If you read the title of this blog, and it made you smile or caused you to become intrigued, it’s possible that you work as a vet tech in your local animal hospital.
First of all, I want to say thank you for doing a thankless job.
I know how hard you work to ensure every animal that passes through your care stays safe, happy and comfortable.
And I also know how much unpleasant work you get stuck with, and the fact that you’re willing to come to work every day and do that work to help animals in need is admirable.
So, once again, thanks.
As I continued to think about the work you do, I thought to myself, ‘Wow, there are so many qualities a vet nurse has that would make a person with this profession a great dog trainer.’
Not only do you probably have the right attributes, but having the skills of a dog trainer would also be very beneficial as you handle dogs and work with pet parents every day.
At the very least, being able to offer dog training services either at your vet’s office or on the side as a side job is a wonderful way to continue to make a difference in the lives of the dogs in your community while, of course, bringing in a little extra cash.
It’s possible that you’ve thought about becoming a dog trainer before. Maybe you’ve thought about it lots of times. Or maybe you’re just waiting for the right opportunity to come along.
Well, today I’ve decided to dedicate this post to vet techs who are looking for ways to help dogs outside of the work they do at the animal hospital.
How so?
By becoming a dog behaviorist through the Dog Trainer Academy program—a program I created for dog lovers just like you.
With that in mind, here are 5 big reasons why I believe that techs could make great dog trainers.
1. You Have the Right Attributes of a Dog Trainer
First of all, there are a number of things you do need to have to be a great dog trainer.
One of the most important things that you need to have is a love of dogs, and, obviously, as a vet tech, you have this attribute.
The second thing is that you actually have to like people.
Most vet nurses work with people all day, every day, so you have plenty of experience in that area.
Of course, you may love dogs more than people, and I understand that. However, you’re probably the kind of person who is good at communicating with and listening to people.
Those attributes are key qualities for being a dog trainer: a love of dogs, a love of people and the ability to communicate, listen and explain what is going on.
If you’d like to know a little bit more about why these skills are so important and would make you a natural dog trainer, you should check out this blog post here.
2. You Have Direct Access to a Steady Stream of People Who Need Your Help
One of the biggest concerns many people have is how to get their name out there as a new dog trainer.
Of course, as a vet tech, you won’t have that issue because you’re going to have a steady stream of people coming in and out of your practice, and, as you probably already know, many of them already need help with their dogs’ behavioral issues.
So, it’s not hard to get yourself up and running really quickly with basically what is free traffic by just promoting yourself with business cards or a little flyer here or there. All you have to do is tell people who you are and what you’re doing.
The good news is … when you find success in training a few dogs, it doesn’t take long for word to spread that you know what you’re talking about.
So, once you’ve worked successfully with 10 or 20 people, you’ll have 10 or 20 people who are actually shouting your name out there, telling everybody else what a great job you did and advertising for you.
These people become your sales people.
It’s a fantastic thing to be able to work with your existing clients and promote your own business towards helping dog owners and dogs. Word travels fast.
3. You Already Have a Good Understanding of Dogs
It’s one thing to go from the corporate world to dog training as someone who has never really worked with dogs. It’s a big jump, and I know because it’s the leap of faith I made.
However, as a vet tech, it’s a lot easier for you because you already have lots of dog experience.
In fact, I work with a lot of vets and vet nurses who tell me about their clients and how they need help because there’s nothing wrong with their dogs. This actually says to me that these vet techs can already see that the behavioral issue is caused by the owner, rather than the dog itself. They are already onto it!
So, instinctively, as a vet tech, you already know how to work with animals, almost at a training level. And this training level, the behavioral side of things, is not rocket science.
Once you understand why dogs have specific behavior problems (I share this with people inside the Dog Trainer Academy), it’s not hard to share it with dog owners. And, if you have the right information, you can provide dog owners with both medical and dog training knowledge.
You already have a lot of great experience than other people who are starting off as dog trainers wouldn’t have.
You also have an understanding of client-dog relationships, which is very important. It’s vital dog trainers are able to come alongside clients and understand the special relationships that people have with their dogs and that owners may be very protective of their little dogs. (I am sure you know what I am talking about!)
4. The Transition from Vet Nurse to Dog Trainer Is Easy
One of the big concerns that a lot of people have is the idea that they will have to quit their job or make a really big lifestyle change to start a career as a dog trainer.
If you were a CEO of an important company or a chef or someone that didn’t already work with animals, that might be the case.
However, as a vet tech, you can continue your current work while also pursuing a dog training career with minimum changes to your existing lifestyle and hours.
You don’t have to make a huge change. And you can start as slowly as you like and take as long as you like!
There’s no need to quit your job. In fact, staying in your current profession gives you a way to consistently gain new clients and share experiences. You can continue to get your name out there while you still have a steady income stream from your current job as a vet tech. And you can certainly make the most out of your connections with the vets.
It’s great to have an opportunity to begin a new career while also minimising the amount of change and risk you’ll have to experience as you transition.
You simply start small as a dog behaviorist with just a couple of clients a week, and then, as your business grows, you may start asking for less and less hours as a vet nurse and actually then finally take the jump and decide to go full-time.
If you have no intention of leaving your current career, you just schedule consults for training in the evenings or weekends to make some extra cash. There’s nothing wrong with training part-time, too! It may be that you love the variety and balance that it brings to your life.
5. Becoming a Dog Trainer Will Make You More Valuable to Your Employer
Becoming a dog trainer is actually mutually beneficial to both you and your employer because it’s quite easy to make dog training an addition to the vet practice where you work.
It’s sort of like a win-win-win. The person who owns the practice is getting the payoff from you attracting new customers. After all, the practice where you work will soon become known as a place where dog psychology is really understood. You benefit financially for offering your services. And dog owners can easily find a reliable place to get help with training their dog.
Everybody benefits, and, with my techniques on how to calm and destress dogs, the vet’s office will be a much happier place for any dog that comes through.
So, there are some ideas as to why I think that you, as a vet tech, are in a wonderful position to become a dog trainer. If I’ve peaked your interest in finding out more, then I encourage you to check out my Dog Trainer Academy program by clicking here.
If you're still in a place where you're looking to master your dog training skills before you take the leap to become a dog trainer, then I recommend checking out my program called The Dog Calming Code.
See how the methods in this program have helped me train over 88,000 dogs here!
Have a great day, and as always, LOVE YOUR DOG!
~Doggy Dan 🙂
2 Responses
Thank you so much for posting this! What a great idea for a step in the career path for vet techs. Most people have no idea what a challenging and emotionally and physically exhausting job this is (and for very low pay.) The average time people can handle it before moving on is around five years. My daughter did it for three, and has gotten a job at a human hospital (for more pay, better conditions, and working in the trauma emergency room is less distressing than the emotional roller coaster in a vet’s office.)
Becoming a dog trainer is another great idea.
I’m really glad you liked my Blog! I truly do believe that Vet Tech have a lot to offer when it comes to dog training and behaviour…plus it’s a really great job! All the best….Doggy Dan