Dog trainer to animal trainer
A dog trainer already meets 60% of what the animal trainer role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
52.2/ 100
1 How much of what an animal trainer is expected to do is already part of a dog trainer’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 animal trainer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An animal trainer role treats 18 of its required skills as things a dog trainer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on animal welfare
- anatomy of animals
- animal behaviour
- animal welfare
- animal welfare legislation
- apply animal hygiene practices
What stands in the way is 8 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 36 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An animal trainer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a dog trainer background worth leading with.
- already held dog behaviour natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held evaluate dogs handling and moving
- already held select therapy animals handling and moving
- already held design training programmes for individuals and animals management skills
- already held bathe dogs handling and moving
- already held train animals and individuals to work together handling and moving
All 36 carried skills, including the 18 the animal trainer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 31 missing skills fall into 9 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 safe work practices in a veterinary setting required
- still to learn practise veterinary professional codes of conduct required
- still to learn deal with challenging people required
- optional, not held assess customers optional
- still to learn handle veterinary emergencies required
- optional, not held care for horses optional
- optional, not held clean stalls optional
- optional, not held design training programmes for animals optional
- optional, not held select animals for training optional
- optional, not held teach young horses optional
- optional, not held train horses optional
- optional, not held transport horses optional
- optional, not held understand the animal's situation optional
- still to learn environmental enrichment for animals required
- optional, not held animal production science optional
- optional, not held young horses training optional
- still to learn manage animal biosecurity required
- optional, not held calculate rates per hours optional
- optional, not held take advantage of learning opportunities in veterinary science optional
- still to learn assistive instruments required
- still to learn safe work practices in a veterinary setting required
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an animal trainer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply safe work practices in a veterinary setting practise this
- 02 environmental enrichment for animals study this
- 03 manage animal biosecurity 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 36 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 knowledge
- already held animal welfare legislation knowledge
- already held apply animal hygiene practices skill
- already held assess animal behaviour skill
- already held biosecurity related to animals knowledge
- already held design training programmes for individuals and animals 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 animal training skill
- already held provide first aid to animals skill
- already held signs of animal illness knowledge
- already held train animals and individuals to work together skill
- already held treat animals ethically skill
- already held advise customers on appropriate pet care skill
- already held advise on animal purchase skill
- already held advise on care products for pets skill
- already held assess animal's condition skill
- already held assess the compatibility of individuals and animals to work together skill
- already held assist in transportation of animals skill
- already held bathe dogs skill
- already held create animal records skill
- already held design plans to address undesirable behaviour in animals skill
- already held develop an animal handling strategy skill
- already held dog behaviour knowledge
- already held evaluate dogs skill
- already held maintain animal accommodation hygienic skill
- already held make decisions regarding the animal's welfare skill
- already held protect health and safety when handling animals skill
- already held provide nutrition to animals skill
- already held select therapy animals skill
- already held work with veterinarians skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held collaborate with animal related professionals optional
- optional, not held interview animal owners on animals' conditions optional
- optional, not held maintain relationships with animal welfare establishments optional
- optional, not held provide mentorship optional
- optional, not held cope with challenging circumstances in the veterinary sector optional
- optional, not held manage a small-to-medium business optional
- optional, not held exercise patience optional
- optional, not held manage personal professional development optional
- optional, not held breed-specific behaviour of horses optional
- optional, not held horse anatomy optional
23 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held animal production science optional
- optional, not held assess customers optional
- optional, not held breed-specific behaviour of horses optional
- optional, not held calculate rates per hours optional
- optional, not held care for horses optional
- optional, not held clean stalls optional
- optional, not held collaborate with animal related professionals optional
- optional, not held cope with challenging circumstances in the veterinary sector optional
- optional, not held design training programmes for animals optional
- optional, not held horse anatomy optional
- optional, not held interview animal owners on animals' conditions optional
- optional, not held maintain relationships with animal welfare establishments optional
- optional, not held manage a small-to-medium business optional
- optional, not held select animals for training optional
- optional, not held take advantage of learning opportunities in veterinary science optional
- optional, not held teach young horses optional
- optional, not held train horses optional
- optional, not held transport horses optional
- optional, not held understand the animal's situation optional
- optional, not held young horses training optional
- optional, not held exercise patience optional
- optional, not held manage personal professional development optional
- optional, not held provide mentorship optional
0 held skills the animal trainer role does not ask for
7 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 environmental enrichment for animals required
- still to learn safe work practices in a veterinary setting required
- still to learn assistive instruments required
- optional, not held animal production science optional
- optional, not held breed-specific behaviour of horses optional
- optional, not held horse anatomy optional
- optional, not held young horses training optional
Common questions about this move
Can a dog trainer become an animal trainer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A dog trainer already covers 60% of what an animal trainer is expected to do: 36 skills carry over, 18 of which the animal trainer role treats as required.
What skills does a dog trainer need to become an animal trainer?
8 required skills are missing, plus 23 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is apply safe work practices in a veterinary setting.
How hard is the move from dog trainer to animal trainer?
Its learning distance is 52.2 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.