I’ve been trying to find a school where I can get some sort of certification on dog training, so that I can establish myself as a dog trainer in my country, with some degree of peace of mind and legitimacy.
The profession is essentially unregulated here, with a single option to obtain true certification which is by our national authority for veterinary services, where I am put through an exam supervised by specialists of our national police in dog handling, and this accreditation is specifically to accredit professional for the training of potentially dangerous breeds and animals declared as such. It is a mandatory no coercive force exam where martingales, chokers, pronged and e-collars are simple banned; the bar is very high and many fail it.
Although I want to achieve this, it is a very long journey and a very expensive one so I would like to achieve some sort of formal schooling besides all the material and practice I’m putting in. I’ve been volunteering hours at local shelters to get a wide range of experience with different dogs and helping dogs when and where I can but I want to move myself into a more professional setting. I will never make a full career ot of it but my objective is just to have fun and if possible make some extra money.
All schools I have found are extremely expensive and usually demand full payment up front. I simply do not have 3/5/+k to put down towards a course. I had found a school where I could enrol course by course but that school is due to shut down by this December.
Are there any schools I can check out? I’m in Europe.
Thanks in advance.
Rule 5. Locking.
I think you are barking up the wrong tree.
For an unregulated profession, it’s just about your ability to network with the right people and/or market yourself. A credential is helpful because people are stupid, but any credential is as good as another–reading books and passing exams is no evidence of your ability to train animals.
I’d start calling around with dog trainers and see if they need help with training or have any suggestions. If there are any animal-related jobs you can take, at doggy day care, in a vet clinic, at a pet food store, dog grooming, get a job there and start networking.
Woof!
The “right people” is the kind of people I want to detach myself from. The few people that designate themselves as trainers in my country, with a public front, either hide behind social media walls (creates a lot of disinformation and unrealistic expectations) and never show face or are entrenched in a cult like system (running dog centers/hotels) where the dog is trained by the staff, without the participation or suoervision of the dogs human family.
People like me, with a job, that want to do this to have fun and help people and their dogs are close to non existant and all very far away from me.
Dog daycare is not a thing here; a few on the larger cities, perhaps, and far away. Veterinary clinic work is reserved for people with formal education; even vet assistant is a higher education profession, below vet nursing and, obviously, veterinarian medicine. Groomers can access it but it is not something I’m very interested in, at least not now. I have thought about starting my own pet store but the upfront costs are high.
Is there a dog park? Anywhere where people congregate? A place you could put up a flyer saying, “Dog Training” with your phone number? I feel like you’re finding ways to avoid that initial leap, finding things that have to happen before you do that.
British College of Canine Studies does a diploma level program on line. Teaches dog psychology and training
I’ve just checked it and it seems to be a good fit for what I want.
Thank you very much.
I used to work in an adjacent field, and what got me interest was demonstrable skills, background at a vet clinic, and lots of animal rescue work.
Expensive certification courses are a scam, IMO.
When you discuss potential clients’ needs with them, how you approach that, and how trustworthy you seem, will determine whether people move from being interested to actually hiring you.
Vet clinic work is off the table. I can’t work or even volunteer as an aid in one unless I have formal trainning in veterinary background, if not at least as a dog groomer, which has some degree of official recognition. And as someone who has cared dogs for near 20 years, I trust less and less on the animal handling skills being taught to professionals. Somewhere, somehow, it changed from being a proactive, measured, case by case situation, to a by default view that all animals are dangerous. The first vet that received a dog of mine had a calm, confident, posture. It inspired trust. Nowadays, the sense of insecurity is palpable in new vets and vet nurses.
Whatever skill I akready own comes from my experience as someone that is fond of large work type dogs when most just want dogs to be seen and small in size to easy to handle and easier to mistreat with little to no consequence. And I don’t see it in any way as enough. Thus, searching for what I am.
Regarding rescue/shelter work I have given hours at my municipal shelter. Private shelters are very rare and the only one in existance near me requires the type of certification I’m looking for.
