Dog Trainer Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a dog trainer. Feel free to use our dog trainer job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a dog trainer.
Who is a Dog Trainer?
The great majority of dog trainers earn a career by providing classes and private sessions to pet-dog guardians. And the effectiveness of a dog’s training program is contingent on the human’s willingness to follow it. A dog trainer can teach the dog basic obedience or train it for specialized duties like search and rescue, hunting, law enforcement, working with livestock, therapy, entertainment, dog sports, protection, and detection.
Individualized training is utilized with dogs who have specific training issues, such as aggression, hyperactivity, fear, separation anxiety, incontinence, excessive barking, insecurity, destructive behaviors, and biting.
Dog training can be done in a variety of ways, each with its own set of benefits and drawbacks. The Koehler method, clicker training, dominance-based training, negative reinforcement, and relationship-based training are just a few of the more well-known canine training techniques. Knowing the animal’s features and personality, as well as appropriate reinforcement and/or punishment timing and consistent communication, are all typical elements of successful approaches.
The ability to handle and train dogs, interaction with the animal to understand behavioral signals and demands, and knowledge of the animal’s grooming and healthcare needs are just a few of the fundamental talents that all dog business experts should have.
Working with dogs also necessitates a set of personality attributes, such as patience, thoughtfulness, conscientiousness, and the ability to engage and communicate professionally with other dog industry professionals and dog owners. To grasp the features and requirements of various dog breeds, you must be interested in continuing education.
Special credentials and advanced education regarding dogs and their care are required for several dog vocations. In any employment with dogs, you must stay current on industry information and standards, healthcare advancements, and improved knowledge of canine training and care innovations.
Dog Trainer Job Description
Below are the dog trainer job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a dog trainer job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The duties and responsibilities of a dog trainer include the following:
- Client consultation to discuss behavioral issues and training requirements.
- Identifying and talking with clients about extra behavioral difficulties
- Creating and recording appropriate dog training plans.
- Using a variety of training strategies that are best suited to each dog’s personality and characteristics, teaching dogs to accept basic commands.
- Putting in place suitable training programs to address and manage issues like as aggression, separation anxiety, hyperactivity, and biting.
- Keeping the training areas clean and orderly.
- Teaching customers how to use proper training methods to reinforce and preserve the behaviors and skills that their dogs have gained throughout training sessions.
- Making contact with clients to plan training sessions, confirm bookings, and enquire about past-due payments.
- Identifying and resolving specific canine behavioral issues
- Training owners to learn excellent approaches.
- Reinforcing positive behavior in dogs and teaching them how to finish agility courses while training.
- Teaching dogs how to be certified assistants.
Qualifications
- Having a high school diploma or a General Educational Development (GED) certificate is required.
- It is advantageous to be certified by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT).
- A thorough understanding of dog training techniques as well as animal behavior and body language is required.
- Working as a dog trainer with a track record of success.
- Excellent organizational, time management, and problem-solving abilities.
- Dog-handling abilities are excellent.
- Communication abilities that are effective
- Be passionate about Dogs
- Patience and zeal
Essential Skills
- Patience and perseverance
Dog training frequently necessitates the completion of repetitious activities. It’s important to be patient with dogs as they learn so that they can practice the proper habits. Depending on the dog and the sort of behavior that needs to be learned, trainers may need to try various different training methods.
When it comes to training a dog, It takes a lot of effort. It takes time, patience, and the willingness to keep going even when a training session isn’t going as well as you’d like. People with low patience or persistence levels should avoid dog training as a career option.
- High Energy Levels, Strength, and Stamina
Dog training is a physically demanding profession. Long hours spent working with huge, energetic dogs who are prone to leaping up on humans or fleeing from the training area can be exhausting. Keeping up with energetic dogs demands a lot of physical stamina and long hours on your feet. You must be able to control and walk large dogs while on a leash.
- Excellent customer service abilities.
Customer service is often an important aspect of a dog trainer’s employment. Each dog trainer will take a slightly different approach to customer service, but good customer service often includes promptly responding to inquiries and emails. It could also entail resolving billing issues or issuing receipts for bills that have been paid. However, you don’t have to do everything yourself; if customer service isn’t your strong suit, you can hire someone to help you out.
- Reliability
As a dog trainer, you’ll need to develop, maintain, and stick to a training program that allows you to meet all of your obligations. Customers want to know that they can rely on you to show up for scheduled training sessions.
- Empathy and compassion.
You’ll need empathy for both the people and the dogs you’ll be working with as a dog trainer. Because both dogs and people can display annoying tendencies, training can be quite frustrating. A dog trainer must be able to put tensions aside and empathize with the animals and humans he or she is training.
- Entrepreneurship and Marketing Skills
Many dog trainers work for themselves. If you want to start your own dog training company, one of the most critical talents you’ll need is marketing, because obtaining new clients will be one of your top responsibilities. If you want to run a successful dog training business, you’ll need a regular stream of dogs to train. Entrepreneurial abilities, on the other hand, aren’t required for all dog trainers. Dog trainers work at animal shelters, kennels, veterinary clinics, and obedience schools, among other places. You may not need to be a great marketing or business management if you can work as an employee for another company. Such employment usually allows you to devote the majority of your time and energy to dog training.
- Proper Understanding of Positive Reinforcement Training Methods
When it comes to training a dog, positive reinforcement is more effective than punishment. When teaching a dog, you’ll need to know how to use positive reinforcement techniques like cookies, petting, and praise when necessary.
- Communication
When establishing training programs, a trainer can use nonverbal animal cues to help them overcome obstacles. It is critical to be able to interact with and comprehend the owner’s expectations. Dog trainers who work with dogs who are preparing to become service animals must have strong communication skills in order to comprehend the requirements.
- The ability to pick up new skills on the job
Dog trainers can get their education at a variety of vocational schools or through private training classes. Formal education, on the other hand, is not required for success in this field. Many animal care and service professionals learn on the job. Some dog trainers choose to enter their profession without having completed extensive professional training. Some of them gain experience by training their own dogs and the dogs of friends, then expanding their knowledge as they gain paying clients.
- Problem-solving
Dog trainers should be able to solve a wide range of issues, whether it’s a behavioral difficulty or a task inability. The dog trainer’s job is to identify the problem and then come up with a method to solve it.
- Confidence
The more self-assured you are, the more dogs will approach you. Clients will take note and are inclined to recommend you to others. You don’t want to brag about your abilities, but you do want to be able to sell them. Be confident in your abilities and assure current and prospective clients that you will complete the task.
- Understanding of a Dog’s Body Language and Behavioral Signs
Dogs use their tails, eyes, lips, teeth, and all other parts of their bodies to communicate. It is critical for dog trainers to be able to recognize nonverbal signs that dogs transmit.
A trainer, for example, must be able to notice indicators like as dilated pupils, which indicate when the dog they’re training is scared, agitated, or disturbed. A trainer must also be aware that a happy dog does not always have a wagging tail. A skilled trainer will be able to tell the difference between a joyful or excited tail wag and a disgruntled wag.
How to Become a Dog Trainer
- Finish your schooling.
The majority of dog trainers have a high school diploma or its equivalent. Consider acquiring a bachelor’s degree in animal sciences or animal behavior if you want to pursue a bachelor’s degree.
To become a dog trainer, there are no official schooling prerequisites. Most businesses, however, demand high school graduation or its equivalent. A degree in animal care or animal science may be required for certain prospective dog trainers. Rather than higher education, most businesses prefer applicants with experience working with animals and certification.
- Find out more about how to train a dog.
Dog training necessitates an understanding of animal behavior. Read books, attend seminars and workshops, and take behavior and obedience lessons to learn as much as you can about dog behavior and training approaches. If you have a dog, start by training it.
- Get some experience.
You’ll need to obtain experience when you’ve completed your own training. You’ll need expertise teaching other dog owners how to train their dogs, even if you’ve taught your own. Consider helping at a local animal shelter or rescue, or taking part in a dog-training apprenticeship.
Apprenticeships typically last six months to a year and offer you practical experience. As you gain experience and discover new ways of training, you’ll be able to interact more with clients and their pets with less or no supervision.
- Obtain certification in dog training.
While federal or state certificates aren’t required to work as a dog trainer, obtaining certification by an independent organization helps show employers and clients that you have the necessary knowledge and skills.
For those who desire to improve their credentials, many training institutions provide certification programs.
- Create a resume for a dog trainer that is effective.
You can start applying for dog training employment once you’ve completed your training and earned experience training dogs and their owners. Make sure you develop an excellent CV that showcases your expertise, talents, and qualifications if you want to catch employers’ attention and stand out from the crowd.
Where to Work
Although some may work for a head trainer or as part of a pet store’s obedience training program, the vast majority of dog trainers are self-employed. Animal shelters, veterinary clinics, and boarding kennels may all hire trainers. Trainers may provide group or private courses, as well as home visits. Obedience, behavioral modification, aggression management, therapy or service dog training, agility, show dog handling, puppy training, trick training, and a number of other fields are all areas where trainers can specialize. It’s also possible to specialize in working with specific breeds.
In the Military dog trainers are professional police officers who work with military working dogs on reconnaissance missions, bomb detection missions, and other missions requiring the assistance of a trained canine. Military police schools are where military dog trainers get their education. In order to work with dogs, potential handlers must first complete training and then pass a certification exam. It is also necessary to complete high school and enlist in the military.
Dog Trainer Salary Scale
Dog trainers can work full-time or part-time, and the business offers a wide range of job opportunities. A full-time dog trainer earns an average of $61,387 a year in the United States, with a median of $45,000. The average hourly salary for part-time trainers is just over $50 per hour. As a dog trainer, the experience can help you earn more money, but it’s not the most important thing. Dog trainers need to be well-educated. Those with a formal dog training qualification earned $64,800 on average per year, compared to $46,222 for those without.
A dog trainer in Nigeria earns roughly 263,000 NGN per month on average. Salaries range from 139,000 NGN to 400,000 NGN (lowest to highest) (highest).
This is the monthly average paid, which covers housing, transportation, and other benefits. Salary for dog trainers varies greatly depending on factors such as experience, skills, gender, and location.
