From Unpaid Apprentice to Head Sport Trainer

In 2014 I began training as an apprentice at a dog training facility. I started out as a gopher, mostly observing the teaching process and dealing with facility clean up. The next step up was becoming a Teacher's Assistant which meant I was now allowed to assist during classes and talk to students about any issues they might be having (although I still always checked in with my mentor before giving said advice). The TA position came to me simply because the regular assistant went on vacation and asked me to cover her shifts. During this time I developed a deep bond with my mentor and when it came time for the other assistant to come back to her job she was no longer needed. I believe the biggest underlying factor of this slight promotion can be attributed to the fact that the facility owners knew keeping me on as an unpaid apprentice would profit them more than paying for a salaried employee to work the shifts. I learned as much as I could from my mentor and she was more than willing to help me become better at what I do. She challenged me every day and I continuously proved to her I was up to the challenge. I got many more responsibilities because she trusted me to do as I was taught and she never second guessed me. At the beginning of every set of classes she would introduce me as her assistant and told the class that if they needed any help they could ask me as I was more than capable of answering any questions they might have. This was the biggest compliment I could have received and I made sure I knew every detail about everything we taught so if any questions were asked of me I could give a proper, knowledgeable and professional answer. I was a TA for close to two years before I was promoted to Co-Instructor. My Mentor decided it was time for her to move on with her career and leave our facility and she started this transition by dropping the Tuesday agility classes and only working one more batch of Sunday classes. When the Tuesday shift needed filling I was originally still a TA but as time went on my partner (who was the TA I took over from two years prior) realized I now had more experience and knowledge on the subject than she did so I was given the position of Co-Instructor. Once it came time for my mentor to leave for good she did the kindest most wonderful thing anyone has ever done for me by telling the facility owners that I was most qualified and skilled to take over when she left. Because of this I was not only given the position of lead agility instructor but also the position as Head trainer of all dog sports . This was a huge step up for me and this position meant I would finally be paid for my work and I got my very own apprentice to train. I have had the position for about a year and a half now and I couldn't be happier. I have been allowed to change the course outlines and brought them up to a new standard, to the point that we are now getting clients from other training facilities leaving reviews saying our program is far better than all others that they have tried. I am not one to feel confident and proud of myself but I am extremely proud of my accomplishments at work and I finally have something that I know I am good at doing. Agility was my first passion and what got me started but I knew I wanted to expand my horizons and become even more qualified so I got my CTDI (certified Trick Dog Instructor) certification and worked with my dog to earn her TDCH (Trick Dog Champion) title. This gave me the experience needed to be able to teach tricks. I may already have my dream job but I will never stop trying to better myself in my career, next on the horizon is to start teaching even more dog sports. I will become a Certified Trick Dog Judge qualified to judge competitions at Tridex 2018 in the next few months as well as learning how to properly teach disc, competition obedience and flyball classes. It has been a bit of a crazy whirl wind or hard work but I am so happy with how my life is turning out. So if you would like to become a dog trainer, follow your passion and never give up, even if you need to volunteer for a while to get there, do it and make it happen.