Vantage
Well-Known Member
Is anyone here actually an active Dog Trainer or Behaviourist? Did you "self-study" or did you actually attend a dog training "school" or academy?
I know the basics of dog training, and continue to read books and educate myself. However, I want to work with dogs, I want to train dogs, and I am wondering if it would be worth the (possibly huge -4figure) price tag to attend a Dog Trainer-Training Class/Course? Or if I would be better off continuing to self-study (through Books and DVDs), and offer to work with other's dogs and at shelters and go that route?
If you have attended a school, where did you attend and did you find it worth your time and money doing so? I was looking at a Local Training Academy (who has a training facility that works with all dogs, including working and sporting dogs, IPO, Agility, Etc.). I also checked out Karen Pryor's Academy and a few others online. There CPDT, where you just study and take the test? I'm really not quite sure how to go about this right now?
I know I can easily train a "blank slate" (A Puppy) who knows nothing (or even retrain a dog), through Positive Reinforcement and Clicker Training, the basic training commands (Sit, Down, Come, Heel, Watch Me, etc.) As well as teach thresholds, housing-breaking, etc. So should I just offer to train peoples dogs for free or cheap to get experience and/or volunteer at shelters? Or should I first go down the road that is a training school?
(There is no reason I can not go to a school and volunteer at a shelter, but I'm just trying to figure out what to do with the big picture.)
I am currently in University studying Accounting, but It's not quite what I worked it out to be, and lately the thought of being able to work with dogs trumps the thought of a nice pay-cheque in a not-so pleasant environment. A few years back the thought of Accounting really appealed to me, but lately not so much.
I know the basics of dog training, and continue to read books and educate myself. However, I want to work with dogs, I want to train dogs, and I am wondering if it would be worth the (possibly huge -4figure) price tag to attend a Dog Trainer-Training Class/Course? Or if I would be better off continuing to self-study (through Books and DVDs), and offer to work with other's dogs and at shelters and go that route?
If you have attended a school, where did you attend and did you find it worth your time and money doing so? I was looking at a Local Training Academy (who has a training facility that works with all dogs, including working and sporting dogs, IPO, Agility, Etc.). I also checked out Karen Pryor's Academy and a few others online. There CPDT, where you just study and take the test? I'm really not quite sure how to go about this right now?
I know I can easily train a "blank slate" (A Puppy) who knows nothing (or even retrain a dog), through Positive Reinforcement and Clicker Training, the basic training commands (Sit, Down, Come, Heel, Watch Me, etc.) As well as teach thresholds, housing-breaking, etc. So should I just offer to train peoples dogs for free or cheap to get experience and/or volunteer at shelters? Or should I first go down the road that is a training school?
(There is no reason I can not go to a school and volunteer at a shelter, but I'm just trying to figure out what to do with the big picture.)
I am currently in University studying Accounting, but It's not quite what I worked it out to be, and lately the thought of being able to work with dogs trumps the thought of a nice pay-cheque in a not-so pleasant environment. A few years back the thought of Accounting really appealed to me, but lately not so much.