By
Brian on Sunday, April 18th, 2010 |
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How much do dog trainers usually make?
I’m looking into becoming one so I was just wondering how much they make. And if that’s Good medium or poor pay because Im only seventeen and am stiff learning about what a good salary is lol thanks
It depends on a variety of things.
1. how much experience do you have training dogs? The less experience you bring, the less you’ll make.
2. do you have a specialization (for example, not all trainers specialize in behavior. Those who are behavioral specialists make more.)
3. where do you live? Location can determine price. If you live in a town of 1,000 with maybe every 10 families own a dog, you won’t be in as high demand like in a bigger city of say 10,000 where every 3 families own a dog.
4. college education and internships. While neither are necessary to being a trainer, people tend to gravitate to those they feel have made an effort to really learn their stuff. So I’d recommend at least doing a year of internship with a trainer.
5. certification vs. no certification. This could drive the price up or down. Again, people trust those who have a certificate that says “This person knows what they are doing.”
Generally – if you have never worked in the pet field, they won’t pay much at all for you.
My suggestion at your age if this is what you want to do, work at a pet store and intern for a dog trainer, then go to a 6 month training course and get a certification.
When you’re 18, in some states you can also do a Humane officer seminar and be certified as a humane officer in just a weekend.
After you do all of this, have a pet care background, certification and outside interests in petcare like the humane officer gig,
you should be able to start at a reasonable price, then go up depending on demand and as you get more experience.
however, that being said, most serious dog trainers start out working for OTHER established dog training facilities and work of salary, commissions and/or tips until they are established enough themselves with client letters of recommnedation to break away on their own.
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