School For The Dogs is currently taking applicants for its six month Professional Course, which begins June 1!  In this episode, Annie responds to a listener who is interested in becoming a dog trainer, but is worried that she may end up in a program that is a scam... She describes the evolution of School For The Dogs' Professional Course, discusses some some others, and talks about the many different paths people take towards becoming a professional dog trainer. She also answers a listener's question about a young dog who is resource guarding her food. 

Apply to the School For The Dogs Professional Course before May 1 at http://schoolforthedogs.com/professionalcourse

Also mentioned in this episode: 

Kennelwood Academy - https://kennelwoodacademy.com/

The Academy of Pet Careers - https://www.theacademyofpetcareers.com/

Animal Behavior College - http://animalbehaviorcollege.com

Jean Donaldson's Academy For Dog Trainers - https://www.academyfordogtrainers.com/

Victoria Stillwell Academy - https://positively.com/dog-training/become-a-dog-trainer/

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Partial Transcript:

Annie:

Hi, this is a bonus Q and A episode. I try to go live every Thursday on the School for the Dogs’s Instagram account. If you would like to be alerted when I’m going to go live, or if you’d like to answer a question in advance, go to SchoolfortheDogs.com/qanda. Thanks for being here.

So today’s question comes from Melissa, who lives in St. Louis. She has a corgi, Pembroke Welsh corgi named Patchy. And Melissa wrote:

Actually, I have a question that isn’t about my pop, your cast and tips have been extremely helpful so far. I was actually wondering, where would you suggest someone who wants to get into the field of dog training go? I’ve looked into the Karen Pryor Academy, but there aren’t any nearby locations to St. Louis, Missouri. There is the Academy of pet careers, which costs $20,000 for a 180 day class. There is the Kennelwood Academy for $14,000.

I really want to get into this field, and I enjoy using a lot of your techniques on my puppy with the clicker.  But I’m trying to find something more affordable and something that isn’t a scam to just get my money. I also looked into Animal Behavior College, which is almost all online and that’s roughly $5,000. I look forward to hearing from you.

Well, great question, particularly for today, because we have just opened up our dog training professional program which I think might be a great fit for you, Melissa. It is a six month program. We have been running professional programs at School for the Dogs since 2017. And I believe about half of our trainers came through our professional program. Most of them knowing little or nothing about training before that. And now they are honestly some of the finest trainers I know. So for that reason, I’m pretty proud of this program.

Full transcript available at SchoolfortheDogs.com/Podcast

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