Dog Trainer / Canine Behaviourist
🐕Trains and raises dogs: teaches obedience, prepares working dogs for search and guarding, corrects behaviour and prepares dogs for shows and competitions.
Prospects & pay
What the work is like
💼 Job market
🇺🇸 $49.2k a year on average · +4.2% jobs by 2035 · 6,500 openings a year
Animal trainers — US: Census ACS 2020–24 (full-time), BLS projections 2025–35
🇬🇧 £25.1k median a year · 17,000 jobs
Animal care services occupations n.e.c. — UK: ONS ASHE 2025 (full-time)
🤖 AI & automation
Apps can suggest training plans, but the bond, reading the dog and working with the owner cannot be replaced.
Who it suits
Interests: 🐾 Animals, 📖 Teaching and mentoring, 🏕️ Outdoor work, expeditions, 🏃 Sport and movement.
Key strengths: understanding people, strength and stamina, organisation.
Where to study
- Course Dog training certification (IMDT, APDT, CCPDT)
- Vocational Level 3 Diploma in Animal Management / Canine Behaviour
- Academy Police, military or detection dog handler courses
- Bachelor's BSc Animal Behaviour (for clinical behaviourists)
Key school subjects (A-level / IB / AP): Biology, Psychology.
🧗 Usually certified courses (IMDT, APDT, CCPDT) and practice under an experienced trainer; police and military handlers train in-house. Clinical behaviourists need a degree in animal behaviour.
Things to know
🛢️ Dirt, noise, smells
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