Being a dog trainer is an incredibly rewarding job, but in order for it to be so, you need to be a dog person, obviously, but also a people person. Why a people person, you might wonder? Well, even though the focus of a dog trainer is to train dogs, their secondary focus is teaching people how to give commands to their own dogs. However, even if you think that you can be a good dog trainer by merely owning and training your own dog, you’re not completely right. There is still a lot of work for you to do. For starters, you need to teach your own dog a few tricks as well as practice with other dogs. Not all dogs are the same and hence, they have different characteristics and different learning and teaching approaches work for them – similarly to people. Besides this, you also need to educate yourself and take some courses to earn certification. These courses do teach you a lot of useful things. And finally, your job as a dog trainer also implies teaching people how to train their dogs. Read more about how to become a dog trainer.
Train your own dog
The first step in becoming a dog trainer is training your own dog. Start with some basics such as ‘sit’ and ‘down’ and work your way slowly to more elaborate ones such as staying put, with some distractions around. Also, consider taking up a sport with your dog, where you will be able to see more clearly other crucial aspects of training including timing, placing rewards as well as the rate of reinforcement. In this way, you will be able to modify any behaviours that you notice. This kind of practice is good for you as you never know what kinds of problems can your future clients ask you to fix. So, the more you practice your dog, the more experience you’ll have in this field, and who knows, some knowledge can even help you in the future.
Practice with other dogs
As already mentioned, training your own dog is a valuable experience, however, you mustn’t forget that your dog loves you and is attached to you. Practicing with other dogs is different as you get to see distinct dog personalities and learn how to approach them in the right way. You can ask your friends or family to teach their dogs some skills. If this isn’t an option, you can always go to a dog shelter and ask them if you could work with their dogs. And yet another useful idea is to practice with an experienced dog trainer as they can share some insight and advice with you.
Take some courses
Taking some dog training courses is also a crucial aspect of becoming a good dog trainer. You can learn so much from these courses. Plus, you can also get a certification after taking some of them. Joining some organizations is usually also very helpful as it shows your clients that you are serious. Moreover, by becoming a member of such organizations, you will get access to all kinds of useful courses and materials that can be quite beneficial for your career. Also, it will keep you updated about the new advancements, approaches and achievements in the field of dog training.
Keep on educating yourself
Even with some courses that you’ve completed and the certification you’ve earned, your learning doesn’t end there, keep that in your mind. You should always work on improving yourself and advancing your skills as well as technique. You should learn all about classical conditioning in order to be able to apply it and solve your potential client’s problems.
Teach people to train their dogs
Last but not the least, teaching people to train their dogs is also a crucial aspect of a dog training job. You need to know how to teach people to train their own dogs. You should be able to motivate your clients, model their abilities as well as support their successes.
So, as you can see, becoming a good dog trainer requires some serious effort on your side as well as constant learning and will to be even better than before.