Animal Trainer

Animal Trainer

Introduction:

Working with animals is an extremely rewarding and exciting career for those who genuinely love them. Animal training refers to teaching animals certain responses to specific conditions. It is a challenging and tough field that prepares an individual to teach and exercise animals for purposes such as companionship, detection, protection and entertainment. Animal trainers are trained instructors who carry out variety of training techniques to teach different types of animals. They prepare animals to get accustomed to human contact, and teaches them to respond to particular commands and situations. They train animals for specific tasks such as security, obedience, entertainment, racing and to assist disabled people. 

Animal training is a broad field which can include working with different types of animals like dogs, horses, elephants, marine mammals, birds, cats, tigers, bears, lions etc. The type of training an animal receives will vary depending on the training method used and the purpose for training the animal. So if you consider to choose animal training as your career, first you must decide what type of animals you want to work with. 

Depending on the type of animals trained, and the purpose for which they are trained, animal trainers can be classified as : 

Ø  Pet Animal Trainers
- Pet Trainers usually work with dogs, cats, birds etc. 

Ø  Service Animal Trainers
- A service animal trainer is essentially a specialized dog trainer.  They teach basic manners and special commands appropriate to the dog's field of work. Animals are also trained specifically for detective jobs in the police department, or jobs that include guiding people with vision or hearing impaired, as well as wheel chair bound individuals or people with seizure disorders.

Ø  Marine Mammals Trainers
- Train marine mammals like whales and dolphins for show

Ø  Exotic Animal Trainers
- Lions, tigers, bears and other wide animals are trained by exotic animal trainers

Ø  Horse Trainer
- Train horses for a variety of competitive equine sports, including dressage and show jumping, horse race etc.

Eligibility:

No formal educational qualification is necessary to work as an animal trainer; but candidates are expected to be 12th pass or at least to have a high school certification. The education requirements may vary according to the nature of the job, since there are various jobs related to animal training. 

Those who wish to become Marine Mammal Trainers or Exotic Animal Trainers, require a bachelors degree in zoology, biology, marine biology, animal science or psychology. After graduation, along with an animal training certificate, a candidate can apply for the concerned job. 

Job Opportunities and Career Options in Animal Training:

The role and title of animal trainers varies according to the type of animals they are working with. Besides the major duty performed, i.e training animals for different purposes, there are several other responsibilities like keeping animals on a strict diet, maintaining records of their health and keeping an eye on identifying minor injuries or changes in animal behavior. In addition to these their job outline also includes cleaning cages, feeding, watering, bathing, exercising, providing healthy environment for the animals etc. 

The areas of specialty available in the field of animal training are :

·       Animal Caretakers 

·       Zookeepers

·       Pet Groomer

·       Horse Trainers / Handlers

·       Dog Handlers / Dog Trainers

·       Marine Mammal Trainers

·       Exotic Animal Trainers

·       Animal actor training

·       Animal Behaviour counsellor

Remuneration:

Ø  Remuneration of an animal trainer varies according to the location and the type of animal that is being trained. An animal trainer can start up his career with an average salary of about Rs.10,000 or more per month. In this field experience determines the earning potential. An experienced person can earn a lump sum amount and they are paid on an hourly basis that varies from Rs.100/- to Rs.200/- or more. 

Ø  A horse trainer is paid a much different scale than a dog trainer. Horse trainers can attain excellent compensation at the high levels of their profession. Dog trainers are usually self-employed so they can set their own salary goals. The income of the self-employed dog trainers depend on the success of their business. Self-employed trainers tend to earn more than those employed by other trainers or pet businesses.

Ø  Animal trainers who are working in the film and entertainment industry, government organizations and research facilities can earn better salary as compared to the animal trainers employed in any other industry. Trainers who care for exotic animals have a higher pay rate, but the jobs are comparatively rare.

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