Course Overview
Our Professional Trainer Program is designed for professional dog trainers who are currently practicing in the field. This program is ideal for independent trainers looking for mentorship, shadowing opportunities, and the chance to immerse themselves within an established team of experienced trainers.
This program is also available to business owners who need structured training and development for their staff. Whether you are an independent trainer or building a team within your own company, the program is designed to strengthen the knowledge, execution, and consistency needed to deliver successful training outcomes. The focus of this program is to ensure students understand and grasp the core concepts of training that apply across all areas of dog training, including dog sports, behavioral training, puppy raising, behavior modification, and day-to-day obedience.
Throughout the program, students will focus on learning how to implement and execute training plans that support the successful completion of board and train programs, private lessons, and long-term training plans. This is an on-site program held at our Chicago headquarters, running daily from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. In addition to classroom instruction, students will participate in day-to-day shadowing and hands-on learning within our board and train programs and puppy development curriculum.
Program Outline
As part of the Professional Trainer Program, we will revisit and rediscover learning theory through a new lens, focusing on the practical application that drives Dog Tribe’s behavior platform.
By understanding the theory behind the work, students will build the ability to rehabilitate dogs, follow the steps that matter, and solve problems that many centers and trainers struggle to address.
This includes both traditional learning theory and Dog Tribe’s accelerated learning practices.
Learning Theory
What a trainer can do with their own two hands is, by far, the make-or-break factor in successfully completing a dog training program for a family. Technical skill determines whether a dog clearly learns a behavior, whether we can motivate and guide the dog effectively, or whether confusion slows the process down and creates the opposite effect.
Being technically accurate and proficient is something we drive home throughout Dog Tribe. It determines our ability to teach dogs, communicate goals clearly, and produce reliable results.
Students will receive high-level coaching on what to do, how to do it, and how to execute training with clarity, timing, and consistency.
Technical Coaching
All students will participate in existing facility programs and receive coaching from senior instructors who have logged thousands of hours training dogs and bringing programs to a successful finish line. Through program participation, students will learn how to apply their technical training and theory under direct supervision and program leadership.
As part of the program, students will work with dogs in multiple phases of training and behavior development. This includes dogs with no prior training, as well as dogs that have been in structured programs for several weeks or months.
Program Participation
As part of the Professional Trainer Program, students will rotate through different areas of our Chicago headquarters to gain exposure to the full scope of Dog Tribe’s training ecosystem. This includes time in Pup Start, our puppy development program, where students will observe and work with puppies as young as 8 weeks old while learning early imprinting, environmental exposure, social development, and foundation training.
Students will also rotate through our Adventure Dog and Rehabilitation Program, gaining exposure to dogs at different stages of training, from obedience and off-leash development to more complex behavioral challenges.
Program Rotations
Enrollment
Requirements
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Complete Enrollment Application
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Minimum 21+ years of age
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Students must be currently practicing as a professional dog trainer, working trainer, or staff member within a dog training business
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Business owners may enroll members of their team for staff development and continued education
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Students must have basic handling experience and be comfortable working around dogs in an active training facility
What to Expect:
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Structured, hands-on training for their staff inside an active training facility
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Exposure to Dog Tribe’s training systems, coaching standards, and program structure
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Staff development focused on technical handling, timing, communication, and training execution
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A better understanding of how to build and complete board and train programs, private lesson plans, and long-term training plans
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Shadowing opportunities with senior instructors and experienced trainers
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Exposure to puppy development, obedience training, behavior modification, and rehabilitation cases
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Real-world application of learning theory and technical training
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A stronger foundation for creating consistency across their own training team
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Insight into how Dog Tribe manages dogs through different phases of training and behavior development