There is a very correct saying that says Choose a job that you like and you won’t have to work a day of your life. This means that when you choose a job that you are comfortable with and enjoy exercising, it will not be a job but a hobby.
Being a dog trainer is the dream of all of us who love the canine world, being able to work doing what we like is simply fantastic. That’s why we are going to explain everything you need to know about dog training techniques.
Do you know César Millán? He is possibly the most famous dog handler on the planet. From Dogsis we explain everything you need to know about the world of training.
It will interest you: How to Educate a Dog with Positive Reinforcement
Index of contents
- 1 What is a Canine Trainer?
- 2 How to be a professional dog trainer
- 3 What kind of dogs do dog trainers go to?
- 4 Tips for Being a Good Dog Trainer
What is a Canine Trainer?
A dog handler is the person in charge of educating and training dogs that need help. Many people educate and train their dogs privately, but they do not always do well and this leads to behavioral problems.
A canine trainer must be able to identify these problems and solve them, so that both the dog and its owner can enjoy a quiet life without accidents or stress due to problems with bad behavior.
Dog educators are not only dedicated to helping dogs that are aggressive or need to learn tracking or defense techniques, but they also help dogs with their simpler and more common problems, such as:
- Teach a dog to walk without pulling on the leash.
- Teach a dog to relieve itself outside the home.
- Teach a dog not to be anxious or nervous, to be a calm dog.
- Teach a dog to respect other dogs, humans and animals.
- And a long etc … of non-serious behavior problems but that need solution.
Imagine for a moment that you are a home dog trainer or that you have your own training center, you would be surrounded by dogs all day helping them to improve, and you would also charge for it. Isn’t that the ideal job?
How to be a professional dog trainer
There are dozens of dog training books in addition to hundreds of television programs where we can learn the best training techniques from the hands of great professionals.
However, it is necessary to take a dog trainer course in an approved center to have a certificate that accredits us as a professional dog trainer. Otherwise we would simply be amateurs who cannot practice professionally.
The price that a dog trainer charges for his work is proportional to his knowledge and fame, the best trainers charge much more than the average, so it is important to acquire knowledge and experience in the canine sector.
By doing our job well in dog training we will quickly gain fame thanks to word of mouth, that will guarantee us permanent work and a good source of income, to be able to live doing the job we like.
Dog trainers courses are taught in centers approved by professional trainers, so we will not only acquire theoretical classes where we can learn the best techniques for dog education, but we will also practice with dogs, learning directly how we should act to correct their behaviors or teach them new functions.
What kind of dogs do dog trainers go to?
There are many kinds of dogs that come to hire the services of a dog trainer, from very small breed dogs that usually have a short temper and that causes problems for large dogs that need to be obedient by pure logic.
Generally a canine handler will work with hunting dogs, puppies needing education, large dogs, dogs classified as potentially dangerous, and dogs with specific behavior problems.
The price of each training session varies depending on the job the dog needs, teaching a dog to relieve itself outside the home is not the same as teaching a dog to defend its owner on command.
If you want to know how to be the best dog trainer in your area, we recommend that in addition to giving a dog education course and obtaining your license, you study a bit about dog ethology, which is the field that studies behavior problems in dogs.
The best canine trainer is only the one that teaches a dog to do what the owner has requested, but is also capable of solving behavior problems based on the experiences of the dog itself.
This means that we can teach a dog not to pull on the leash, but it would be much better to know what is the reason why the dog has anxiety and pulls on the leash, since solving the initial anxiety problem we will also solve an endless number of derived problems.
Tips for Being a Good Dog Trainer
Obviously training is totally necessary to know how to perform the profession of dog trainer, so the more courses and practices you take, the greater your experience and with it your skills as a trainer.
Remember that you must be passionate about the canine world to be a good trainer, otherwise it will not be more than another job in which you only want to end your day to go to rest.
Always use positive reinforcement in your classes and sessions as a dog educator, remember that you should never punish or mistreat a dog, use the best canine training techniques. With positive reinforcement, all behavior problems in dogs can be solved.
Socialize the dogs you treat well, socialization problems are the ones that cause the greatest number of behavioral problems. Because the owners have not known how to socialize their dogs well.
Patience and perseverance are your best allies, remember never to lose your nerves because dogs can detect your state of nervousness or frustration and then they will never learn.
Observe and meditate, since many behavior problems are due to a bad education on the part of the owners. By observing how owners act, we will often learn where the problem is.