How to Become a Dog Trainer

Nearly 40 percent of all American households share life with a canine companion. Pet professionals like dog trainers and vet behaviorists are more needed than ever as our modern human society becomes increasingly difficult for four-legged friends to navigate. Unfortunately, reactivity, anxiety, and general stress from lack of proper enrichment are on the rise in domestic dogs.

If you’ve been thinking about pursuing a career as a dog trainer — maybe you fell in love with the idea while working your own pet dog through a training program for behavioral struggles or feel it’s a great way to turn your lifelong love for animals into a rewarding career — this guide is for you.

Here’s everything you need to know about becoming a professional dog trainer. Read on for what the profession entails, how to get hands-on experience, the importance of continuing education, and more!

Summary: Overview of how to become a dog trainer

There is no one-size-fits-all process to becoming a dog trainer. Many pet professionals get started on their career paths in different ways! That said, here are some general guidelines to follow if you’re new to the idea.

• Understand what being a dog trainer entails (spoiler: there’s a lot of people teaching involved, too!)
• Get some hands-on experience working with a variety of dogs to hone your training skills
• Dive into the latest understanding of dog training theory and animal behavior
• Find a trusted dog training mentor or training school, if possible
• Commit to continuing education
• Consider getting a training certification from a respected professional organization for force free training

Understand what being a dog trainer entails

Before you commit to becoming a dog trainer, it’s important you understand what you’re getting into. While every individual training business will have a different approach and serve their own unique clients, you should know a few core things.

Dog trainers work daily with dogs

This should come as no surprise. Dog trainers, of course, spend much of their time working with a variety of dogs! Pet professionals who also offer boarding services (many trainers watch their clients’ dogs when they go out of town or even offer board-and-train programs to kickstart the training process) on top of hosting classes or teaching individual private lessons invest even more of their waking hours into caring for their canine pupils.

This daily work directly with dogs can involve everything from:

• Active training sessions
• Socialization outings
• Monitoring playgroups
• Basic grooming and healthcare
• Cleaning kennels and dog supplies

Dog trainers also work closely with a variety of different people

Something that’s less well understood about dog trainers, though, is that they don’t only work with dogs. Many canine professionals get into the industry because they love animals… and are surprised to realize how much of their day is dedicated to communicating with the human end of the leash. In essence, dog trainers are service workers.

Depending on the types of services you decide to offer as a trainer, you might spend even more time interacting with pet parents than their actual dogs. This means it’s important you enjoy coaching people, too! (Deciding to become a dog trainer because you feel that “dogs are better than humans” probably isn’t a great idea. You need to be a people person too!)

Here are just a few of the ways dog trainers provide support to owners:

• Teaching key concepts during training classes so pet parents can complete homework and continue training on their own
• Offering constructive feedback in private lessons or remotely
• Customizing training plans to individual lifestyles and goals
• Processing emotions (especially when dogs struggle with behavioral issues that can put strain on human relationships)

There are several types of dog trainers

Aspiring dog trainers might choose to specialize in different things. While every professional dog trainer should understand basic learning theory and have some general practical skills (more on education later), there are multiple directions you can take your knowledge!

If you start your own business, you’ll be able to choose firsthand what clients you want to take on. If you join an existing franchise, you’ll have less control (but more support from your superiors).

For example, some professional dog training companies focus on:

• Puppy training and foundational skills
• Aggression and other behavior modification cases
• Dog sport training
• Service dog training
• And more

Dog training can be emotionally and physically draining

Dog training is an incredibly rewarding career. Many pet professionals can’t imagine doing anything else! Knowing you helped a client accomplish their goals is an amazing feeling — as a trainer, you have the opportunity to change both canine and human lives for the better.

It’s important to know that dog training isn’t all rainbows and competition ribbons and success stories, though. Depending on the type of dog training you decide to pursue, the profession can be grueling both emotionally and physically.

On the emotional side:

• Dog training can impact your social outings and work-life balance by having unusual hours or travel commitments (if you offer in-person lessons at client homes).
• Dog owners might place lofty expectations on trainers when in reality a dog’s success is a shared responsibility.
• Even when you do your best for every dog you work with, you won’t be able to control the outcome. So much depends on the owners and environment too.
• Dog trainers might be faced with severe behavioral cases they aren’t able to help and have to turn away.
• Behavioral euthanasia is sometimes the most humane option, and it’s a difficult conversation for everyone involved.

And on the physical side:

• Dog trainers spend a lot of the day on their feet. They run around, bend over, manage leashes and long lines, play with dogs who might be very strong, and more during hands-on training.
• Working with dogs, especially fear or aggression cases, always comes with the risk of being bitten. Proper knowledge and preventative steps can go a long way here! But it’s important to keep caution in mind.

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Get some hands-on training experience around different dogs

If dog training still sounds like an appealing career after understanding the commitment, it’s time to get your feet (or should we say paws) wet working with some four-legged students.

Train your own dog!

Training your own dog is a great first step for many aspiring dog trainers. You get to play the role of both trainer and owner, which helps you understand what it’s like to work with a pet you consider part of the family.

In fact, many professional dog trainers are in the industry because at some point they ended up with a challenging dog of their own — perhaps a fearful rescue who struggled with reactivity — and fell in love with the art and science of dog training as a result.

Note that training your own dog does not mean it’s appropriate to go out and call yourself a dog trainer. It does mean you’re one step closer to working with other dogs and owners!

And if you don’t have a dog of your own right now? Don’t fret. That doesn’t preclude you from becoming a dog trainer if you’re passionate about the career. There are many lifestyle variables that might mean it’s not the best choice to open your own home right now — but you could still be able to offer your services to other clients.

Offer to help your family and friends with their dogs

A logical next step after working with your own dog (or if you don’t have a dog of your own to practice with) is to reach out to family and friends to see if they need help with their own pets. This will expose you to a greater range of behavior and environments in a causal, low-stress way.

Make sure to be transparent with your connections that you’re not an established professional yet. Don’t hesitate to reach out to a more experienced trainer if you encounter any behavioral cases!

Some ways to get started interacting with more dogs include:

• Offer to walk your neighbors’ dogs
• Start pet sitting on the side
• Help your family choose a behavior to work on with their dog (maybe they need help with mild leash pulling or refining recall) and help them teach it

Volunteer to work with dogs at your local shelter

Volunteering at your local shelter can be a great way to encounter even more different dogs — and make a difference to pets in need as you continue to grow your skills. Different humane societies and animal shelters have different requirements, so check with your nearby organizations for next steps.

Remember that shelters can be stressful environments for both the dogs and the humans involved. Make sure to attend any recommended courses, follow directions closely, and defer to staff. This is a great way to get valuable experience. As time goes on, you’ll be able to make more of an impact and provide experienced advice.

Dive into dog training theory (and stay up to date with continuing education)

At the same time you’re getting hands-on experience with different dogs, you should be investing in your conceptual education, too. Theory and practice go hand in hand! Neither works without the other in a profession like dog training that is a mixture of both art and science.

Some ways to grow your knowledge about dogs:

• Attend seminars hosted by well-regarded professional trainers
• Subscribe to online content provided by a reputable force free organization
• Consider going to a professional trainer’s dog training school, like the Karen Pryor Academy
• Learn how to analyze scientific studies about dog training methods
• Read books written by established dog trainers, ethologists, and other canine professionals

Dog training theory is complex. (We’ve summed up some initial concepts in this article.) Here are a few things to look for as you start consuming content and learning training techniques:

• Look for certified dog training professionals with years of experience (more on certification below)
• Be wary of anyone who talks about dominating dogs, using force, or depriving them of their basic needs like food and social interaction
• Understand that we can’t expect dogs to automatically understand our social norms (“good” and “bad” behavior are subjective)
• This list of resources can be a helpful place to start!

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Consider getting certified as a professional dog trainer

You technically don’t need any sort of formal education or certification to call yourself a dog trainer in the United States. That said: It’s absolutely a good idea to pursue a well-regarded program! The science of animal behavior is complex and needs to be taken seriously.

While the dog training industry isn’t regulated, the top successful dog trainers take their education seriously and want to help owners make sense of the confusing landscape. Completing a certification can be a great test of your skills — letting you know you’re ready to offer your services to other owners in good faith — and it can make your expertise clear to potential clients.

Here are a few options for certification, membership, and training courses for force free trainers:

• Academy for Dog Trainers
• Association of Professional Dog Trainers
• Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers
• International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants
• Karen Pryor Academy
• Victoria Stilwell Academy

See if any trainers near you are looking for part-time employees or apprentices

One way to set yourself up for success as a dog trainer is to apprentice under someone who is an expert at the craft. An owner or employee of a dog training company will be able to guide you through all aspects of training dogs professionally — from actual nitty-gritty training concepts, to different types of services and pricing, to setting up your own business, and more.

Some dog trainers offer specific mentorship programs where they take on anywhere from one to several students at a time. Other relationships happen more organically, like when a long-time attendee of a trainer’s classes expresses an interest in joining the profession, too. You can also consider looking for part-time jobs to get your foot in the door.

This is a great next step once you’ve obtained knowledge about learning theory, dog body language, and training mechanics.

Trainer Review of this Article

There is so much misinformation out there, we want to make sure we only provide the highest quality information to our community. We have all of our articles reviewed by qualified, positive-only trainers.  

This is the trainer that reviewed this article:

Emily Fitzpatrick
VSA-CDT
Owner and Head Trainer | Misunderstood Mutt

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