How we score dog trainers
The Bark Score is our independent rating for dog trainers and behaviour professionals. It’s built to help you find trainers who are trustworthy, ethical and skilled, not just the most reviewed.
It uses information we can check, not just opinions, and nobody can pay for a higher score.
The four things we measure
Each is scored from 0 to 5.
- 30%
Reputation
Public reputation from Google Business Profiles: the average star rating, weighted by how many reviews there are.
- 40%
Ethics
How the trainer trains. Force-free and positive reinforcement score highest. “Balanced” is neutral. E-collar-centric approaches score low.
- 25%
Credentials
Recognised credentials such as CPDT-KA, KPA-CTP, IAABC or IMDT raise this score a lot. Any credential we can verify helps.
- 5%
Service breadth
The range of programmes and specialisms offered, such as puppy classes, reactivity, service and therapy work, recall and lead skills.
The calculation
Bark Score = 0.30 × Reputation + 0.40 × Ethics + 0.25 × Credentials + 0.05 × Service breadth
Tiers
The final score maps to a public tier, shown on every profile.
- 4.75 to 5.00
- Platinum Certified Trainer
- 4.25 to 4.74
- Gold Rated Trainer
- 3.75 to 4.24
- Silver Rated Trainer
- 3.00 to 3.74
- Listed Trainer
- Below 3.00
- Listed with limited data
Training methods
Every trainer is listed, and every listing says how they train.
- Force-free
- Rewards and positive reinforcement, no aversive tools.
- Balanced
- Rewards combined with corrections.
- E-collar-centric
- Training built around an electronic collar.
- Not stated
- We couldn’t verify how they train yet.
What doesn’t count
Member recommendations and forum answers appear next to the score on every profile, but they don’t change it. Reputation comes from public sources and is used only as a number.
Money never counts. Nobody can pay for a higher score.
Updates and corrections
We review the model from time to time. Trainers can send us updates or credentials to verify, and verified changes show up in their scores straight away.
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