How important are past or current client relationships(or confidentiality) to you?

[release the hounds]

Originally Posted by Airn

I am very hesitant to get a trainer since I am a newbie. I want to train my dog, but I want to do it in a 'good' way and I feel like I might get pushed around because of my lack of knowledge. (Especially in the herding world.)

Anyway, no you're not alone!

A couple words of advice, LEAVE YOUR DOG AT HOME! go to training, meet trainers, watch people train, watch their dogs work, talk dogs, talk training, eat and talk training, go watch more people train, go to a seminar, watch the pro give instruction and work on other people's dogs, then after you see what you like and don't like, then let some one put their hands on you and your dog.

Dog training is about relationships and not just the one between you and your dog, especially starting out. some of us get lucky, some start out very unlucky, but if you put in your time, without your dog, you're much less likely to be taken for a ride.