Certified dog training classes online?
Posted: April 5th, 2011 | Author: admin | Filed under: Common Questions | Tags: certified, classes, Online, Training | 5 Comments »I don’t want to become a dog trainer by using online classes how ever I want to open a breed rescue and would like to have a few courses under my belt.
Go to some real life dog training classes at your local AKC Obedience Club
Reading about dog training is a whole world different then doing it in real life.
Example- People that call themselves Behaviorists-read about animal behavior in College.
People that are dog TRAINERS know dog BEHAVIOR because they have experienced it in real life.
You can locate an AKC Obedience club on the AKC Website
http://www.akc.org/events/obedience/training_clubs/
AVOID the cookie/clicker people find a real dog trainer. Remember the dogs that will come into your rescue will not have issues they will have VOLUMES and you need real life training solutions not bribery, cajoling and begging to make changes in a dogs behavior.
Dog trainers are rarely “certified”, in fact, in my experience “certified” means “run away because I have no real world experience – just a piece of paper”. Why not find a really good trainer in your area and take a few classes handling a few different dogs? Most trainers are very supportive of rescue and they can give you a hands-on training that will apply to real life – an online instructor can’t position your hands on the leash, instantly correct your improper timing, or watch you and your dog to see exactly where the problem is occurring. A live, experienced trainer can do all of those things.
Instead of going this one alone, contact the national breed club to find rescues already operating in your area and to get tips from people who are actually doing this type of work on how best to run a rescue, house train a dog, and instruct foster homes on basic obedience training skills? The dog world really works through human connections, mentoring, and collaboration, not through online “how to” sites or youtube videos of a technique. Find a real person, several real people, and then become involved.
Good luck!
No online course is going to cover anything USEFUL even if you don’t plan to do training. It may be a good starting point but in all honesty, you could buy a book or several that do way better than any biased training class….
If you want to learn the basics of dog training and behavior (including evaluating techniques, body language, and management) then you MUST find someone to mentor under. There is NO way to learn about dog training and behavior without doing hands on work. Period. End of.
You should also spend some time working at or volunteering at an already established rescue center. You’ll need to learn how to evaluate dogs, how to place them, how to screen homes, how to run the whole thing, etc etc. You’ll also have to learn about the legalities, about contracts, etc etc. Not to mention have enough money to feed and vet anywhere from one to ten dogs or more not including any of your own pets. You’ll also have to establish yourself as a not-for-profit rescue – otherwise no rescue or shelter will work with you – and market yourself so as to gain “friends” that would willingly foster dogs for you so you can help more of them.
Getting certified as a dog trainer online, is like learning to juggle online. Without real life experience you will have a very difficult time. Good luck.
As I know, this site has top listing of such college courses online – schools.iblogger.org