becoming a dog trainer and gaining experience

I would love to start dog training, I have seen that sarah Whitehead does some courses and i am intrested in the puppy foundations.

The course is £375.00 and once i have completed this i would like to start some puppy classes in the evening,I can not go to college full time as i have a mortgage and i can not give up full time work.

I am also finding it hard to find a trainer i can go along and help with to gain some practical experience.

your comments would be good,(please dont shoot me down either)

TBH very honest "before running in the world of dog training it would be better for you to walk"

How much experience have you had training your own dogs ? How many dogs have you trained ? To what levels have you trained your dogs ?

I have seen so many dogs spoilt because they have been to classes held by trained/behaviourists with little or no experience outside of the theory, some damaged permanently.

If I was looking for a class to take my puppy to for basic training I would be looking for someone with experience, used to dealing with puppies of all different breeds & non breeds, who was able to cope with good & norty puppies in the same class.

I would also look at the standard of training of their own dogs which will show whether or not they practise what they preaach

Good luck with your enterprise, can't help with specifics but I'd ask at the club where you train or at the vets as a lot of them run puppy classes & they could give you the hands on experience you need.I'd even chat before you start the course as visiting & observing will put you in good stead.

dito to all of the above x

Take a peek here

http://www.apdt.co.uk/careers.asp

The bit about liking people is important, as ultimately you are teaching people to train their dogs. So no matter how good you are yourself as a dog trainer, you need the knack of being able to impart your knowledge to the owners ;-

what about 'shadowing' several different people? you could look at a variety of techniques and see what appeals to you. then as others have said, gain experience by working with your own dog/s first and take it slow.

I meant to add as well in respect of Sarah Whitehead, she does do, or did do, a course where you get practical experience in training rescue dogs - anything like that would be useful also

double ditto! I dont mean to shoot you down in flames but if you're wanting to start your own classes you should have trained your own dogs to a high standard, if you've done that the other experience would come with it. Just doing a "course" isnt enough im afraid x

Just a word of caution - when younger, I started to train with my local dog club to be one of their trainers. No problem at all with the training, the theory etc. - the reason I left was that I just couldn`t cope with the dafter owners - like the frail lady with the grandson with ADHD that she got a rescue collie for....and the overweight lab with the vacant owner who let him climb over everybody...and the one who kept smacking her dog on the head with a paper...and the one whose dog attacked everything on four legs and it was their fault for looking at him...oh dear, Im starting to foam at the mouth - I`d better go and lie down for a bit.

I know exactly what you mean! Also the people who will listen to what you say, nod, yes I'll try that as my (their own) method isn't working then just do the same as always and the dog doesn't get any better!!!
Surprising? No!!!
Frustrating? Yes!!!!!!!