Curriculum
Our comprehensive in-person dog training curriculum is designed to transform your passion for dogs into professional expertise through hands-on experience and personalized instruction.
Depending on whether you choose our 60-day Professional Dog Trainer Program or our 100-day Specialized Dog Trainer Program, you'll master everything from foundational obedience and canine communication to advanced specializations in service dog training and dog sports.
Our curriculum goes beyond just teaching dogs—you'll learn essential business skills, client communication strategies, and real-world troubleshooting techniques that prepare you to excel whether you're joining an established company or launching your own dog training business. Every module is built around practical application so you can graduate with confidence and competence in the pet industry.
Professional Dog Training Program
(300 Hour Program)
The Professional Trainer Program will teach you the fundamental skills to be a professional dog trainer. In this course, you will learn everything needed to start your career, including the following skills:
✔️ Trainer’s toolbox
✔️ 30+ basic and intermediate skills
✔️ Basic tricks
✔️ Luring/shaping/capturing behaviors
✔️ Troubleshooting and skill maintenance
✔️ Solving common unwanted behaviors
✔️ Creating a training plan
✔️ Selling training packages
✔️ Group class instruction
✔️ Client evaluation and communication skills
✔️ Starting a training business
✔️ Canine learning theory
✔️ Canine communication and body language
✔️ Pet safety and enrichment
✔️ Pet CPR and First Aid
Specialized Dog Training Program
(500 Hour program)
This program builds off our Professional Dog Trainer Program. Students will do a deep dive into service dog training and dog sports. These are unique, more advanced skills in the field of dog training, and they create financial opportunities that very few are qualified for. In addition to the Professional Trainer skills, you will learn:
Service Dog Training:
✔️ 10+ Service Dog Skills
✔️ Advanced Retrieve Skills
✔️ Service Dog Laws & Regulations
✔️ Dog Selection & Puppy Raising
✔️ Service Dog Business Models
Dog Sports:
✔️ Dog Sport Safety & Equipment
✔️ Competition Rules & Regulations
✔️ Hosting Dog Sport Classes
✔️ Agility Practical Skills
✔️ Nose Work Practical Skills
✔️ Intro to Disc Dog, Dock Diving, and more.
*During the program, students may also obtain their American Kennel Club Trick Dog and Canine Good Citizen certifications.
Curriculum Topics
Our certificate programs combine scientific learning theory with modern, positive reinforcement techniques, ensuring graduates are equipped to work with dogs of all breeds, temperaments, and training goals. Below, you'll find detailed descriptions of each component of our curriculum, designed to transform dog lovers into professional trainers.
Professional Dog Trainer Program
Trainer's Toolbox
In this foundational module, students learn about the essential equipment and resources every professional dog trainer needs. We cover the selection and proper use of training tools including clickers, treat pouches, various leash types, long lines, target sticks, and positive reinforcement rewards. Students gain hands-on experience with each tool and learn when and how to apply them effectively in different training scenarios. We also discuss building a professional toolkit that aligns with modern, science-based training methods.
30+ Basic and Intermediate Skills
Students master the core obedience behaviors that form the foundation of every training program. This comprehensive section covers essential commands like sit, down, stay, come, heel, leave it, drop it, and wait, along with intermediate skills such as impulse control exercises, duration behaviors, distance work, and distraction training. Through progressive instruction, students learn to teach each skill reliably and adapt techniques for dogs of varying ages, breeds, and temperaments.
Basic Tricks
Beyond obedience, students discover how trick training builds the human-animal bond and provides mental stimulation for dogs. This engaging module teaches students how to train popular tricks. This includes shake, roll over, spin, play dead, high five, and more. Students learn how trick training enhances problem-solving skills, boosts confidence in both dogs and handlers, and creates enjoyable enrichment opportunities that strengthen the client-pet relationship.
Luring/Shaping/Capturing Behaviors
Students explore the three primary methods of positive reinforcement training and learn when to apply each technique most effectively. Luring uses food or toys to guide dogs into desired positions, shaping rewards successive approximations toward a goal behavior, and capturing marks naturally occurring behaviors. Through practical application, students develop the timing, observation skills, and creativity needed to train virtually any behavior using these science-based approaches.
Troubleshooting and Skill Maintenance
Even well-trained dogs can experience setbacks. In this unit, students learn the diagnostic skills to identify why behaviors break down. This module covers common training plateaus, regression issues, generalization challenges, and environmental factors that affect performance. Students develop problem-solving strategies to get training back on track and learn how to help clients maintain skills long-term through proper reinforcement schedules and ongoing practice routines.
Solving Common Unwanted Behaviors
Students gain expertise in addressing the behavioral challenges clients most frequently encounter. This includes jumping, pulling on leash, excessive barking, counter-surfing, inappropriate chewing, and door-dashing. We emphasize identifying the underlying motivations for these behaviors and implementing positive, effective solutions that replace unwanted actions with desirable alternatives. Students learn to create customized behavior modification plans that produce lasting results.
Creating a Training Plan
Professional trainers must deliver structured, goal-oriented programs tailored to each client's needs. Students learn to assess a dog's current skill level, establish realistic training objectives, break complex goals into achievable steps, and design week-by-week lesson plans. This module covers documentation best practices, tracking progress, adjusting plans based on results, and communicating timelines and expectations clearly to clients.
Selling Training Packages
Running a successful training business requires more than just technical skills. Students learn how to present their services professionally, create tiered package offerings that meet different client needs and budgets, communicate value effectively, handle objections, and close sales with confidence. We cover pricing strategies, package design, payment options, and consultation techniques that convert inquiries into committed clients.
Group Class Instruction
Group classes offer unique challenges and rewards compared to private sessions. Students develop the skills to manage multiple dog-handler teams simultaneously, maintain safety in a group environment, provide individual attention within a class setting, and create engaging lesson plans that keep all participants progressing. This module includes practice teaching, classroom management techniques, and strategies for creating a positive, supportive learning atmosphere.
Client Evaluation and Communication Skills
Effective trainers must be excellent communicators who can assess clients' needs, explain concepts clearly, and provide constructive feedback. Students learn intake interview techniques, how to observe and evaluate dog-handler interactions, active listening skills, and methods for delivering information in ways that empower clients. We emphasize building trust, managing expectations, and maintaining professional boundaries while creating strong working relationships.
Starting a Training Business
For students interested in entrepreneurship, this module provides the business foundation needed to launch a successful dog training practice. Topics include business structure and licensing, insurance requirements, pricing and profitability, marketing and branding, website development, social media presence, and networking within the pet industry. Students leave with a roadmap for turning their training skills into a viable career.
Canine Learning Theory
Understanding how dogs learn is fundamental to effective training. Students dive into the science of animal behavior, exploring classical and operant conditioning, reinforcement schedules, extinction, stimulus control, and motivation. We examine learning theory pioneers like Pavlov and Skinner while applying modern behavioral science to practical training scenarios. This knowledge base ensures students can explain the "why" behind their methods to clients.
Canine Communication and Body Language
Reading dogs accurately is essential for safety and training success. Students will become fluent in interpreting canine body language. This includes ear position, tail carriage, facial expressions, posture, and movement patterns. We cover stress signals, calming signals, arousal levels, and signs of discomfort or fear. Students learn to recognize when dogs are ready to learn, when they need a break, and how to prevent miscommunication between dogs and humans.
Pet Safety and Enrichment
Responsible trainers prioritize the physical and mental wellbeing of every dog in their care. This module covers safe handling techniques, environmental safety assessment, preventing training-related injuries, and recognizing signs of stress or overexertion. Students also learn to design enrichment activities that provide mental stimulation, satisfy natural instincts, and enhance quality of life through food puzzles, scent work, and appropriate play.
Pet CPR and First Aid
Emergency preparedness can save lives, and professional trainers must be ready to respond to medical crises. Students receive comprehensive training in recognizing common canine emergencies, performing CPR on dogs of all sizes, managing choking, controlling bleeding, treating shock, and stabilizing injured animals for transport. This hands-on certification ensures graduates can act confidently and effectively when every second counts, providing an additional layer of professional credibility and client peace of mind.
Specialized Dog Trainer Program
In addition to the skills above, students learn...
SERVICE DOG TRAINING:
10+ Service Dog Skills
Students learn to train specialized tasks that assist individuals with disabilities in their daily lives. This module covers essential service dog behaviors. This includes mobility support skills, retrieval tasks, medical alert responses, psychiatric support behaviors, and public access manners. Students gain hands-on experience teaching skills such as opening doors, turning on lights, providing balance support, interrupting anxiety behaviors, and retrieving dropped items. We emphasize the precision, reliability, and consistency required for service dog work, ensuring students understand the elevated standards these working dogs must meet.
Advanced Retrieve Skills
Building on basic retrieval, students master the complex fetching tasks that make service dogs invaluable to their handlers. This advanced module covers teaching dogs to retrieve specific named items, pick up small objects like coins or credit cards, fetch items from shelves or drawers, bring medications or phones, and deliver objects to a person's hand or lap. Students learn shaping techniques for precise mouth work, how to build discrimination between similar items, and methods for teaching dogs to problem-solve when locating requested objects in various environments.
Service Dog Laws & Regulations
Professional service dog trainers must thoroughly understand the legal framework governing assistance animals. Students learn the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, the distinction between service dogs, emotional support animals, and therapy dogs, public access rights and limitations, housing and travel regulations, and state-specific laws. We cover handler rights, business obligations, liability issues, and how to educate clients and the public about legal protections. This knowledge ensures graduates can advocate appropriately and train dogs that meet legal standards.
Dog Selection & Puppy Raising
Not every dog is suited for service work, and early development is crucial to success. Students learn to evaluate temperament, health, and behavioral traits that predict service dog aptitude. This module covers breed considerations, health screening requirements, puppy socialization protocols, early neurological stimulation, exposure to various environments and stimuli, and foundation training for young prospects. Students understand the critical developmental periods and learn to identify red flags that may indicate a dog should be career-changed to a different role.
Service Dog Business Models
The service dog industry offers multiple career paths, and students explore various business approaches including owner-training support services, fully trained service dog placement programs, task-specific training consultation, and nonprofit versus for-profit models. We discuss pricing structures, funding sources, grants and sponsorships, client screening processes, waitlist management, and partnership opportunities with medical professionals and disability organizations. Students learn to identify which business model aligns with their goals and resources.
DOG SPORTS:
Dog Sport Safety & Equipment
Safety is paramount when working with dogs in athletic activities. Students learn proper equipment selection, fitting, and maintenance for various dog sports. This includes harnesses, jumps, tunnels, weave poles, and sport-specific gear. This module covers injury prevention through appropriate warm-up and cool-down routines, recognizing signs of physical stress or fatigue, surface considerations, weather-related safety concerns, and building dogs' fitness gradually. Students understand how to create safe training environments that allow dogs to perform at their best while minimizing injury risk.
Competition Rules & Regulations
Each dog sport has specific governing bodies, rules, and titling systems that participants must understand. Students explore the regulations for popular venues including AKC, NADAC, UKC, NACSW, and other organizations. We cover eligibility requirements, class levels and progression, scoring systems, qualifying criteria, fault deductions, and title abbreviations. Students learn to read premium lists, enter competitions, understand judges' expectations, and prepare clients for the competition experience from registration through awards.
Hosting Dog Sport Classes
For trainers interested in expanding their offerings, this module provides the skills to organize and run successful dog sport programs. Students learn curriculum development for progressive skill-building, class structure and timing, managing different skill levels within groups, equipment setup and space requirements, waiver and liability considerations, and creating a supportive team atmosphere. We cover marketing sport classes, retention strategies, and preparing students for competition while keeping training fun and motivating for both dogs and handlers.
Agility Practical Skills
Students gain hands-on experience with one of the most popular dog sports. This module covers teaching dogs to navigate standard obstacles. This includes A-frames, dog walks, seesaws, tunnels, weave poles, and various jump types. Students learn sequencing skills, handling techniques including front crosses and rear crosses, distance work, course analysis, and strategies for building speed and confidence. We emphasize foundation training that creates safe, enthusiastic agility dogs and address common obstacles where dogs struggle.
Nose Work Practical Skills
Tapping into dogs' natural scenting abilities, students explore the rapidly growing sport of nose work and scent detection. This module teaches how to introduce target odors (birch, anise, clove), develop systematic search patterns, work various environments including containers, interiors, exteriors, and vehicles, build drive and motivation, and progress from simple hides to competition-level challenges. Students learn to read their dogs' body language during searches and understand how environmental factors affect scent. This low-impact sport is suitable for dogs of all ages and abilities.
Intro to Disc Dog, Dock Diving, and More
Students receive exposure to the exciting variety of dog sports available beyond traditional obedience and agility. This survey module introduces disc dog (canine frisbee) fundamentals including throws, catches, and choreography; dock diving techniques and distance measurements; rally obedience patterns and signs; barn hunt for dogs with prey drive; FastCAT and lure coursing for sighthounds and athletic breeds; and emerging sports. Students discover the unique benefits each sport offers and learn how to match dogs and handlers with activities that suit their interests, physical abilities, and goals.