Be prepared to spend time keeping records and paying bills. This drudge work is the bane of every small-business owner. If your business becomes successful enough, you can hire someone to take it off your hands, but until then, don’t let it fall by the wayside. If you aren’t organized, you’ll lose business and incur late fees and penalties from vendors and the Internal Revenue Service.
Set specific work hours. It’s all too easy for training to become a 24/7 job and take over your life. After all, who doesn’t want to help people and dogs work better together? But if you don’t set limits, you’ll find yourself taking calls from clients every day, from early in the morning to late at night.
Employment Outlook
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of animal care and service workers—a group that includes dog trainers—is expected to grow by 21 percent through 2018. Every year, more and more people acquire dogs as companions. Those new pet owners will need the services of trainers. Even established dog owners continue to need the help of trainers as they become interested in new dog sports or acquire new puppies who need training.
More and more animal shelters are also hiring dog trainers. They recognize the need not only to prepare dogs for adoption but also to help new adopters deal with any behavior problems they may encounter. These “help desks” at shelters are often responsible for keeping animals in their homes instead of being cycled back to the shelters, so working at such a shelter can be rewarding for a trainer.
The income a dog trainer makes can range from a low of around $11 an hour to, well, the sky’s the limit! Dog trainers may charge hourly rates for private lessons or fixed fees for group classes. Rates vary based on such factors as the area of the country, the trainer’s level of experience, and the training venue. Private dog trainers in small towns or rural areas may make only $12 to $15 per hour, while private trainers who make house calls in cities on the East or West Coast may charge from $100 to $500 per hour. A group class at a dog-training facility may cost $150 for four one-hour sessions, while a private session at the same facility is $75 per hour simply because the trainer’s attention is not divided. Trainers who run their own businesses must keep in mind that the recurrent costs of running a business can be high; facility rent, insurance, advertising, and other expenses will all take a bite out of a trainer’s income.
William Berloni works with one of the stars of his troop of theatrical canine actors, Chloe. Chloe took to the New York stage in the Palace Theater’s production of Legally Blonde.
“One also has to look at the economy,” Dennison says. “I diversify as much as possible, writing books and articles, doing speaking engagements, producing DVDs, and selling select products.”
And some clients are not above emotional blackmail. “There were many times people would threaten me with the well-being of their dogs if I would not help them for free or at little cost,” Bulanda says. “People think that because you love dogs or cats, you are willing to work for nothing for the benefit of the pet. They often do not understand that it is your livelihood and that you make a living training dogs and cats. Everyone who wants to be a dog trainer should come to grips with this and decide how to handle it.”
Dog training is not an easy way to make a living, to be sure, but for the right person, it can be extremely rewarding. “I could not be happier that my interests led me to become a trainer,” says Toepfer. “I have the most amazing, dedicated dog owners as clients. They are beautiful people who truly love their pets. It is wonderful to be considered a partner in their dogs’ well-being.”
TRAINER RESOURCES
Association of Pet Dog Trainers, www.apdt.com
Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, www.ccpdt.org
Hollywood Animals’ Animal Actors Agency, www.animalactorsagency.com
Indiana University, Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, www.indiana.edu/~animal
Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior, www.karenpryoracademy.com
Kutztown University, Canine Training and Management Program, Kutztown, Pennsylvania, www.kutztown.edu/academics/learning/canine_management.html
Legacy Canine Behavior and Training, www.legacycanine.com
National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors, www.nadoi.org
Pat Miller, Peaceable Paws Dog and Puppy Training, Hagerstown, Maryland, apprentice and intern programs, www.peaceablepaws.com
Pet Care Services Association, www.petcareservices.org
San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers, www.sfspca.org/programs-services/academy-dog-trainers
Susan Rhoades, Keepstone Farm, www.keepstonefarm.com
So You Want to Be a Dog Trainer, by Nicole Wilde, 2nd ed. Phantom Publishing, 2006.
Applied Animal Behaviorist
When John C. Wright was a doctoral student in experimental psychology, he did his dissertation was on the development of social structure in German Shepherd puppies. Once people found out that he was doing research on how puppies bond with each other, they started asking him questions about their own dogs’ behaviors—in other words, they wanted to know how to apply his knowledge to real-world problems. He started reading further on canine behavior and, inspired by leaders in the field, such as Peter Borchelt, Victoria Voith, and Katherine Houpt, he soon found that he, too, had become an applied animal behaviorist.
What Behaviorists Do
A behaviorist usually comes into the picture when no medical reason is found for a pet’s aggression, fear, anxiety, obsession, or other abnormal behavior. Before deciding on a course of action, a behaviorist will typically take the following steps:
1 Assess a pet’s living arrangements to see how the animal is interacting with family members and any other pets in the household;
2 Determine whether a pet is getting adequate exercise, nutrition, social interaction, and training; and
3 Determine whether a pet has an anxiety disorder.
Effie maintains a down position while Kathy Sdao desensitizes