Animal shelter worker to dog trainer
An animal shelter worker already meets 51% of what the dog trainer role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
53.9/ 100
1 How much of what a dog trainer is expected to do is already part of an animal shelter worker’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the dog trainer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A dog trainer role treats 10 of its required skills as things an animal shelter worker already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on animal welfare
- anatomy of animals
- animal behaviour
- animal welfare legislation
- assess animal behaviour
- implement exercise activities for animals
What stands in the way is 9 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 18 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A dog trainer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an animal shelter worker background worth leading with.
- already held provide an enriching environment for animals handling and moving
- already held advise on animal purchase communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held work with veterinarians handling and moving
- already held implement exercise activities for animals handling and moving
- already held advise customers on appropriate pet care communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held create animal records information skills
All 18 carried skills, including the 10 the dog trainer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 18 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn apply animal hygiene practices required
- still to learn provide animal training required
- still to learn train animals and individuals to work together required
- optional, not held bathe dogs optional
- optional, not held evaluate dogs optional
- optional, not held select therapy animals optional
- still to learn biosecurity related to animals required
- still to learn signs of animal illness required
- still to learn animal welfare required
- still to learn protect health and safety when handling animals required
- still to learn treat animals ethically required
- still to learn dog behaviour required
- optional, not held assess the compatibility of individuals and animals to work together optional
- optional, not held design plans to address undesirable behaviour in animals optional
- optional, not held design training programmes for individuals and animals optional
- optional, not held develop an animal handling strategy optional
- optional, not held make decisions regarding the animal's welfare optional
- optional, not held advise on care products for pets optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a dog trainer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply animal hygiene practices practise this
- 02 biosecurity related to animals study this
- 03 protect health and safety when handling animals practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 18 skills that carry over
- already held advise on animal welfare skill
- already held anatomy of animals knowledge
- already held animal behaviour knowledge
- already held animal welfare legislation knowledge
- already held assess animal behaviour skill
- already held implement exercise activities for animals skill
- already held monitor the welfare of animals skill
- already held physiology of animals knowledge
- already held provide an enriching environment for animals skill
- already held provide first aid to animals skill
- already held advise customers on appropriate pet care skill
- already held advise on animal purchase skill
- already held assess animal's condition skill
- already held assist in transportation of animals skill
- already held create animal records skill
- already held maintain animal accommodation hygienic skill
- already held provide nutrition to animals skill
- already held work with veterinarians skill
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held advise on care products for pets optional
- optional, not held assess the compatibility of individuals and animals to work together optional
- optional, not held bathe dogs optional
- optional, not held design plans to address undesirable behaviour in animals optional
- optional, not held design training programmes for individuals and animals optional
- optional, not held develop an animal handling strategy optional
- optional, not held evaluate dogs optional
- optional, not held make decisions regarding the animal's welfare optional
- optional, not held select therapy animals optional
21 held skills the dog trainer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role administer appointments skill
- not needed by the target role animal training knowledge
- not needed by the target role assess character skill
- not needed by the target role assist customers skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role control animal movement skill
- not needed by the target role dispose of dead animals skill
- not needed by the target role groom animals skill
- not needed by the target role handle veterinary emergencies skill
- not needed by the target role instruct on animal care skill
- not needed by the target role interview people skill
- not needed by the target role maintain equipment skill
- not needed by the target role maintain welfare of animals during transportation skill
- not needed by the target role manage animal adoption skill
- not needed by the target role order supplies skill
- not needed by the target role promote animals skill
- not needed by the target role provide dog walking services skill
- not needed by the target role train dogs skill
- not needed by the target role unload supplies skill
- not needed by the target role wear appropriate protective gear skill
- not needed by the target role work in shifts skill
4 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn biosecurity related to animals required
- still to learn signs of animal illness required
- still to learn animal welfare required
- still to learn dog behaviour required
Other moves recorded from animal shelter worker
Common questions about this move
Can an animal shelter worker become a dog trainer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An animal shelter worker already covers 51% of what a dog trainer is expected to do: 18 skills carry over, 10 of which the dog trainer role treats as required.
What skills does an animal shelter worker need to become a dog trainer?
9 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is apply animal hygiene practices.
How hard is the move from animal shelter worker to dog trainer?
Its learning distance is 53.9 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.