Our Philosophy – Lead You to a Successful Dog Trainer Career
At CATCH Canine Trainers Academy, our goal is to provide you with an amazing education and an awesome learning experience. When it comes to a dog training career, we believe the two naturally go hand-in-hand. Read about our philosophy for the following major areas of our school:
Your Studies:
Get Out of Your Office Chair, Off the Couch, and Start Interacting with Dogs!
We believe strongly in learning by doing. Therefore, your program is loaded with hands-on activities from the very beginning. You’ll get deep into theoretical study, but you won’t have to sit through weeks of readings before you head out into the field to observe and work with dogs. You’ll be hands-on with puppies as one of the very first activities in Phase 1.
When your hands-on training exercises merge with your theoretical studies, you will gain a deeper understanding of dogs than you ever had before. You will read canine communication and see new possibilities for training that you never knew were there.
As far as study or work goes, we think this is as cool as it gets. We’re confident that you will, too.
A Complete Library for Your Studies and Dog Training Career
We want you to get a complete education that includes the ideas and expertise of many different great dog trainers from around the world. That’s why we provide you with a library of books and videos by a wide range of renowned training experts. This library is yours for the rest of your career, and believe us, it will come in handy. Your library is included with your course tuition in addition to the invaluable CATCH Guide to Becoming a Professional Dog Trainer. The “CATCH Guide” is an in-depth binder of knowledge, practice questions, and skill building activities authored by CATCH and is available exclusively to our students.
Accessible Trainers Mentor and Guide You Throughout
We believe in all of our students getting a chance to discuss topics and get feedback directly from trainers that meet our high standards. You shouldn’t have to wait until your mentorship phase begins to be able to talk to a professional trainer. That is why your Program Director, an experienced trainer, works closely with you and is personally accessible to you from the very beginning and throughout your course.
Dog Training Methods:
The reward-based dog training methods you will learn at CATCH are based on modern, scientific learning principles that are endorsed by organizations such as the Association of Professional Dog Trainers and the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers.
Hazel gives David a big kiss. Connecting with dogs is what it’s all about.
CATCH teaches force free, positive reinforcement training techniques and these are the methods that you will practice and be evaluated on throughout the curriculum. You will learn to use a wide variety of rewards to motivate and reinforce desired behavior. Using these methods you can build behaviors and manners from the simple (e.g., Sit instead of jump) to the advanced (e.g., go to a designated mat, lie down, and stay, even amidst distractions) and beyond (service dog and working dog training).
We believe in reward-based dog training as the best method for effective learning, long-term results, and great relationships with dogs. At the same time, we know that you must understand many different training methods in order to have intelligent conversations with your clients and guide them into making good, safe decisions. Therefore, your studies will include learning about how various training techniques work, their pros and cons, and the effects they produce.
CATCH does not support the use of training techniques or tools that cause pain or harm to a dog, physically or mentally (e.g., shocking, choking, pinching). We understand that many dog owners have tried and used methods like these without fully understanding the cons and risks of doing so. By studying how dogs think and learn, and therefore how they are affected by different approaches, you can make well-informed decisions for your clients, their dogs, and your career development. There are so many effective training solutions that enhance the bond between dogs and people, and we invite you to learn about them in detail. You and the dogs in your care will appreciate the excellent results.
Helping Shelter and Rescue Dogs:
One of the best possible things we can do for dogs is to volunteer time at shelters. This is a key part of the CATCH Canine Trainers Academy curriculum. Training shelter dogs is a fantastic way to build your skills while at the same time helping dogs who need the attention and who have potential to make fabulous pets. By training these dogs, you will increase their chances of finding a great home and staying with their new family. At the same time, you will build your training chops, dog-reading skills, and overall confidence. This is a big win-win!
In support of shelter and rescue organizations’ efforts, our School Director David is a speaker for the PetCo Foundation and Petfinder’s wonderful Adoption Options events. These are national, full-day workshops where dog rescue staff learn new skills from training and behavior experts.
We also help train and socialize shelter dogs through our one-week workshops that give you an incredible opportunity to train many different dogs all day, every day. We provide the dogs and the pro instructors, you provide the passion! These intensive programs teach you how to build or refine rock-solid skills as you practice professional techniques with a coach at your side. Workshops can be taken standalone or in combination with any full-length course for a total learning experience that is unmatched. When the Master Class is taken in combination with a hands-on Dog Trainer Workshop we call this the Platinum Package and there is a special discount for enrolling in both at the same time.
In summary, our workshops with shelter dogs can be taken by themselves as an amazing standalone learning experience or in addition to one of our self-paced courses that can be taken from anywhere in the country! Visit the dog trainer workshops page to learn more or call and ask us how you can add this experience to your total course package.
Student Support and Community:
Successful Dog Training Careers
Our number one goal is to help you launch a successful dog training career. That means that as you study, we encourage you to ask questions! Your personal Program Director and the Student Support team will be available to provide you with help via our toll free number, whether you have a question about your program schedule or a specific dog training topic you are studying.
We believe in the power of a passionate community to support one another and make learning more fun. To this effect, we provide multiple outlets for engaging in dialogue with our expert staff and fellow students. These range from online (e.g., our social media pages) to in-person (with your local mentor trainer). We always encourage you to share what you have been learning, challenge yourself and our team with interesting new questions, and seek feedback on your answers.
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