So You’re Thinking About Going Into the Dog Training Business?
written by: fkinyua
- Beverly & Pack / Foter / CC BY
In order to be effective in contemporary domestic life, a dog’s behavior can be modified to be able to undertake specific activities through commands. Training involves socializing the dog into the domestic environment for unique activities such as law enforcement, search and rescue, hunting, guarding livestock, entertainment, sports, protecting people and properties, and assisting people with disabilities.
Dog trainers are in high demand worldwide; if you think you have the skills of how to train a dog, this could be the business for you! Operating a dog training business doesn’t require much of the entrepreneur apart from assessing what you need and where you are going. First, you must decide what you would like the label of the business to be. Be certain to include the services you are offering in the name–this way you will get the customer’s attraction simply by them recognizing the service they want in your business name. Legalize your business. Getting the proper legal paperwork is an important procedure for anyone who is going to establish a longterm business. It helps in avoiding unseen circumstances that can cost the business unmanageable losses. Thereafter obtain an insurance certificate to protect your business, in case of any abnormality in the running of your business (like a dog injuring another customer’s dog or even you the trainer). Finally, work on getting clients who will embrace the venture. Let’s call it image and marketing; this is the most consuming and hardest step in this dog training business. Create a website about your business that can serve a variety of purposes like providing information about you, overview and tips on various dog training techniques, class description and location, providing enrollment forms, and keeping track of your data. Advertising will generate business, as well as getting referrals from the veterinary centers around the vicinity. Visualizing your business and placing it where you want it to be in five years is also important. Your vision can change but you need your goals to help you get started.
Although not many trainers can offer all the services of dog training from basic on- leash obedience to behavior modification, they always specialize in certain types of services, usually the ones they like doing best. Some of the services they offer include: dog or pet obedience, on- and off- leash obedience, hand signal and voice command training, pre-pet awareness (helping customers choose the kind of breed that will fit their lifestyle), full owner participation training, and competition obedience. For the business owner, any of these options can be best for you because consumers are out there who need all of these services.
For most in this line of work, dog training business is a serious business with a good financial bottom line. To be ultra-successfull, you need to do your homework. Read everything you can about the dog training business, talk to people who are already in the business to find out what worked for them and what didn’t so as to learn from their mistakes. If you love working with dogs, this could be a great career path for you!