I’m repeating a post from 2024, because I am 1) truly interested in whether things have improved, even a bit, related to the male/female ratio of dog trainers and dog training seminar in current times, and 2) I’m updating The Puppy Primer and spending pretty much all my waking hours on it. Just asked my poor, bored dogs. The new edition comes out in October, and I can’t wait! The last version came out in 2008, and doesn’t mention event markers, interrupters, teaching Touch, and on and on. It’s being published by Little Creek Press in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, right next door, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Stay tuned!
I’ve been to a lot of dog-related seminars, and, at every one, the female/male ratio is something like 90/10. Or 95/5. I thought it would be different at the Im-PECK-able seminar put on by K9 Behavior Consortium, thinking of all the guys I’ve run into over the years with law enforcement dogs, especially drug and bomb dogs. But nope. Mostly women again. I asked a colleague if this was typical for other scent discrimination training seminars, and the answer was yes.
So. Why so few men in dog training seminars? The U.S. population is about 50/50 male/female. (With slightly more women, and less than half of one percent non-binary.) However, like many professions, dog training doesn’t reflect the country’s demographics. According to Zippia, 61% of dog trainers are female, 39% male. That number surprised me, because in my area, it feels like the skew toward women trainers is much higher than that.
But if the percentage of professional dog trainers is about 60/40, then why isn’t that reflected in seminar audiences? I am asking this respectively, especially to the men reading this blog, who I very much hope will chime in. There could be lots of reasons why men are less likely to go to seminars than women.
Before going much further, it was time to consult my resident expert on men: Jim. After I asked him why he thought more women than men went to dog training seminars, he said, initially, “Men think they already know how.” He said it, not me. But this led to a much deeper discussion–Jim noted that in years past, before dogs were house pets and considered members of the family, most dogs were working dogs, trained by men whose duties and hobbies included hunting with dogs. I added that once dogs more commonly began living in the home, we know whose job it was to teach the “youngsters” manners. Women.
It does feel that, recently, as men became more involved in child care, they also became more likely to go to dog training classes. (Anyone agree? I’m just speculating.) But going to classes is one thing, becoming a professional dog trainer who goes to seminars is another. The glaring exception to this is the demographics of seminar presenters. Look at all the men who are doing a fabulous job training us to train dogs?
I am not the first person to speculate about why so few men go to dog training seminars, or become dog trainers for that matter. Stanley Coren wrote an insightful article for Psychology Today in 2016 about this very topic, titled “Are Women Better Dog Trainers Than Men?”
Whether they are better at it or not was not my primary question, it’s why more men aren’t more interested in learning from others in this field. (Could they be related? Is it easier for women?) There are lots of possible reasons, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Here’s just one, to get us started: If women currently dominate the field, would men be uncomfortable showing up? Like going to a beauty salon and feeling out of place?
Let’s brainstorm about how to encourage more men to get involved in dog training, to go to the best of the best, and learn how to be better at what you do, if you’re already in the business. There’s a reason for this, one I think is more important than understanding interesting demographics. It’s the powerful effect of watching a member of your own gender performing a skill. I’ll never forget the first time, after two years in undergraduate college (in my 40’s), that I saw a women lecture on the stage at UW-Madison. (Karen Steudel, who passed away in 2021.) Everyone I had listened to and learned from up to that point had been male. Seeing a women was transformational. Truly. The effect it had on me was shocking. Wait? I could do this too?
According to one site, 71% of men from age 18 to 44 own a dog in the U.S. You can find lots of data that mess around with different figures, but the fact is that a gazillion men own dogs, and those men need role models to teach them how to train dogs in the most effective, efficient, and compassionate way possible.
What can we do to encourage more men to be involved? Chime in, but please, keep it constructive and respectful. I need it for my sanity in this day and age.
Moving forward to 2026: Has anything changed? What I’ve noticed lately is that many more men, in terms of percentages, come to my talks about Away To Me. Hmmm. Interesting. I do truly hope that this is changing, that more men are teaching force-free family dog training classes for example. Make my day and tell me it’s true.
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Well, it’s been awhile. Feels like a lot has happened.
I got a T-shirt.
The flowers here have been the light of my life (excluding Jim and the dogs of course). The daylily garden was ridiculous with color, like a painter’s pallette, and now lots of the prairie flowers are blooming, from Culver’s root to tall bellflower, to these coneflowers. Luscious.
We had the first local corn of the summer. It had just been picked, within the hour, and it was like eating candy.
(I wasn’t going to use the photo below because I look idiotically insane, but I thought we could all use a laugh .) A few weeks ago I got to spend most of a day with the great sheepdog trainer, Patrick Shannahan. It is Patrick that connected us with Maggie about eleven years ago, so, of course, I adore him. Also because he’s a great teacher and a remarkably kind man.
Luckily, the clinic (thank you for hosting Janet and Paul!) snuck in between air quality alert days. Like many people all over the country, my lungs struggle on good days enough as it is. Because of the smoke from wild fires, I stayed inside for days, feeling like a prisoner, only venturing out to a doctor’s appointment with a N95 mask on. Here’s a shot I got on the way to the clinic, and it was on one of the “better” days. My heart goes to all–so many–who are suffering directly from the fires all over North America, Europe, and beyond.
Last Saturday I had the joy of speaking at the Minocqua Public Library, and have never felt so spoiled as an author. Check out Library Director Kelly Raddatz and Adult Programming Director Brigette Anich holding cookies–YES! THOSE ARE COOKIES!–that they had made with a copy of the novel’s cover embedded in the icing. Brigette arranged that. OMG. Seriously. Plus the “simple” dog bone cookies, which were crazy good and a little like pouring pure sugar into your mouth.
The audience was great, and we all had a fun time talking books and dogs and more books. Truly, it was a great time.
Maggie and Skip had a great time too. We squeezed our drive up and back (Minocqua is in northern WI, we are in southern) before the latest heat dome from hell descended. We stayed at the Cobblestone in Rhinelander–a great place to stay with a dog. Lots of grass to sniff, run, and play on. Also, WI is blessed with some wonderful rest areas that have actual trails on which to walk your dogs. Both dogs seem to love road trips, and were all shiny-eyed much of the time.
Here they are at home, having brought the sheep down before the worst of heat and humidity to where they can lounge in the barn; it’s the coolest place on the farm. The lower part of the barn is half-underground, and Jim set up a fan for them). There’s nothing I can do to protect them, or any other animal, wild or domestic, who lives outside, from the smoke, so I think about them a lot.
There will be no sheep work now, you could fry an egg on our driveway. (I tried that once in Arizona. Yeah, you really can.). Please take care of yourself and your critters, it’s dangerous out there. And if you live where it is cool and dry, count your blessings!
Take care, friends, I hope you have lots of opportunities to experience joy in the next few weeks. “Talking” with you all is one of mine–thank you!!!
