Animal Trainers

Also Called:

Dog Trainer,

Guide Dog Mobility Instructor (GDMI),

Horse Trainer,

Trainer

What they do: Train animals for riding, harness, security, performance, or obedience, or for assisting persons with disabilities. Accustom animals to human voice and contact, and condition animals to respond to commands. Train animals according to prescribed standards for show or competition. May train animals to carry pack loads or work as part of pack team.

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Agriculture

Career Cluster

What do they typically do on the job?

  • Cue or signal animals during performances.
  • Talk to or interact with animals to familiarize them to human voices or contact.
  • Conduct training programs to develop or maintain desired animal behaviors for competition, entertainment, obedience, security, riding, or related purposes.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.

Perseverance

Dependability

Attention to Detail

Self-Control

Cooperation

Empathy

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

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Realistic

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Social

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Conventional

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Verbal

  • Communicate by speaking

  • Listen and understand what people say

Ideas and Logic

  • Notice when problems happen

  • Order or arrange things

Endurance

  • Exercise for a long time without getting out of breath

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills

  • Talking to others

  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things

Social

  • Teaching people how to do something

  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions

Problem Solving

  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research

  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career

2. Plan your next move

  • Talk to your college and career counselor or school admissions staff
  • Visit Idaho Launch
  • Search for available Animal Trainers jobs on Idaho Works

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop