Need Advice...
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
Need Advice...
I am very interested in pursuing a career in dog training. One day I would like to become a dog behaviorist. I have been reading a few training books, of course watching Victoria's show, and working with my own dogs--I have 4 rat terriers. I don't have a lot of money to go to school, but I feel that this is my dream job. Does anyone have any suggestions of how I could accomplish getting a career in this field? I am currently a manager at a grocery store and I absolutely hate it. I have owned dogs all of my life and I am very passionate about working with animals. I would like to work for shelters, training dogs, so that they are adoptable and wanted. I live in Southern Missouri, which here there are only kill shelters and we also have laws governing pitbulls. I would love to work to convince the city officials, that it should be the deed not the breed. Well now I am rambling....If anyone has advice or any sites I can check out, please let me know.
Brandii Breshears
Saving just one dog will not change the world.. but the world will surely change for that one dog.
Saving just one dog will not change the world.. but the world will surely change for that one dog.
I know a trainer in the USA managed to get herself a Mentor to learn dog training and behaviour, if you have a positive trainer near you, why not approach them and ask if you can help with the classes to learn.
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Those are great ambitions and no reason why you shouldn't become a really good dog trainer/behaviourist even if you might not be able to change the mindset of the dog-haters.
What I think would help - if you really hate your job, find one that pays well but you don't hate, and part-time if you can afford it. In your non-job time, explore as many different facets of the dog world that you can - grooming, vet work (a nice vet might let a keen person ride shotgun on some work), working dogs of all types, showing - everything. Take it all in - some stuff you hear will be nonsense but some will be good sense and ALL of it will be valuable in some way.
Go to lectures and seminars and training days and see as many different kinds of dog as you can. Read everything, watch TV dog trainers, see if you can observe actual dog trainers training. You'll get some 'no' but an awful lot of 'yes' as well.
You will find that the more you learn about dogs, the less you know This is a necessary process, because too many people set up as dog trainers when they have limited experience of most types of dog. Then they come way unstuck because they try to train one breed just like another, and it doesn't work.
This is a long apprenticeship, but has immense potential, much more than just doing one course with one professional body.
All the best with your ambitions.
What I think would help - if you really hate your job, find one that pays well but you don't hate, and part-time if you can afford it. In your non-job time, explore as many different facets of the dog world that you can - grooming, vet work (a nice vet might let a keen person ride shotgun on some work), working dogs of all types, showing - everything. Take it all in - some stuff you hear will be nonsense but some will be good sense and ALL of it will be valuable in some way.
Go to lectures and seminars and training days and see as many different kinds of dog as you can. Read everything, watch TV dog trainers, see if you can observe actual dog trainers training. You'll get some 'no' but an awful lot of 'yes' as well.
You will find that the more you learn about dogs, the less you know
This is a necessary process, because too many people set up as dog trainers when they have limited experience of most types of dog. Then they come way unstuck because they try to train one breed just like another, and it doesn't work.This is a long apprenticeship, but has immense potential, much more than just doing one course with one professional body.
All the best with your ambitions.
Which training books have you read? I just ordered ten books for myself from Amazon, and so far I'd recommend reading Dog Behavior by Ian Dunbar if you haven't already done so. Another good read is Rover, Get Off Her Leg! Silly title, yes, but full of common behavioral problems, and ways to correct them without harsh methods.
The thing I like about Amazon is that you can search for a subject you're interested in, and choose which things from that general topic you'd like to see more of. For example, I focus my searches on positive training books and behavior studies, and rule out anything that involves "dominant" and "alpha-rolling" approaches.
Also, don't just limit yourself to obedience training books. I purchased several books on how to teach hundreds of tricks to your dogs. You can use these to demonstrate just how smart someone's dog actually is.
Recently, I added some basic first-aid books to the list as well. After I saw last week's episode of Groomer Has It, I realized that they were right when they said that you need to be ready for anything, including an emergency.
If you're interested in seeing my Amazon wish list, as well as a list of books I already bought, I can pull them up for you later.
As for hands-on experience: is there an animal shelter near you? Ask and see if they need volunteers. My local shelter just called me this morning and asked if I was still available and interested in working with the dogs, and naturally, I'm very excited
This is the same path I'm taking, as I also have ambitions of training dogs someday. We all gotta stick together, y'know?
I'll be back with more later if you're interested, right now it's time to head down to the cafe
The thing I like about Amazon is that you can search for a subject you're interested in, and choose which things from that general topic you'd like to see more of. For example, I focus my searches on positive training books and behavior studies, and rule out anything that involves "dominant" and "alpha-rolling" approaches.
Also, don't just limit yourself to obedience training books. I purchased several books on how to teach hundreds of tricks to your dogs. You can use these to demonstrate just how smart someone's dog actually is.
Recently, I added some basic first-aid books to the list as well. After I saw last week's episode of Groomer Has It, I realized that they were right when they said that you need to be ready for anything, including an emergency.
If you're interested in seeing my Amazon wish list, as well as a list of books I already bought, I can pull them up for you later.
As for hands-on experience: is there an animal shelter near you? Ask and see if they need volunteers. My local shelter just called me this morning and asked if I was still available and interested in working with the dogs, and naturally, I'm very excited
This is the same path I'm taking, as I also have ambitions of training dogs someday. We all gotta stick together, y'know?
I'll be back with more later if you're interested, right now it's time to head down to the cafe
Can't be of much help out while on the subject of books, make sure you check some of these out: https://www.amazon.com/gp/flex/sign-in/select.html
