Whether you want to train dogs for a living or sort out the one at home, it starts in the same place: how dogs think. You learn what drives behaviour, where it goes wrong, and positive ways to change it.
Owners call a trainer when nothing else has worked. You learn the psychology first and the training methods second, so you can tell them why the dog does what it does.
Daycares, shelters and puppy schools all want people who read dogs well. The behaviour disorders topic is the one that makes you useful on a hard day.
Most people begin on their own dog. It is online and self paced with no exams, so you can work through a topic in the morning and try it in the back yard that afternoon.
These skills get used wherever dogs and people meet: training, daycare, shelters and puppy classes. The work is easy to picture: watching a dog for two minutes, seeing what nobody else saw, and handing the owner something that works.
One-on-one work with owners and their dogs. The obedience and movement topics are the daily toolkit.
Working with dogs whose behaviour has become a problem. The disorders topic is written for this.
Teaching a room of owners as much as their puppies. Development and early behaviour is where it starts.
Working beside a trainer while you build your own hours and confidence.
Reading a yard full of dogs and heading trouble off early. Communication and natural behaviour carry it.
Designing the day so dogs in kennels or shelters stay settled. Natural behaviour is the whole basis of it.
Roles where these skills are useful, not promised outcomes. Every role is different, and some need more study or experience. Veterinary and assistance dog roles need accredited study or specialist training.
Nine topics, from canine psychology through to training working dogs.
Here is what stands out in this course.
Canine behavioural disorders is its own topic, including what sits behind aggression. That is the call owners make when they are out of ideas.
The practical training skills here are positive and force-free, built on the psychology from the first half of the course rather than bolted on after.
Canine senses and communication covers what a dog picks up that you miss, and what your own body language is telling it back.
Training working dogs is a topic on its own, covering the methods used with farm dogs, hearing dogs and guide dogs.
Certificate of Achievement · The Career Academy
Awarded by the college when you complete the course, ready to go on your CV.
The college's courses are recognised by the CPD Standards Office, so the hours count as professional development.
Support for the job search, including CV help and interview preparation.
Send an enquiry and a course advisor gets back to you with the course guide, current pricing and straight answers on whether it fits what you are after.
Start any time. Pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly from $29 a week with no deposit and no credit check, or pay upfront in one payment.
Nine topics, fully online and self paced, with no exams. Tutors answer by phone and email in business hours the whole way through.
Complete the course and receive your Certificate of Achievement from the college.
None beyond liking them. The course starts with canine psychology and builds to the hands-on training. Having a dog to practise on helps, but it is not required.
From $29 a week, and you can pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly with no deposit and no credit check. You can also pay upfront in one payment. Enquire for the full options.
Around 80 hours of study, at your own pace. You get six months of access, so you can fit it around work.
This course is the dog side of it: psychology, behaviour and the training methods. It does not include a business course, so the setting-up part is on you. A lot of trainers take a few clients at weekends first and build from there.
No exams, ever. You work through the topics online and get assessed as you go.
It is accredited by ICOES and the CPD Standards Office, and the college is a member of the International Approval and Recognition Council. It is not NZQA accredited and it is not a national qualification. That is a different thing. Dog training is judged on the dog in front of you, and this course is built to give you that.
Yes. There is a 10-day money back guarantee, so you can enrol, look through the material and decide.
This course is delivered by The Career Academy, an online course provider in New Zealand with more than fifteen years behind it.
Courses run fully online and self paced, with no exams. Tutor support is unlimited by phone and email in business hours. Career coaching comes with your enrolment, including CV help and interview preparation, plus access to the Career Centre.
Picture the walk where the dog that lunged at everything trots past another dog beside you, loose lead, nothing.