Dog Trainer Jobs Provide Exciting Opportunities
You love dogs! As a matter of fact, you want to dedicate your life to working with them and have decided to take the plunge to attend a school for dog trainers to learn the ropes. Or, you have already graduated from a school and are trying to decide what to do with all your new-found knowledge. Here is the good news: According to U.S. Labor Department of Statistics; “Employment of animal care and service workers is expected to grow 23 percent through 2020, faster than the average for all occupations. Rapid employment growth should result in excellent dog trainer job opportunities for candidates for most positions.” While this is encouraging, the success of a career in this industry, like any other, depends on how much effort you invest.
Dog trainers who work with pet owners as employees of large animal supply chains like Petsmart and Petco, can be independent contractors or work for small businesses. Groomers, pet-sitting companies, veterinarians, and even community, city, and county recreation departments may have programs that need dog trainers. While many search and rescue dogs are trained and handled by volunteers, there are occasional paying dog trainer job opportunities for people who are actively involved and known for their service. There is a need for dogs trained for mobility, sight, and hearing assistance. Dogs are also needed that are trained to help children and adults with autism, seizures, and other medical conditions. There are businesses that specialize in training dogs for law enforcement on county, state, and national levels. The private security sector is also known for its use of trained dogs and available dog trainer jobs. There is also a growing segment in the conservation industry that may be very promising for dog trainers. The use of dogs in the conservation field is a natural outgrowth of the detection skills that are well known in bomb, narcotics, and cadaver work already well established. The current and future use of skilled dogs to help track the movement and welfare of wildlife may be a fascinating and rewarding new direction of employment for trained dog and handler teams. The use of canine detection has been beneficial in some nations around the world where there is still a multibillion dollar illegal trafficking business in wildlife. Poachers of endangered elephants and black rhino in Africa, the Asiatic Black Bear, and smugglers of shark fins and sea cucumber off the Galapagos Islands, are all substantial threats to the balance of ecology in these and other areas of the world. Conservation dogs are being used at major airports in Asia to sniff for illegal importation of animal parts to supply the Chinese medicinal trade. Many of these dogs are trained in the United States. Sadly, as reported by TRAFFIC, an international wildlife trade monitoring network, the United States is the number one consumer of wildlife products, many of which are illegal. For example, dogs have been utilized to detect contraband such as live birds and reptiles at southern California border crossings. The need to provide trained dogs and handlers for this work is a sector that can be explored for rewarding careers in dog training and handling.
The keys to finding a dog trainer job in this field of work, regardless of the type of service or location, will be your dedication and creativity. The knowledge and skill you have learned from a dog training school is only the beginning of your career. Continuing to hone and broaden your skills will be essential to your success, which is true of almost any career choice.
After you have reflected on all the possibilities, or if you already decided to strike out on your own as in independent business owner, be sure to know what the challenges are. While the freedom to set your own hours and make your own decisions can be very alluring, there are many pitfalls that can be avoided with sound guidance and research. For a self employed person to succeed, it helps to have adequate funding to pay for bills while you are building your business. Marketing, sales, time management, and self discipline are critical factors for any successful business. Consult with an attorney about liabilities, an accountant about how to set up your company, and an insurance agent about what coverage you might need. Only you can set the degree of your success, but this may be the most rewarding hard work you ever do.
Our dog training courses teach you not only how to train and work with dogs, but introduce you to the challenges of small business ownership or a dog trainer job. We work hard to prepare our students for success. If you are interested in pursuing a career in dog training, please contact us at 866.200.2207 or via email at learntotraindogs@highlandcanine.com