Dogs are familiar creatures as they are one of the most domesticated animals beloved by human beings. They provide companionship as well as friendship and are useful in several ways to humans. You will find them in homes, farms, police stations, military barracks, hospitals, and so on.
They are very versatile and are useful as pets, as guides for handicapped people, as security or as work animals. In the Police and Military, they are trained as sniffer dogs to detect drugs and such substances. They are simply indispensable to humans. You can read more on them in this article.
The attribute that allows them to do all this is that they are trainable. Depending on what you want to achieve, you can train them to do virtually anything. For example, guide dogs are trained to lead people, sniffers dogs are trained to sniff out cocaine, marijuana and so on. Even home pets are trained on how to be cooperative, and generally behave well in and around the home. On the farm, they can be trained to drive animals. Most can be trained to provide security and so on.
Canines can be trained to be obedient and useful and this is important as it helps them and helps their owners. Training makes them sociable, teach them important life skills, helps in their safety, and helps them to understand and carry out their purpose.
Becoming a Dog Trainer
People who teach dogs how to do all of these professionally are called dog trainers. They themselves need some form of formal education as well as experience in order to understand these animals and to be able to teach them.
You do not automatically become a professional dog trainer simply because you have taught your pet. Canines are different and no two are the same. There is so much more to know and learn about them than you can learn from your own pet. Taking a formal course teaches you topics like animal behavior and canine first aid. Asides from theory, you will also get to learn practically.
Part of the training usually involves teaching others how to train their pets so you will also need to have people skills as well.
To start with, you can begin to read books on animal behavioral science particularly in the field of animal learning. You will find steps to becoming a trainer here https://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-Dog-Trainer.
Similarly, to become a dog trainer, you have to first of all research on where as well as ways in which you can learn to be one. You can check out your local associations of dog trainers to see which school you can attend. You can as well take your training online without having to go to a physical school.
Benefits of Getting Trained Online
Getting trained online is pretty much an acceptable method when it comes to learning and becoming a dog trainer is no exception. You can talk or chat with a trainer, watch online lessons and videos as well as download printable items. All these via a learning management system.
The advantages of learning online include:
- Learning at your own time and pace. Your learning can be flexible as you can fit it into your schedule.
- No need to drive down to a training center. You can get all lessons in the comfort of your home.
- You take certification tests only when you are ready.
- You are able to manage your time better.
- At this time of the covid-19 pandemic, you can stay safe, and yet be able to learn without having physical contact with people.
You can checkout Good Dog Academy to learn more about getting trained online.
After your online training, you can take up an apprenticeship with an experienced trainer. This gives you more opportunities to learn as well as exposure to wide specie of canines. As an apprentice, you can watch as well as learn from your mentor and with guidance, supervision, and feedback, you can improve your skills.
Another way to learn and be better is to volunteer. The advantage of this is you will gain experience. You may also choose to foster some of these animals.
Conclusion
Training a dog requires a variety of skills. You do not get this just by teaching your personal pet. You require formal education and mentorship from trainers who have experience in training hundreds of students as well as thousands of dogs and a wide variety of breeds.
You can learn to be a trainer through taking an online course, taking it at you own schedule and pace without having to go through the hassles of attending a class. This gives you more time to attend to other important things as well.
