Any advice on becoming a dog trainer?

[Fenrir]

Hi, I’ve recently decided to follow my passion of becoming a dog trainer. I have done a lot of reading and practicing techniques on my own and friends dogs, is it recommended to complete and accredited course? Or is it possible just by gaining experience? Any advice would be great! Thanks

[persephone]

I would suggest you do a course or two - when starting a business , some accreditation always shows dedication and hard work  went into your 'title' .
Remember too - training the dogs is the EASY bit . What you need to become is an excellent human body language reader/communicator/problem solver - as it is the humans with whom you will be working the hardest . You will need to educate THEM  in what their dog is doing and why, and how to best manage it .
Just my 2 cents worth ;) Good luck with it all . 

[_PL_]

Accreditation.  

It's a completely unregulated industry full of people who make all sorts of claims about their talents, so having things like eg Delta Certification and membership to industry bodies goes a long way for both you and your potential clients.

[Dogsfevr]

What training history do you currently have 

what titles do your dogs have 

what clubs have you trained at or been a trainer with .

From years of being in the dog world qualifications are only as good as the wealth of knowledge and experience behind them .

 

I would pay for some people here who aren’t qualified but have trialled to the highest level,have worked with varying breeds ,had jobs in animal handling and “get” some dogs need more than what came out off a book .

There hands on experience,proven titles on there dogs and amazing ability to understand what makes that dog tick beyond some weekend qualifications .

 

I know someone who did one off the above courses and passed ,there dogs are fruit loops,they have no connection with dogs and ask me to help them on issues lol.

They where great at memory but not savvy with dogs .

 

There are far too many idiot trainers out there to be blunt 

 

Edited October 4, 2020 by Dogsfevr

[Gesund]

Contact national national dog trainers federation (NDTF). They're a good foot in the door to the industry and will equip you with the foundations that any dog trainer should know