I want to Become a Dog Trainer, What Should I Look For When Picking a School?

It's hard to know what to look for when choosing a school to become a professional dog trainer. Here are a few of the things that I think are important to consider before choosing your professional dog trainer school:

1. Does the professional dog trainer school provide verifiable, science-based education in learning theory, ethology, and animal husbandry rather than "personal recipe" or myth-based training
2. Will the professional dog trainer school teach me methods I feel comfortable applying or will they teach me force-based methods that I may not comfortable using?
   
3. Will the professional dog training school allow me to speak one-on-one with my instructors or will all of my learning take place in books and online without any personal attention?
4. Does the program at the professional dog training school include the opportunity for hands-on work such as an apprenticeship and if so, will this hands on work actually be sufficient to prepare me for the work that I want to do?
5. Are the instructors at the professional dog trainer school certified professional dog trainers with the experience and knowledge to teach others?
6. Will the professional dog training program give me all of the information and tools I will need to prepare for the certified professional dog trainers' examination?

There are a lot of things to consider when looking for a professional dog trainer school but following the above tips and asking a lot of questions before making your decision will serve you well!

Susan Smith, Raising Canine