What Makes a Good Puppy and Dog Training Instructor?
Our Puppy School Tutors come from all walks of life
Whilst we do not require our new prospective tutors to have any animal training experience, or to have run training classes previously, it is beneficial if they have hands-on experience of working with a range of different types and breeds of dog.
This type of practical experience gives a much deeper understanding of dogs and leads to more success when teaching others.
Experience can be gained by working with dogs, either in a professional capacity (more than three months as a veterinary nurse, kennel assistant in boarding kennels, dog walker, groomer or similar) or as a volunteer (preferably six months of regular weekend work at a rescue shelter or similar).
There may also be a chance to volunteer at a local Puppy School as an Assistant. Learning by observation will give you valuable insights while you work at gaining valuable hands-on experience elsewhere. Contact your nearest Puppy School tutor to enquire about vacanies. See also our Assistant to Tutor Pathway.
We also have successful tutors who have gained a lot of experience by working with or training other animals (e.g. horses), or teaching humans, and who have developed a lot of transferrable skills that can be applied directly to dog and puppy training.
In reality, the type of person you are has much more of an influence on whether you will be a successful tutor than your experience so far. If you want to be the best, your motivation is rooted in making life better for animals and people, and you have empathy and can relate to dogs in respectful and thoughtful way, we can guide you to the right path to become a dog training instructor.
A passion for training animals using reward-based method and making it fun for both dog/puppy and owner is essential. It is even better, although not as a requirement, that prospective tutors are interested in animal behaviour.
Additionally, it is important that you are sociable and able to get on well with people since you will be helping the owners to teach their pets rather than only teaching the animals themselves. It is desirable, although not essential, to have the ability and some experience of speaking to, or teaching, small groups.
A Puppy School tutor needs to:
