If you have a love for dogs, enjoy working with them, and would like to find a new career, maybe you should look into becoming a dog trainer. To be serious about this, you need to find a certified dog trainer school. As you check out a few, you should consider the type of dog trainer you would like to be. Ask each training academy which courses they teach as this may help you decide what you want to do. While it is possible to learn all the different training objectives, you should start with a few and add more to your repertoire as you gain confidence and experience. Here are just a few options to consider. 

Behavior Training

All dog trainers should know how to train dogs with behavior issues. This is more than using rewards for good behavior and punishment for bad behavior. You need to learn how to identify the root of the problems. Quite often this will involve conversations and questions with the dog owner. Often dogs give clues as to why they are behaving a certain way, it will be up to you to read the clues and come up with a solution.

Obedience Training

Obedience training goes a step further than solving behavior problems but can also go hand-in-hand with it. A dog needs to know it must obey its owner's commands. Not to form a better relationship between them but also for safety issues. If an owner yells for a dog to stop or sit, it could be to keep them from getting hit by a car or other dangerous situation.

Protection Training

Many people want their dog to provide some type of protection. This could be as simple as alerting the owners to anyone on the property or perhaps they want a dog that is safe around people but will attack if commanded to do so or the situation requires it. This protection can be for the property, people, or other animals. 

Service Dog Training

A true service dog has had a lot of training. Depending on what they are being trained to do, it can take years. If you decide you want to train service dogs, be prepared for a lot of training yourself. However, this type of work can be very rewarding when you place the dog with its new owner.

While you may have been able to train your own dogs, training dogs for other people is not going to be the same. Enroll in a certified dog trainer school and get started on a new career working with the animals you love.

Contact a local certified dog trainer school to learn more. 

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