I'm thinking about going to Animal Behavior College to become a Professional Dog Trainer. Reviews?
I have heard that the program is a scam and that it is the best program available. Does anyone have any advice? What about other options for becoming a dog trainer? Schools, so on? What have been your experiences at ABC and/or the school/process you used to become a dog trainer? I know a lot about dogs(and want to learn more!) and would like to have the opportunity to help other people understand their dogs better. As well correct any unwanted behaviors!
I want a career working with exotic animals and their natural habitats?
Sounds like you have several jobs all mixed up and combined into one. Rehabilitating animals is the job of a wildlife rehabilitator. Studying animals in their natural habitat is the job of a wildlife biologist or zoologist. Working as an assistant to a veterinarian in veterinary care of animals..wild or domestic is the job of a veterinary technician. To be a vet tech you would go to vet tech school, and it would only qualify you to be a vet tech, NOT a wildlife biologist, or a wildlife rehabilitator. Many rehabbers don't have degrees, but rather gain experience through many years of volunteer work and internships. To be a biologist though, you will definitely need a degree...a major in biology, zoology, wildlife biology, etc. would work. You might also consider being a zookeeper as many zoos are involved in endangered species breeding programs.
Dog Training. How to get immediate responses to commands?
I have a Basset/Beagle mix that I absolutely adore, but he has major training issues. I am not okay with him only responding to commands he knows when I have a clicker and treats, and taking his sweet time to do it. I know he knows the commands, he just won't do it immediately when I ask him to. He knows: Sit, Down, Sit/Stay, Down/Stay, Recall, Attention, Shake, Roll Over, Leave It, And Touch (Hand Targeting) He will do all of them very very well if I have a clicker and treats, but if I don't he ignores me. How do I get him to do what I say, immediately when I say it?! He is a very sweet dog, and I love him to pieces. He is intelligent, and if I can get him to do this one thing I'm sure he could be a canine good citizen, and run an agility course. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Penn Foster or Animal Behavioral College?
Penn Foster's Veterinary Assistant program has a Work Experience Option (WEO) where you can gain 200 hours of supervised field experience along with the entry level education. Although this field may not require a formal education, we believe it does give you an advantage over someone applying for the job without any education in the field at all. Other posts have great information, but they would rather tell you negative things instead of positive things. If you want a Vet Assistant education, then get one. Nothing stops you from going to Vet Tech later if you choose and no accredited education is a waste of time. It may even help you define how far you want to go. If you are not completely sold on going directly into Vet Tech, and since it is such a much bigger commitment, it would be worse for you to have enrolled in a Vet Tech program and not complete. You may even find that you are happy at the assistant level. Who knows? Certainly not me, and certainly not anyone else in this forum. Secondly, the Penn Foster Veterinary Technician Associates Degree is offered as a self-paced and independent study strategy. What this means is that you will do the education portion from the comfort of your own home with support from students and educators online. There are 450 hours of on-site required and you will do that locally in your area. Also, it may be hard for you to find a Vet Tech course locally. Please keep in mind that distance education is very flexible, but it does require a higher commitment of self-discipline. Our program has "FULL" AVMA Accreditation and we are very proud of that. I recommend visiting our very robust Vet Tech community and get some input from actual students rather than unverified responses in this public forum. Our Veterinary Academy Director Dr. Jim Hurrell is very active in the community and I have provided links to view some great prospective student conversations that are real and address online learning risk factors and the positives of being able to reach your educational goals from your local area. Links below. Best wishes for you and your studies. ----------
My dog is (always) obsessed with food/treats while training. How can I teach him to take it easy and focus on me and not the treat?
This is a common phenomenon and an easy problem to solve! First, I highly recommend clicker training. Everything I say from now on is assuming that you have properly clicker loaded, and your dog understands what a click means. The thing about clicker training (after you dog is already clicker loaded) is that after you click, to mark a correct behavior, you have a minute or two to reward the animal. I highly recommend leaving the treats in a bowl on a table or high counter, and when you train, do not train next to the treats. You can start off close by, but you can train all over your house! (And you do NOT have to take the treats with you!) You can practice at any moment of the day, anywhere in the house, regardless if you have treats or not. Then, when your dog does the correct behavior, you can click, and make your way to the kitchen (or wherever you keep the treats) with your dog happily following behind you (knowing the he will get a treat).This type of training, where the treats aren't necessarily next to you (or on you) will make the dog more focused on you, and less focused on the treats.Another thing to absolutely avoid is lure training. When you use a treat to "lure" the dog into doing what you want, it makes the dog too focused on the treat, instead of thinking and problem solving.Here is a video demonstrating how a dog, when showed a treat before being asked the behavior, will be so focused on the treat, he will not be thinking at all about what he is doing (and not focused on his human). Lure vs clicker training
Animal Rehaber - How do I become one?
I mean do you just put up signs saying if you found a baby animal or something bring it to me? Do I go to a zoo and ask? Do I have to go to college to become one?! Do I need a degree? I have raised sooooooooooo many baby animals through the years - most of them brought to me by my loving cat who wants to make sure I'm not hungry by giving me a dead animal then I would get mad at him so he brought me an injured animal like a baby bunny that he broke its leg or something then I would have to try to find the nest and bottle feed it and... ya know... how would I become one? Go to a zoo and ask for animals? set up posters saying if you found a baby animal come to me?!
Comparison of dog training schools (ABC vs. KPA vs. Ben Kersen vs. Michael Ellis)?
I have been looking into some dog training schools and would appreciate any info experienced dog trainers can provide. As I see it so far: Animal Behaviour College: Least expensive Good overview of material Can take grooming & training (more info) practical part is based on a mentor who may or may not be what you are looking for (this is where I see most complaints) Karan Pryor Academy: More in depth knowledge More expensive Only 8 days with a trainer? Ben Kersen & The Wonderdogs: Seems outdated Have 3 full months of full time hands on Need to incur travel costs Only accredited training school Michael Ellis: 2 weeks hands on travel costs appreciate and intensive Seems up to date Any suggestions? Thoughts? Thank you I want to mention that a lot of trainers are telling me to just get out there but I am having a hard time getting into the industry so want to increase my knowledge and experience by attending a course.