A Career as a Dog Trainer

General Introduction

Dog Training Course

Dog Psychology

Dog Behaviour course

The Guild of Dog Trainers is an independent professional body committed to maintaining and improving the quality of dog training, behaviour and companion dog ownership in Britain, by working with others to offer professional support and educational development for the future dog owning community, thereby sustaining and increasing public confidence in the assessment of dog training standards and practice present and future.

Guild Development and Learning

The Guild of Dog Trainers in association with the Cambridge Institute of Dog Behaviour & Training has formed Britain’s largest partnership for the future education of canine professionals in Britain and abroad. We have set a new canine gold standard in Britain which hopefully will be followed by other suppliers of courses.

The Kennel Club Accreditation scheme is also valid towards the Guild membership in 2008. We are currently working with the Kennel Club to form a college association of good dog training. The dog training courses reflect the real world of dog training and offer candidates an easy-to-follow way to acquire the knowledge and ability to specialise in dog training. There is a behaviour Dog Psychology foundation module at it’s core and our programmes equip the trainer to understand the problems that family dogs can develop.

The aim is for the candidate to develop a thorough knowledge of the wide range of dog training and behaviour problems and then to be able to devise practical advice that the dog owner can implement.

We aim to teach the candidate to understand the dynamism of family life and how the domestic dog fits into that environment and the social responsibilities this entails. To distinguish between normal behaviour which is abnormal for us to deal with and what is true abnormal behaviour in the dog and how dog training, like education in humans, begins early and continues throughout life.

The Human - Canine relationship

Human Canine Psychology in action

The human aspect of ownership is most important and the dog owner is the conduit for all teaching in dog training and care. The trainer who understands people’s attitudes to their dogs, real and unreal expectations in dog training has a distinct advantage which benefits dog and owner.

The Dog Trainer

An overview of the work in practice

A dog trainer is often the first port of call in many aspects of dog behaviour problems at low level. Problematic dog behaviour can effectively be stemmed by a dog trainer depending on their level of knowledge, professional experience and skills. Obviously, trainer knowledge will vary depending upon their life experiences and the type of training they have practised in.

Dog training combined with behaviour psychology

We can state without reservation that most dog behaviour problems, especially of a less advanced nature, are already solved by dog trainers, in the thousands, each week in Britain. Good dog trainers can quickly detect a young dog which exhibits problem behaviour and the experienced ones interject with verbal and training advice when necessary for and with the owner. This is behavioural knowledge applied and in action and, in essence, is the core of the Guild – each dog trainer should wish to achieve or already have a thorough knowledge of canine behaviour as a foundation to their training ability. The Guild of Dog Trainers offer courses through the Cambridge Institute of Dog Behaviour & Training which combine the training psychological knowledge with a specific canine behaviour model to enhance the trainer’s knowledge.

Canine Behaviour

When a dog training problem develops beyond a certain level specialised experts in behaviour may be required and that is often the transfer line. A good trainer knows their limits and should have a list of suitable referral dog trainers and behaviour practitioners that they can offer a client, dog club or dog owner. The ability to refer, without doubt, displays confidence of which a trainer should be proud.

A dog trainer will see most breeds and types of dogs and are in a privileged position to guide the dog or puppy and owner through a training experience which produces a well-balanced relationship. Training adult dogs is also rewarding - though many will be more difficult to train if they have already learnt behaviour which causes owners friction.

Advice and Risk Assessments

Dog training carries risk. Making assessments and judgements about dogs and people and whether the dog training advice you proffer will be followed so that neither people nor dogs are harmed in the process of a dog training course. You need to be aware of laws concerning dogs as they stand at present. Professional advice has to satisfy the law, the client and be suitable to obtain the result that we require with the dog.

People-centred Dog Training - Dog Psychology

Dog training problems that are presented can be extreme as can the people that present them to us. The differing lifestyles that people lead all have to be taken into account due to the fact that this very obviously affects the relationship that people are likely to be having with their dogs and their ability to follow some of our advice – giving dog training information that people can’t or won’t follow is useless and a waste of everyone’s time.  Understanding how to stimulate a dog owner’s interest in multi-method application can assist in producing good all round results.

It can take immense skill, patience, empathy and diplomacy to work with people in such training in real locations.

The dynamics of the dog owner’s character

People Psychology – Dog Psychology combined

Some people are shy and take time to open up in class and tell you what they wish to achieve and there are some people who simply chat about everything – even their most personal details. (Although this is often intriguing, operating a class of many dogs limits individual time on a person.) All dog owners need to be handled differently; with some, humour works wonders, and with others a black and white approach is best.

In addition to class dog training, many trainers will carry out visits to the client’s home and train locally – the way that people live and care for their dogs is very varied. Dogs cross social classes and, as a trainer, you have to deal with all types of people - they are all people with the same emotions and public responsibilities where dogs are concerned and all require the same empathy and the best possible service you can offer.

We are committed to maintaining the following standards for a dog trainer:

Be a professional guide in the way in which our members conduct their practices.

Be supportive in helping members in the assessment and development of their skills, knowledge and capability in dog training for all breeds.

Engage with other like-minded organisations by seeking to build partnerships to enhance our impact on dog legislation and public awareness of dog issues.

Be open to new dog training and behaviour ideas and incorporate them into our thinking.

Seek ways to further improve the way we engage with our course candidates, new or experienced trainers.

Be confident in our approach to the needs of our members, and the way in which we provide canine information to best meet their needs.

The maintenance of professional standards in canine education.

The annual presentation of an award recognising a research-based contribution to use humane and innovative dog training methodology.

Dog Training Instructors Certificate

The Cambridge Institute of Dog Behaviour & Training (CIDBT)

Dog training clubs and schools
Professional dog trainers
Puppy school trainers

This certificate is for all instructors within the obedience disciplines training puppies or adult dogs. Three modules make up this certificate and are described below. Upon completion of the modules, you will be issued with a certificate from the CIDBT.

The certificate is designed for people who have at least 6 months’ hands-on experience in dog training, private, club, school or other similar level.

You can study around your current work schedule, as these courses are flexible.

Click on the links above or go to

www.cidbt.org.uk

for course information

Should you decide after completing these modules that you wish to progress to a Degree or HE Diploma with Middlesex University, the CIDBT can advise you how to convert them to accredited modules to count towards your higher education qualification.

Technical Dog Training

Dog trainers and instructors spend years trying to find out information and techniques from different trainers for a few new tips that help them with their dog training club or one to one training before they ‘chance’ upon training techniques we term TDT (technical dog training) and that actually works.

They can instantly understand and practice the methodology and psychology that combines for good results.

How many times do you see people practising the same techniques whether in general dog training whereupon and they repeat the same methods over and over with little technical  improvement ‘locking’ their dog into a rote frame and getting fair, but perhaps not the best  standards.

This is why when you have the chance to acquire new skills in dog  training you should take the opportunity through constant self appraisal and improvement.

The psychological aspect of understanding your dogs general drives, breed specific drives and moreover (client) human psychology is  imperative to being a successful trainer.

Though many dog trainers complain that too many dog owners don't follow their instruction hence standards not always being achieved. The same trainers do not necessarily self examine their own delivery, style and attitude to client centred training. This area is a noticeable flaw in certain individuals as often we forget that the trainer pupil relationship is two-way.

Unless one is effective at good human on human communication the highest standard is rarely achieved during instruction. These key areas of dog training, class instruction need to be available to the lay, hobbyist or professional trainer in unison allowing an advance in dog training performance which will equip you in all these new learning areas.

Areas of Learning with the Guild of Dog Trainers through the CIDBT

Dog Psychology

People Psychology

Dog Training courses

Dog Psychology Courses

Dog behaviour Psychology combined