“How
can I become a dog trainer” is a question I hear every day
from people who love dogs and want to learn more about a career in dog
training.
One option would be to attend a dog
training school. There are lots of them, and these schools graduate thousands
of new trainers each year. So if you’re interested in learning to train dogs as
a hobby, this is one way to go about it. (Note: I would avoid the online dog training schools, and stick
with an actual school where you can learn to handle dogs, not a distance
learning scheme that is basically selling you some letters after your name and a certificate
to hang on the wall.)
If you want to make a full
time living in the dog training field, and you are serious about becoming a dog
trainer, you might want to consider buying a dog training franchise instead of
spending money on any of the dog training schools out there, because the
schools only teach you how to train dogs – not how to earn a living training dogs.
Owners of dog training franchises can earn 3 to 5 times as much as their
non-franchised counterparts (training school graduates and independent
trainers).
There are a few companies who offer
dog training franchise opportunities regionally, and others who have evolved a
distribution model. To avoid confusion, let’s first take a look at the
difference between a dog training franchise and a dog training distributorship:
- Franchising involves a contractual relationship whereby the franchisor permits a franchisee to use its trade name, marks and brands; exercises continuing control over business operations; provides training and assistance to a franchisee and requires initial and continuing payments to the franchisor.
- Distribution is when a manufacturer or a supplier of goods appoints an independent third party – the distributor – to market its goods. The third party purchases the goods on his own account and trades under his own name as an authorized distributor. Their business name will have no connection with the name of the supplier of the goods nor will the supplier regulate the way in which the distributor operates his business other than to oblige the distributor to reach minimum turnover levels.
So actually, there are lots of ways that
a person who wants to become a dog trainer can achieve their goal: schools for
dog trainers, franchises, distributorships and independent study.
The highest paid dog trainers I’ve
met are those who have followed the dog training franchise model. Franchise
Business Review conducted a survey of franchisees in a national dog training
franchise and found:
- 94% of all franchisees rated the franchisor as an
"above average" business opportunity.
- 96% of franchisees believe that there is "above
average" communication and support between franchisees in the system.
- 100% of franchisees said they respected the franchisor
as an organization.
- 98% of franchisees stated that their schedules are
flexible enough to allow them time off as needed.
- 77% of franchisees joined because they were seeking more control over their finances.
The largest dog training franchise
is Bark Busters, which has hundreds of franchises
in Australia,
New Zealand, USA, United Kingdom, Canada, Israel, Taiwan, and Japan.
Canine Dimensions is a U.S. company
with dog training franchises
located throughout the United States. This is the company I founded back in the
‘90s. Our mission statement was simple: to keep
dogs in their homes and out of animal shelters by helping owners solve their
dogs’ behavior problems. Today our mission
is the same, and we also believe that professional dog trainers should assist
with education and awareness about the plight of millions of dogs in animal shelters,
the vast majority of whom are there for no fault of their own.
We
advocate humane, balanced training methods and subscribe to a cynopraxic training theory – meaning we’re
more concerned with results then with
being in line with what’s “popular and trendy” in dog training. “Cynopraxic” is a term coined by Stephen R.
Lindsay, M.A., in “The Handbook of Applied
Dog Behavior and Training.” I would urge
anyone who wants to become a professional dog trainer to begin by studying all
three volumes of this important work: Adaptation and Learning, Etiology and
Assessment, and Procedures and Protocols.
