Prepare for a career in professional dog training!
This small group program offers a unique opportunity to learn from professional trainers who are experts in working with the unique challenges that face urban dogs. Graduates leave with the ability to understand dog behavior in a holistic, science-backed manner, and to convey that knowledge to others.
This course is designed for students with little to no background in dog training. Basic requirements include:
- Some experience interacting with or handling dogs
- Good interpersonal and communication skills
- Internet connection, a camera or smart phone and access to a computer
- Ability to film yourself training and upload footage to YouTube
- Ability to watch online videos and courses
- A dog living in your home or reliable, regular access to the same 1-2 dogs
- Books: you will receive a list of books to buy or rent
- Workload is estimated at 10-15 hours per week
What our graduates are saying…
One of my favorite things about the course was that the written homework and the readings were not just about learning for learning’s sake. They were about understanding why. Why do dogs work this way? Why do humans interact with dogs this way? How does the dog exist in the home? And when you have a group of people who are really interested in teaching, you not only learn the facts of animal behavior, but you get into why it is that way and what that means. It’s more lifetime learning than textbook learning, and some of the most valuable learning I’ve ever done.
– Ionelee Brogna
I completed the Professional Course in 2017. I am so glad this was the course I chose! After looking into other reputable options, I was most excited about the way in which School For The Dogs made sure its Professional Course students got to observe (and learn from) several different trainers, not just one or two. When I signed up for the Professional Course, I was mostly doing it to better my own skills in order to help dogs I was working with at the rescue where I volunteered. Five years later, I am the Group Class Manager and a Behavior Therapy Trainer at SFTD, and I have also gone on to get several other training certifications. I truly love the work I do as a trainer. It's all thanks to this course.
– Anna Ostroff
When I started working with my dog at School For The Dogs, something just clicked for me in a way that nothing else really ever had. I loved learning about behavior and learning about how I could shape my dog's behavior in a way that was really elegant and kind of nuanced, but didn't take a lot of effort and was really fun for both of us. I thought it was so powerful, and it gave us a relationship that was really based on mutual trust. I really wanted to give that to other people. I think that's something that really motivates me as a dog trainer is to be able to help people communicate with their animals in a way that they didn't know was possible.
– Erin Whelan
Questions
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We suggest budgeting a minimum of ten hours a week to coursework and hands-on work with your dog. Most of the work will be doable on a schedule that you can choose for yourself. The weekly “Office Hours” session will be held on Wednesdays at 7 PM ET. They will be recorded for those who cannot attend. Additionally, guest speakers – animal professionals from a variety of fields including animal training and behavior, zoology, veterinary medicine, and more – will hold office hours on Sundays at 3PM ET.
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$2,970, payable in up to three installments.
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Each cohort has a maximum of six students; admission is rolling.
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Our next cohort will begin: DATE TBD.
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Nope! You just need a good Internet connection and a camera or smart phone for shooting video.
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Much of the course work will require you to have access to at least one dog you can work with regularly. It does not have to be your dog, but you will want to be able to spend a lot of time with your canine learning partner. While you’re welcome to work with more than one dog, we suggest having at least one dog you can use for the entirety of the course.
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Those who successfully complete the written and practical part of the final exam will earn the certification of School For The Dogs Certified Professional Trainer. Graduates in the past have also used this course to prepare themselves to successfully pass the qualifying exam to earn the title for Certified Professional Dog Trainer Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) from the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainer.
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Professional Course students may book unlimited private sessions with School For The Dogs trainers for $160/hour, and receive 20% off the cost of all group classes they’d like to attend. We also have our Hands on Mentorship Addition, available to select students who are within commuting distance to NYC, for an additional $2,000.
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No. However, nearly half of our trainers at School For The Dogs started off their careers in dog training with their professional program, which we first started running in 2017. 100 percent of graduates who wanted to pursue a career as a professional dog trainer are now doing just that.
Course Details
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The course contains the following units. Each unit will be covered over a period of one to two weeks.
Unit 1: Why Train Animals?
Unit 2: Animal Behavior
Unit 3: Body Language
Unit 4: Emotions
Unit 5: Respondent Conditioning
Unit 6: Selection by Consequences
Unit 7: Reinforcement and Punishment
Unit 8: Functional Analysis
Unit 9: Marker Training
Unit 10: Cues
Unit 11: Antecedent Arrangements
Unit 12: New Puppy Fundamentals
Unit 13: Core Behaviors
Unit 14: Introduction: Behavior Problems and Problem Behaviors
Unit 15: Addressing Problem Behaviors
Unit 16: Behavior Disorders and Problems
Unit 17: Working With Clients
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- Course reading through our online platform
- Pre-recorded lectures pertaining to each topic (approximately one hour of lectures per unit)
- Practical hands-on assignments that will be reviewed, commented on, and graded (pass/fail)
- Written assignments for each unit
- Quizzes for each unit
- 100 question final exam and practical-skills evaluation
- Weekly “Office Hours” with the program head to cover material pertaining to the units and beyond
- Access to a private group sharing and discussion board
- Regular viewings of pre-recorded private lessons, followed by group discussion
- Access to School For The Dogs’ senior trainers for questions and guidance
- Suggested viewings of outside lectures and videos (students may be responsible for lecture purchases or fees for video subscription service).
- Suggested readings of articles and books (students are responsible for purchasing, renting or borrowing books on their own)