If qualifications are what you want in a dog trainer, save your time and money and never hire a dog trainer. Simply become a qualified dog trainer yourself. It's actually cheap and easy for anyone...
Why I'm not a "Qualified" dog trainer...
When I accidently started to do dog training at 18 years old, I didn't even know I was going to end up being a dog training for a profession. I was 18. I was an idiot. I didn't have any idea how the world worked apart from a little bit of money was needed to buy beer and dirty 3am kababs every Thursday, Friday and Saturday and Sunday night.
I didn't even know you could do training to become a "qualified" dog trainer. I was literally an idiot 18 year old bloke, who helped out someone with their dog, their friend asked how that dog got better trained, they referred my number, they called, I helped them, they gave me $50 cash, that night I bought endless $2 Geelong Ale Pots (maybe Nash Ale pots) and realised I was a dog trainer cause it was easy beer money.
I then advertised in the Saturday Geelong Addy "Crazydog Solutions Dog Training, Call Scott 0414 139 197" and got 4 or 5 calls by probably 10am and took on any job anywhere for $50 a session. Some sessions I might have been there for 3 or 4 hours! I was earning virtually nothing haha!
After a long while numerous local and franchised dog training businesses started using the fact I was not "qualified" against me, so I looked into what I needed to do to become "Qualified".
I remember one company called me and tried the old Mafia Turf Threats to "Stay out of their Bellarine" and others in their paid advertising had things like "Only trust qualified dog trainers, not ones who think they are the Solution to the Crazydog" - I'm not kidding! It was hilarious and spurred me on as I knew I must have been doing something right. I still get it to this very day! Clients who have booked me but were warned by other trainers they inquired with to stay away from me as I was not qualified. Which is fair enough I guess.
Here are some reasons and thoughts to why I never got qualified.
Dog Training is an un regulated industry in Australia. Yes there are courses to become a "certified dog trainer" but in an un regulated industry, which qualification counts more that the next? Which Certificate makes you more or less "qualified" than the next trainer?
- Is the 80 hour self paced online only Certificate 3 worse than the 100 hour self paced online only Certificate 3? Both of which require no experience with dogs and cost around $1500, cheaper if you pay cash upfront, or they do offer weekly payment plans. In theory the 80 hour course is 20% worse.
- Is one that is government accredited the only one that counts? Because the government absolutely nail everything they do perfectly and professionally.
- Is a Certificate 4 qualified trainer a better trainer that a Certificate 3 trainer? Rendering the Cert 3 useless if there is a cert 4 to do?
- Which training method is the correct method in a un regulated industry? Positive Reinforcement, Balanced training? Clicker Training? Electronic Training? Model-Rival Or Mirror Training? Alpha Dog Or Dominance? Relationship-Based Training? R+? R-? R= R%, R+^@&*? AARRRRRR Pirate training?
Or is the key to becoming a proper Qualified Dog Trainer in Australia to do every single course available and offer every single "Method" of training using every single tool available?
My dog training business started from an honest referral. It has kept itself going from referrals. Most of my work is from referrals still to this day. I get enough referrals that I rarely if ever pay to advertise. I don't have to spend money on hiring halls or staff, car decals and signage, social media sponsored posts, paid google ads to follow you around on every website you go to.
This keeps my overheads down to a minimum which means I don't have to charge a huge amount to cover these added costs. I guess I could simply do the cheapest Cert 3 in dog training to become "Qualified" and charge double but, I'd rather stick with what I'm doing until the referrals dry up.
If the dog training industry does become regulated and training must be done to continue, I will look at what they determine as qualified and the course itself. If I like the way it's done and the methods dictated I will become qualified, If not I guess I stop dog training.
I have see so many trainers come and go over the years in the Geelong Region. Most go because they focus on the "Brand" and spend big on looking the part of what socially looks like a dog training business, but fail on what successful dog training really is about... human training. If you cannot communicate to people from all walks of life and focus solely on helping dogs you won't last. If you try and charge a price to match your brand and the investment into it you won't last long. If you try and tear down other dog training business' rather than build up your own you won't last long. Every qualification in the country doesn't give you instant experience with dogs nor with people. Especially in an un regulated industry.
I'll just keep being the un qualified 18 year old at heart dog trainer, with a humble dog loving beginning until I choose to stop or am forced to stop.
Give your dog a pat for me!
Cheers, Scott
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