D'Elle Posted January 20, 2005 Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 Ok, I don't know if anyone here would have any comments on this or not. But today I interviewed for a job as a dog trainer with a company that is just starting up here. I have trained all of my own dogs in obedience and also taught them to do many other fancy and not-so-fancy things, and I have, over the years, trained many other dogs for other people, just in basic first-level obedience. My experience comes from several classes taken, working with my own dog and others, and having read a fair bit on training - techniques that I agree with and those I do not. I think I am good at training a dog in the most simple basic obedience that most people with pets would want. And I am poretty good at dealing with most basic behavior problems, as long as the dog is not seriously psychotic and not vicious. I have never competed in obedience, nor wanted to. I have never placed an ad for my services or attempted to get people to pay me to train their dogs; people have always approached me, often when they see me with my dog in public. Often I have helped people train their dogs for free; occasionally they have paid me. I never thought to work for a training company. I would love have a job in which I get sent to people's homes to help them train their dogs. It sounds great. However, I know nothing of this kind of business, and so am wondering if there is anything that I should watch out for, or be cautious about, in taking this job. Anything I should know in advance about the company? Has anyone here had experience with this kind of thing? I am interested in any words of advice, warning, or wisdom that anyone has. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miztiki Posted January 20, 2005 Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 I'm afraid I have no advice for you, but I am extremely interested in following this new path you are taking, so please keep us (or at least me) updated. I always felt that I had a way with dogs, and my dogs were very well trained by my own hand. I've helped people teach their dogs basic obedience and I've often thought how much I would enjoy something like you just described, but never had a clue how to start or what "credentials" one would need. I wish you the very best in your new endeavors! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenfitzh20 Posted January 20, 2005 Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 Keep in mind that training dogs and training HUMANS are 2 totally different things. If you are expected to just train the dog (pointless) then you'll probaby be just fine. However, if like most places, you are training the "owners" to train their dog, then you really need to have some experience with that. Take my word, its much MUCH easier to train a dog . My advice is to apprentice with someone for a month or 2. Also keep in mind that if you are used to training border collies...prepare yourself for those other breeds...like BEAGLES :eek: Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanna in OR Posted January 20, 2005 Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 Good luck with your possible new career! I've gotten into training so much with Tenaya and Willow and it's occurred to me that dog training could be fun, too, but I have a long way to go in gaining experience. I read a book a few months ago "So you want to be a dog trainer" by Nicole Wilde. It opened my eyes a little bit--it's really about training people to train their dogs, not training dogs themselves. Amazon has this book and another one that I haven't read, but might be useful--"It's not the dogs, it's the people! A dog trainer's guide to training humans". You might also want to check out the website of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT). http://www.apdt.com/ they have a section on "becoming a dog trainer" that could be useful. Good luck! Deanna in OR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Elle Posted January 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 Yes, it appears that I will really be training the human more than the dogs.......but of course that is par for the course, anyway. And you are right, it is much easier to train dogs!! Still, I think that if I am offered the job I will give it a try. The hardest part may be remembering to be as patient with the human beings as I am with the dogs. For some reason it is so much easier to be patient with dogs!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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