How Much can a person make being a dog trainer?

Question

I would love to change careers and look into being a dog trainer but would like to know if it is worth the effort and expenst to do it.

Answer 1

As with many such fields, there is an elite that earn very good money indeed because the dogs they train win awards and their reputation for knowledge of the breed becomes known throughout the kennel club.

Any field, even the most trivial or small or specialized, has its super-stars. The experts who write and teach and do videos and endorse products and so on. Dog trainers are especially like that because of the significance of show dogs as the cream of the crop. A trainer who wins ribbons gets to pick and choose his clients, and do all those other things that make steady money even when he is not working -- royalties. And of course if he is a breeder as well, and the champions he is showing belong to him, he can make a very fine place for himself in this exclusive circle.

And then there's the guy who walks your dogs and dreams of bigger things. Does he study and learn, become aware of the fine details, become an expert groomer as a preliminary, perhaps, or take a job with a veterinarian? Or work as a volunteer trainer for Seeing Eye dogs? Join the AKC as a fully active member?

In short, does he simply dream, or take it seriously as a goal?