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Dog Trainer School – Helping a Profession Develop
In recent years the number of home owners with dogs has steadily increased.
That increase coupled with the fact that man’s best friend has taken on more responsibilities for humankind such as helping the disabled and assisting search and rescue operations has emphasized the need for a professional dog trainer school. In lieu of the increasing career opportunities for certified dog trainers the government should be putting together a more robust curriculum for a dog trainer school to follow. However like any emerging profession that is still in its infancy there are always two schools of thought: The nothing teaches better than experience line of thinking. And the second is that one needs a standardized process /diploma and a board certification to effectively work in the field of dog training.
As of the moment a career in training dogs does not require that an individual be formally educated in the science of animal care or animal behaviors. The fact that some responsibilities or work that dogs perform are very sensitive in nature does require that in some forms of training certification be included before being allowed to officially train those kinds of dogs. Examples would be training dogs for work with the disabled and those that will be helping with law enforcement. It is however these particular examples that have sparked the increase in dog trainer schools in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. There are in effect two kinds of dog trainer schools in the world today. One is the proponent of experience being the measure of being a credible dog trainer and other is the proponents of a more structured way of educating trainers. This entails going thru standardized courses, passing required subjects and all the trappings of a book based education.
Both schools of thought in fact have valid points. For a dog trainer school to be effective and efficient a successful method of training should not only have the scientific basis covered but also the practical experience incorporated into it as well. In the present time it is sad in my point of view that there is no baseline knowledge requirement a dog trainer should have before he or she is allowed to instruct. It is also worthwhile to note that there is also no minimum experience necessary for a dog educator to have before starting ones’ profession. Although national certifications are a way of check and balance in the dog training field there is still something to be said about having mastered the basics and that one’s actions and decisions are founded on sound scientific knowledge as well an experience. For now the debates go on however in time and soon I hope that both camps are able to resolve and decide the best combination of basic science knowledge and adequate experience for a successful dog trainer graduate.