Читать книгу Careers with Dogs - Kim Campbell Thornton - Страница 51

Plenty of trainers have achieved successful careers without any type of formal education (think Cesar Millan). In those instances—and even with a college degree—gaining experience is essential.

“I was very involved with competitive obedience and flyball for many years before moving into providing training to others,” Toepfer says. “I spent many years working in animal shelters as a volunteer trainer to improve the chances of a dog’s being adopted. I learned a lot from those dogs!”

And no matter what your educational background or training philosophy, it’s always valuable to spend time with other trainers. There’s an old joke that the only thing two dog trainers can agree on is that a third trainer is wrong. Nonetheless, networking with other trainers and being open to learning from them is useful for aspiring dog trainers. Attending seminars held by dog-training or animal-behavior organizations is one way to learn the latest information about techniques and philosophies in the field.