How to Become a Dog Trainer in New York

Becoming a dog trainer may sound like a dream job.

Hanging out with puppies all day long seems like a good job, but that’s not all that there’s to it.

Being a professional dog trainer requires passion, patience, and love for dogs.

A dog trainer needs to understand the dog and the way it thinks in order for the final product to be an obedient pet.

Do you have what it takes to become the best professional dog trainer in New York?

Let’s find out together.

How to Become a Dog Trainer in New York?

So, you want to start this new career.

But where do you start?

Never fear; we are here to help!

By following the next few steps, we will direct you on the right path to becoming the best professional dog trainer you can be.

Step 1: Try it out yourself

What better way to learn such a hands-on job than trying it out?

Volunteering is the best and most morally rewarding way you can do this.

It might not be paid, but the experience you gain is priceless in the first steps of your career.

You will surely be under a mentor with experience who can share the pros and cons of the job, as well as give you a few tips and tricks they’ve gathered through the years.

Step 2: Get official training

When you’ve gotten the hang of the brawn of the job, it’s time to tackle the brain part.

You will, after all, be working with live matter.

You will need to understand the psychology of dogs, what threatens them, what triggers a positive response, and, more importantly, what doesn’t work for them before they get too angry.

This is the hardest part of the job because every dog is an individual with its own personality.

Step 3: Get certified

The best way to gain knowledge is through experience and through reading.

Many classes and schools combine the two, so you don’t have to bother finding them separately.

Most of the programs provide some sort of certification at the end.

Step 4: Get a job

If you follow the previous steps, you’ll have enough qualifications to put yourself on the market as an educated and certified dog trainer.

This does not mean that a job is a guarantee, but it will give you an advantage over the competition.

The experience will grow with each client, and any owner would rather bring their dog to a certified professional over those without formal education of some sort.

Dog Training Schools in New York

Even though formal education is not necessarily needed in this field, it’s good to be well-adverse in your new career.

You can learn all that yourself, but if you like a group setting, here are some classes you can attend.

Penn Foster

You can complete their Dog Obedience Trainer Program in as little as 7 months.

The program is affordable and accredited.

With this program, you can take your first steps in your career as a dog trainer.

It is also online which means you can study whenever and wherever you please.

The only negative side is the lack of workshops and hands-on work with dogs, but if you want to, you can volunteer in your area while taking the course.

Karen Pryor Academy

The Karen Pryor Academy for dog trainers costs $5,600.

It is an online and offline academy.

You can take classes online and attend workshops and organized events in the real world.

This is great for gaining experience, and you can take your dog and bond while training it.

The workshops are in specific locations on their website, so you might have to travel if you want to attend.

ISCDT

The curriculum consists of 18 detailed lessons that prepare you to work in the field of dog training.

Their training curriculum is designed to provide you with the structure so you can get a stable start and advance quickly.

Their written courses are designed to take you through a multitude of dog training topics, from breeds and characteristics to unraveling various behavioral issues.

They also provide video materials as a visual guide through your learning process.

You will also get video and written assignments as homework.

The course rewards you with a certificate at the end.

The tuition for the course is $499.

Salary

The average salary for dog trainers in New York is $37,247.

This can depend on your pricing, experience, and number of clients.

The yearly salary for dog trainers in New York can range from $33,830 to $40,769

Regional Salary in New York

How to Become a Dog Trainer by State