, understanding the course and as little stress as possible. This is simply not a thing with IMDT.
- They do not list all the sources you need to pass a course. Recommending another course in order to pass the course your on - gives the impression that this is a SCAM!
- Unprofessional; there is a PDF contract that you need to sign before any work can be handed in. Not one person asked for this signed copy and I was not even aware of it's existence. I had simply missed it in the mass of PDF'S, emails and videos.
- As people in the dog training field, we advocate for errorless learning, full support and if the learner is struggling, we take a step back and acknowledge what is the challenge. Breaking down that challenge in easier pieces to help the learner be stress-free, comfortable and happy to continue learning... This practice is NOT put into place for IMDT's HUMAN LEARNERS. Why?!

I am incredibly disappointed with these people and this organisation. I will continue to discourage anyone who wants to take these courses; until they have made changes for the better.

Scam.

What I didn’t like:
Very expensive courses in general that could be described in better detail. If you’re paying over £500 for a practical course it would be good to know exactly what you will get.

4 day practical course only teaches you how to manage and run a group class. There is very little theory, no 1:1 consultation practice. People left this course after the first day because they were expected to teach a class but hadn’t been shown HOW to teach the particular behaviours. One of the trainers running the course was very arrogant and dismissive, failed to realise there were people on the course that had years of professional training experience including rescue and military dog training from force free training backgrounds.

Disappointed to see that IMDT are offering qualifications on kennel management but they themselves (IMDT co-owner) had been operating without a license for a few years! Sadly this discredits their reputation.

What I did like:
Some of the trainers are very supportive and enthusiastic which is the right attitude to have when in a teaching environment.

Webinars are actually pretty good and nice to be able to view them multiple times.

Their practical course would benefit greatly if the first day was dedicated 50/50 between theory (with theory homework) and 1:1 consultation training. Lots of people on course only wanted to do 1:1 and didn’t benefit from an entire course dedicated to class work.

If you want to learn how to run a group class and you already have sound theory but perhaps just need some confidence then the 4 day would be excellent for you. It was very well done and excellent for those with low confidence. But their advertising for this could explain course content in better detail.

Completed my courses and have been an IMDT trainer for a few years now. I always found the instructors very encouraging and supportive. I am now working on my behavioural course and due to how busy life can be didn't manage to complete it in the first year and so they extended the course for me at no extra charge.

Had to change my coarse as a family member died change my coarse date this time a got a fungal infection and on medication so carnt attend sent a email to be told the coarse carn't be change very disappointed with this company