Hello, Let me first begin by saying I'm new to this board and I recently began wandering around reading all the posts and my thanks to everyone for all the good information. I've been on a "quest" now for almost 2 years and I thought this might be a good place to continue my search. Before I tell you about my "quest" let me tell you a bit about myself. I'm 29 years old, pretty athletic (played Div I soccer), very enthusiastic and hard working. I'm originally from upstate NY and living now in Northern California. I'll start just after my college years. When I finished college I didn't want to teach, I got my degree in Secondary Spanish education. I wanted to bum around a bit and not go right back into school: I was in school for 16 years! This was when I started working for a local animal hospital as a kennel attendant. After a couple of years I was working in another animal hospital as a vet tech when I met a dog obedience trainer whom I also worked for training his in kennel dogs in basic obedience. At that point I knew I would probably never teach and I wanted so badly to learn more about training working dogs. The gentleman who was the dog odedience trainer was also head trainer for the local K9 SAR team (which I must add was a joke but I gained good experience on what NOT to do when training a SAR dog). I was working my female GSD in tracking and I loved it despite the lack of enthusiasm on the team. All the while living in upstate NY and working as a tech and training with the local SAR team my "quest" continued. I talked to as many people as possible about a career in training working dogs. That was when I heard about an assistance dog apprentice trainer position here in Northern California. It's now 6 months later and I've found out that type of training isn't for me (too slow). I liked to train but I realized that something was still missing and my "quest" continues. I'm still looking for an "in" -so to speak- in finding employment. I know relatively nothing about training these dogs, just what personal research that I've done BUT I can say that I'm very self motivated, hard working, enthusiastic and eager to learn. After that long winded synopsis of my life I'm going to ask anyone out there if you know of anyplace where i can gain employment, starting in the kennels or wherever needed. I am very willing to relocate to almost anywhere. I relocated to California from NY to work with assistance dogs and would relocate again if necessary. I would appreciate any information anyone could give me to send my resume or speak to someone about this field. My thanks to anyone who responds and I will continue to read the posts to gain knowledge. Wendi

Wendi,

I am not sure what you are looking for. There is a list of programs on this site, the primary one being the Tom Rose school. Other than that ,welcome to the board and if that doesn't answer your question please re-phrase the question.

Well I guess what I am looking for is employment rather than a "school". I've checked out many schools and am very leary of putting the $ up without knowing whether or not it's going to be worth it. Also I am already paying back school loans from college. In your opinion, what is my best bet in getting into training, a school or looking for employment? What are the odds of someplace hiring a novice person with a lot of drive to succeed? Wendi

Odds? Zero. . .go to school. Triple Crown Dog Trainers Academy is the one I would choose. Tom Rose school looks good too. The guys at TC are TR grads.

There are enough grads out there that I would never hire a novice. Those kids that graduated from either Tom Rose school or Triple Crown are just as willing as you are.

You might be able to clean kennels for free somewhere in exchange for a little hands on with some dogs.

If you can't go to school the best thing I think to do is buy a started dog, join a Schutzhund club, and get at least a little experience. Title one or two dogs and then try to find someone.

How about putting this over here.

What if . . . a fresh fish like myself wanted to learn from a big gun but wasn't obviously experienced enough to help as much as someone else. At the same time though what if that person was willing to pay a monthly fee to that person while staying on their place and working with their kennel?

Basically like someone pays the employer to work, and in return they get more knowledge. I know that many people who run kennels make plenty of money and don't need any extra, but is that an idea?

I know I would be happy to teach someone in exchange for help around the kennels, and so forth. The SchH training is a blast, however, it doesn't bring in the money. So we have the pet people that we are constantly dealing with. If I could get someone responsible and who had a knack with dogs(I don't believe you can learn that, you either have it or you don't), it would be well worth my time and trouble. Hell, I might even be able to get my trip to Flinks yet!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I was supposed to go in April, however, my other trainer/kennel attendant decided to move to CA.