Dog Trainer

Do's & Don'ts of Being A Dog Trainer
Being a dog trainer isn't easy! You might find it frustrating to stop a dog from jumping up. Even if you were on a dog walking job, training tasks are must in this pet job as well. However, once you are successful in this part, you've at least earned useful pet job benefits.

You should take the following steps on board before getting involved in the industry while doing a pet job.

DO'S:

• Have a love for dogs! This is probably the most obviously point to have when starting out as a dog trainer. There is no point in you becoming a trainer if you can't stand the animals; I mean what's the point? By being a dog lover you will have gone a long way in already assuming the role of a dog trainer and that is no doubt why you have chosen to become one in the first place! Keep your mind focussed on the task at hand and soon you will be working around your beloved dogs in no time!
• Like all breeds of dogs! You may have experience in owning one or two different breeds throughout your lifetime but professional dog trainers need to be capable of training all varieties of dog breeds from big to small, boy to girl. If you don't have experience around other breeds of dogs then do your research, go places where other breeds frequent and spend time with them as much as possible. Different dogs react differently to commands and you should always be aware of this. You can become a specific breed trainer if need be but you will find your services will not be in as much demand if you were a generic breed trainer. Pet jobs will be limited.
• Do your research! This is essential, as you will no doubt be faced with numerous situations in which your clients want you to train dogs in all different manners, so you should be ready for this before you start out as a proper dog trainer. You can always test how good you are at training dogs that you own or even training your friends or families dogs too. Persistence and patience is always key, as with any new job.
• Do training courses! You can always find out from your local TAFE institutions what are available, and if nothing is available through them then why not contact a dog training school to see what they offer? There is no harm in asking questions and the more you ask the more you will know about animal care in the long run!

DON'TS

• Don't go into becoming a dog trainer if you are allergic or scared of dogs! Think about the industry and look at the first word of your position title: DOG trainer. You wouldn't become a pilot if you were scared of flying would you? The same goes with being allergic to dogs. You can easily get medication to fix this but if it becomes too much of a hassle then definitely reconsider your career choice.
• Don't assume business will boom straight away. Chances are if you start off by yourself and don't work for a well established dog training company, business will be slow until you can gain a reputation for your services while performing at the pet care jobs. Generally the more established trainers will get the bulk of the business until you achieve a reputation so always keep this in mind. A good idea is to potentially start out working for an established trainer to gain the experience and reputation before going out on your own.
• Don't ever train a dog a trick that you know you can't teach it! Practice always makes perfect so train a potentially new trick on your own dog or another dog before doing it on a client. Never lie to a client and tell them you can teach a trick if you can't.
• Don't ever make a promise you can't keep! If you think it will take 5 sessions to teach a dog a certain trick, then tell them! Don't say it will take 10 to make extra money as that is of course lying and if you get found out you could face a lot of trouble. Be honest and up front and you will soon find that you will gain a bigger clientele

Take this advice on board to become a better dog trainer! We have a list of tips and articles on pet jobs. You can branch off to other related pet sitter's tasks, such as job of a dog sitter, dog walking job, and job of a dog rescuer.