Want to work as a dog trainer? Here are some ideas

The first and most widely populated profession is that of dog obedience trainers. Open any yellow pages and look under dog or pet training and you will typically find a whole host of practitioners in your area. Some may look at that and worry about competition. If you are a good trainer and you learn how to market your services you do not need to worry. A trainer like this can write his own ticket in any area. A trainer like this will use the internet, yellow pages, newspaper, free pr, word of mouth and anything else in his tool belt to find and retain customers. A trainer like this will actually be able to charge more than other trainers in the area. A trainer like this will have a busier day with more clients scheduled on a regular basis. More clients plus higher prices equals a nice living.

There are a few typical services that most obedience trainers offer. The bread and butter of most obedience trainers is the in-home class. This is a training session done in the dog owner�s home. Trainers will often package several sessions together and offer on-leash obedience or on and off leash as a package. These sessions are also sometimes used on a case by case consultation basis, for example if an owner just wants help getting their dog to stop digging in the yard they may want to pay for only one or two sessions. The benefit is that the dog is trained in an area that is comfortable and the trainer is able to get a feel for all the variables that will effect the training. Prices for in-home sessions vary greatly based on area. Typical fees range from $40 to $100 per hour session.

Many trainers with either a kennel or a contact with a local kennel are able to make a huge part of their income from in-kennel training. In-kennel training is when an owner drops their dog off for several weeks to be completely trained by the professional trainer. At the conclusion of the training time the dog goes home with a video, a list of instructions on maintaining the training, or some private lessons with the trainer so that the owner can maintain the training. The benefit of in-kennel training is that the typically, because of the professional trainer�s expertise, the dog can be trained quicker and better. Fees will range greatly from $500-$2500 for a four week program.

The �old school� style of training was to train dogs in a group class. I call it �old school� because many trainers have moved away from this forum. It is much more difficult to actually get results when there are a number of students in the class. It does remain, however, a viable way to build a business because you are able to reach many people at once. Many people equals many potential contacts for dogs that belong to the friends and relatives of the students. Typical fees range from $60-$250 per 8 week training course.

Specialists- There are many dog trainers that have a specialty. Many of them make a good portion of their money from obedience training and supplement it from the specialty that they have mastered. Some trainers have even become lucky enough to just specialize in their favorite area and forget doing the obedience training. There are plenty of specialties, here are just a few of them.

Protection and sport dogs- Today�s world is getting more violent by the minute. People are spending more and more money to protect themselves from potential danger. Many of those dollars are finding their way into the pocket of trainers of protection dogs. There are trainers that will take a client�s dog and train it for protection work but the majority of protection dog trainers are now focusing on selling the entire package. These trainers will typically import a young, partially trained dog from Europe and finish the training based on their own program and the client�s individual needs. These dogs don�t come cheap. Their prices will range anywhere from $5000 to $50000 and more. If you are a trainer that can sell enough of these dogs and keep their training at high quality you can make a nice living from these dogs alone. Most trainers, however, rely on selling a few such dogs a year and giving a nice boost to their income.

Police dogs- Within the specialty of police dogs there exists even more specialties. There are those who train dogs just for patrol and there are those who train for just narcotics detection or explosives detection. Some dogs and some trainers cross train. That means that the dogs are trained for both patrol and detection work. Relatively speaking there aren�t a lot of trainers who specialize in just police dogs. Police departments can�t afford dogs that are too expensive so a typical price tag is between $2000 and $10000 which means that a trainer who wants to sell police dogs must do a large volume to make a living at it. There are many trainers who are able to make a large part of their business training with local police forces and sell a handful of dogs to police departments every year.

Agility trainers- More and more people are looking for fun activities to do with their dogs. Agility training has become a major sport in the dog world with competitions that are even televised on national television. There are very few trainers that can make a living of just agility training. Most agility trainers still use obedience training as their main money maker. Because agility is such a specialty and requires some expensive equipment many trainers will charge more for instruction. Fees will range from $50-$150 per hour session.

Show trainers and handlers- Dog shows have become huge in the United States. On any given weekend you will often be able to find a dog show on many specialized television networks. The biggest shows have dozens of high powered sponsors and have contestants from all over the country. Many trainers have found this niche to be very profitable. Show trainers offer services from teaching an owner how to train his dog to be shown and stacked properly in the ring to actually handling the dogs at various shows around the country. Fees will vary but many of these trainers are able to make in the high five figures and even into the six figure income bracket.

Again, there are many, many specialties within dog training. From herding to hunting and everything in between if you are a talented trainer and a strong marketer there is a living to be made. Make your distinction as a fair business person and a talented and hard-working trainer and you will find satisfaction not limited to just your wallet.

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