DogSmith School For Dog Trainers

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The DogSmith National Dog Training Center is located in rural Florida - An ideal dog training venue for year-round use and the perfect environment for candidates studying to become professional dog trainers.

The multi-use facility is very flexible and includes several acres of fenced pastures, classroom buildings and kennel areas.

The pasture areas are perfect for pet dog obedience training and the training field size can be varied to accommodate big or small dog training classes. They can also be adapted for whatever dog training skills are being taught, from basic pet dog obedience to competitive dog agility training.

DogSmith Franchise owners receive extensive hands-on training at The DogSmith Training Center for Dog Trainers and have the opportunity to immediately apply theory to practical use.

Become a Dog Trainer

The classrooms for the academic portion of the dog training and animal behavior curriculum are located adjacent to the training fields so professional dog trainer students can quickly put their newly acquired dog training knowledge to practical use in "real life" situations. There are ample additional indoor dog training and kennel areas suitable for animal behavior assessments and practical dog handling lessons.

College Curriculum for Dog Trainers

The DogSmith curriculum covers everything necessary to operate and manage a successful dog training and pet care business including the financial, marketing and human resource components.

Dog Training Methodology & Curriculum

The DogSmith Pet Dog Training curriculum is based on the natural behaviors of dogs and their ability to learn using scientifically applied learning theories.

Theory: – The DogSmith training theory is taught in classroom style meetings, lectures and discussions. Dog training students will be involved in discussions, presentations, group "teach-backs", seminars and homework.

Tools: The DogSmith Training Center uses a wide variety of assigned readings, seminar DVD's and training manuals.

Goal: By the completion of training each DogSmith dog training student will have the theoretical knowledge to:

1. Pass the American Kennel Club CGC Evaluator exam (2 years of professional work experience required).
2. Pass the American Boarding Kennel Association Pet Care Technician Level 1 & Level 2 exam.
3. Be prepared with the theoretical knowledge to take the CPDT exam (an additional 200 training hours required).
4. Pass the Red Cross Canine CPR certificate.
5. Pass the DogSmith Dog Training Center Diploma qualifying exam (250 multiple choice questions and 2 behavioral questions).

Theory Covered:

Part One - Animal Husbandry.
This section of the curriculum covers canine physiology and ethology with a focus on canine domestication, canine communication and canine development - physical, social and sensory. We also cover the critical stages of canine development and each stage's impact on learning. Part one also covers canine health, key diseases, and their effect on behavior, nutrition and the effect poor nutrition has on behavior, Spay/Neuter and the effects on behavior, health and population control, vaccinations, parasites & parasite control in the training environment, health & hygiene and basic pet care including pet CPR.

Part Two - Learning Theory – Operant & Respondent Conditioning

The learning theory section of our dog trainer curriculum covers Operant Conditioning & Respondent Conditioning. Operant Conditioning

• The four quadrants, Reinforcement, (negative and positive) and Punishment, (negative and positive).
• Operant extinction, spontaneous recovery and extinction bursts.
• ABC’s of behavior.
• Types of reinforcers and punishers, primary and secondary.
• How we select reinforcers and the factors impacting the effectiveness of reinforcers.
• Schedules of reinforcement.
• The types and application of differential reinforcement.
• Stimulus control, transferring stimulus control, prompting and fading.
• Understanding setting events and motivating operations.

Respondent Conditioning

• How conditioning occurs, extinction and environmental stimulus control.
• Management of antecedents.
• Desensitization programs and counter conditioning protocols
• Conditioned emotional responses.

Under the heading of learning theory we also cover the key training techniques to acquiring a behavior, shaping, prompting, luring, targeting and capturing. To assist with the development of these skills we spend many practical hours working on dog training mechanics, handler timing, body language, reinforcement timing and clear, concise and consistent cue systems.

Part Three - Dog Trainer Equipment

When learning to become a dog trainer it is critical that you are aware of and understand the different types of dog training equipment available so you can be sure of those that are aligned with our dog training philosophy and those that we avoid. This section of the training covers all the basic training equipment from collars, to leashes, toys, enrichment tools, treat bags, clickers and the wide array of conditioned reinforcers available. We also teach the dog trainer about ancillary equipment and its purpose and safe use.

Part Four - Skill Training, Acquisition, Fluency, Generalization & Maintenance

This section of the dog trainer curriculum covers the core of the DogSmith methodology. We cover in great detail, both in theory and practice, all the key dog obedience skills. Skills include 'sit', 'down', 'stand', 'maintain', 'come', 'walk nicely', 'heel', 'leave it', 'off'’, greeting a friendly stranger, sitting for petting, walking though a crowd, reaction to strange noise/visual stimulus and a supervised separation behavior. The DogSmith Dog Trainer curriculum for running effective puppy classes focuses on social skills, housetraining, bite inhibition, chewing behavior, introducing a collar & leash, interactive games, play nice, crate training and foundation obedience skills. In this part of the training we also discuss and teach skills to manage and solve some of the more common canine problems such as digging, barking, chewing, counter-surfing, door-hogging and front door etiquette problems, house training and crate training. We begin to introduce the shelter dog in this part of the curriculum as many of our clients will have spent some of their life living in a shelter with unique living conditions, stress issues and environmental differences.

Part Five - Dog Trainer Instructional Skills

Much of a professional Dog Trainer’s time will be spent teaching people how to teach their dogs. Section five is dedicated to developing DogSmiths as people trainers as well as dog trainers. DogSmith student trainers will learn how to prepare and plan for dog training classes, develop curriculum and training schedules, develop teaching skills. Students will also learn about the DogSmith's enrollment forms, training software, liability and indemnity forms and how to choose training locations. We teach DogSmith candidates about class structures, payment methods and key policies for handling aggressive dogs, dogs in heat, children and bad weather policies. There is key attention placed on safety in the training environment in terms of general handling skills, owner responsibility, trainer responsibility and environmental safety. Liability and indemnity, location, payment, prognosis, follow up report & agreed action, when to refer a client and DogSmith ethics is also covered. The DogSmith curriculum includes the essential topics of skill demonstration, task breakdown, behavior criteria, establishing client rapport, active listening, giving constructive feedback, targeting the audience and canine communication systems.

Part Six - Behavioral Change Programs

Part Six of the DogSmith Dog Trainer curriculum prepares the DogSmith candidate to conduct private lessons with a focus on modifying unwanted canine behavior. This part of the training focuses on the management, training and relationship an owner has with their dog. We teach the DogSmith candidate how to conduct a Functional Assessment, develop a contingency statement and recommend a behavior change program using the DogSmith's MTR© and ARRF©