How to become a dog trainer

[Anonymous]

I get many e-mails asking about becoming a dog trainer, where to be taught, what qualifications and where to get insurance to do such a thing.  I have my sections on finding a pup/dog and Poodle cross breeds, but do not have anything I can really put here.

If you would like to give your advice about becoming a dog trainer here I will collate it together and hopefully be able to help others.

Cheers

[justpetdogs]

First, train your dog.

Second, get loads of experience training and handling other breeds, types & ages of dog

Third, do the Foundation Degree in Canine Behaviour & Training at Bishop Burton College  ;D (me…plugging…never! ;))

Marion

[Anonymous]

I am still stuck on the first one, hence I find it hard to reply to these enquiries.

[Anonymous]

Aww – bless u !

I reccommend doing some reading – Gwen Bailey  & John Fisher for starters and then trying the techniques out on your dog.  Go along to as many dog clubs as you can find (without your dog) and see what methods you like / agree with / etc… 

Find a good club (easier said than done 4 me !!) and that will help alot.

Go to dog shows, volunteer to walk rescue dogs, erm… help at a grooming place … get out there and experience dogs 🙂  all of them !!!!!  😀

Also .. get on the best course you can with the best people in your field.

Claire 🙂

[Anonymous]

get experience of all sorts of dogs BIG little (and in the middle) hairy and not so hairy brown black white even green (ok its a white dog with grass stains)

[approbatis]

HI ADMIN
HAVE YOU NOT HEARD OF
A.D.T.B
PRICIPLE JENNI WATSON
IF YOU LOOK ON MY SITE HAPPY HOUNDS
YOU WILL FIND THE LINK TO THE ACADEMY OF DOG TRAINING AND BEHAVIOUR
THIS IS A GREAT SITE AND COURSE

I HAVE JUST BECOME A GOLD LEVEL INSTRUCTOR
FOR
PET DOG OBEDIENCE TRAINING
MY SITE IS

http://beehive.thisishull.co.uk/happyhounds/

hope this helps

[Anonymous]

Hiya,

I just wanted to say I’d not heard of them – only APDT and APDC.  I’ve looked at your site appro, and it looks all nice kind methods and stuff – definately something i’d reccommend a “newbie” looking into alongside the first 2 i mention.

Also, I think even seeing the different breeds in the flesh helps you appreciate them, see if you can get to some dog shows with breed classes and just experience the look of different dogs.  If you love dogs, it should be a nice day too !

Lastly, definately train your own dog 🙂  I found out recently that the person taking a training class I attended (and whose dog is obedient) has simply trained obedience and the dog is actually no good with other dogs etc…  along with other issues, its put me off.  I dont like dogs to be puppets – i like some dog left in them if you get me ?

Claire 🙂

[kittykatt]

great info, I am looking into this as well.. but rather would like to be mainly for one breed.

[Anonymous]

Hi,

Thats OK – would it be GSD’s ?  if so there are a few trainers I know who only work with GSD and BSD dogs.  There’s still a good variety in the breed, you can go along to breed classes and have a look at Am / Ger / UK lines and how they differ.  GilliananHarry sent me something recently about them i’ll dig it out for you as its really interesting reading.

Claire x

here we are  http://www.dogstuff.info/gsd_balance.html

personally – i prefer the “herding look” with a straighter topline than the slanty show thing 🙂

[kittykatt]

Yes it would be GSD, I have personally experience about 15 years of them, but those have been in Sweden.
I would direct me to the UK lines though as I live there.

Thank you for the link and I will have a read 🙂

[Anonymous]

Hiya,

I’m in the UK aswell 🙂

We have UK lines obviously, but they are inter-bred with German and US lines so you’ll probably see a mixture over here.

The UK seem to have the awful problem that dogs with bad hips are being bred in as a result of non-tested / non-scored matings so be prepared for your fair share of HD/ED dogs. 

As a breed I find them gentle and sensitive but alot of people, even dog owners fear them so they can struggle in general classes because they pick up the worries and fears of other owners who dont understand the breed.

Good on you for working with the breed – in the UK they have alot of predudice (sp?) along with rotties and dobies.  People look, see them breed and think they’ll bite me.

Claire.

[Anonymous]

Yes I can second that Claire! The amount of people who cross the road when they see Barney is unbelievable!

We can clear a path in seconds  ;D

[azzures26]

I own a 2yo hybrid (65% arctic wolf, 35% malamute), and I have been trying to search online for information on hybrids as family dogs. So far all I’ve managed to find is a bunch of websites yelling at people like me for owning a hybrid in the first place, lol. According to them, hybrids make horrible pets, even dangerous ones. Which couldnt be further from the truth about my dog. He is a great family dog, and treats my 2 kids, all kids, as if they were his. Then again, he is also a house dog, and shivers outside if the temp drops under 60, lol.
I am trying to find an informational site on dealing with training and health maintainence of a hybrid. I learned pretty quickly that techniques used on a dog absolutely do not work on my dog. If anyone knows of any websites, or even has knowledge of living with and training such an independent and different thinking dog, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanx!

[Anonymous]

i just wanna say – wow can we see a pic 🙂

[kittykatt]

[quote author=piglet link=topic=965.msg10869#msg10869 date=1122464897]
Hiya,

I’m in the UK aswell 🙂

We have UK lines obviously, but they are inter-bred with German and US lines so you’ll probably see a mixture over here.

The UK seem to have the awful problem that dogs with bad hips are being bred in as a result of non-tested / non-scored matings so be prepared for your fair share of HD/ED dogs. 

As a breed I find them gentle and sensitive but alot of people, even dog owners fear them so they can struggle in general classes because they pick up the worries and fears of other owners who dont understand the breed.

Good on you for working with the breed – in the UK they have alot of predudice (sp?) along with rotties and dobies.  People look, see them breed and think they’ll bite me.

Claire.
[/quote]

Thank you claire.
I am looking into more of this.. I have thought about (when having a house off course LMAO) to import a GSD from Sweden, maybe not for Show, but for tracking.
But still thinking about it.
I would never ever breed a GSD if there were a sign of bad HD/ED in them, or if the temp was not up to standard.
And to be honest i dont think I would breed at all, but never say never lol.

[Author]

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