Guide dog instructor to dog trainer
A guide dog instructor already meets 57% of what the dog trainer role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
49.3/ 100
1 How much of what a dog trainer is expected to do is already part of a guide dog instructor’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 11 of its required skills as things a guide dog instructor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- anatomy of animals
- animal welfare
- animal welfare legislation
- dog behaviour
- implement exercise activities for animals
- physiology of animals
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 20 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 a guide dog instructor background worth leading with.
- already held dog behaviour natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held evaluate dogs handling and moving
- already held train animals and individuals to work together handling and moving
- already held assess the compatibility of individuals and animals to work together management skills
- already held provide animal training handling and moving
- already held protect health and safety when handling animals assisting and caring
All 20 carried skills, including the 11 the dog trainer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 16 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 animal behaviour required
- still to learn biosecurity related to animals required
- still to learn signs of animal illness required
- still to learn apply animal hygiene practices required
- still to learn assess animal behaviour required
- optional, not held bathe dogs optional
- optional, not held select therapy animals optional
- still to learn advise on animal welfare required
- optional, not held advise on care products for pets optional
- still to learn monitor the welfare of animals required
- optional, not held assess animal's condition optional
- still to learn treat animals ethically required
- 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
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 advise on animal welfare practise this
- 02 animal behaviour study this
- 03 apply animal hygiene practices 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 20 skills that carry over
- already held anatomy of animals knowledge
- already held animal welfare knowledge
- already held animal welfare legislation knowledge
- already held dog behaviour knowledge
- already held implement exercise activities for animals skill
- already held physiology of animals knowledge
- already held protect health and safety when handling animals skill
- 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 train animals and individuals to work together skill
- already held advise customers on appropriate pet care skill
- already held advise on animal purchase skill
- already held assess the compatibility of individuals and animals to work together skill
- already held assist in transportation of animals skill
- already held create animal records skill
- already held evaluate dogs skill
- already held maintain animal accommodation hygienic skill
- already held provide nutrition to animals skill
- already held work with veterinarians skill
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held advise on care products for pets optional
- optional, not held assess animal's condition 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 make decisions regarding the animal's welfare optional
- optional, not held select therapy animals optional
16 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 assist social service users with physical disabilities skill
- not needed by the target role assistive instruments knowledge
- 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 deal with challenging people skill
- not needed by the target role design training programmes for animals skill
- not needed by the target role guide dog training methods knowledge
- 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 professional administration skill
- not needed by the target role manage a small-to-medium business skill
- not needed by the target role stay alert skill
- not needed by the target role support individuals to adjust to physical disability skill
- not needed by the target role tolerate stress skill
- not needed by the target role visual disability knowledge
3 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 animal behaviour required
- still to learn biosecurity related to animals required
- still to learn signs of animal illness required
Common questions about this move
Can a guide dog instructor become a dog trainer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A guide dog instructor already covers 57% of what a dog trainer is expected to do: 20 skills carry over, 11 of which the dog trainer role treats as required.
What skills does a guide dog instructor need to become a dog trainer?
8 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary. The single most important is advise on animal welfare.
How hard is the move from guide dog instructor to dog trainer?
Its learning distance is 49.3 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.