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Where does most of us start off as a trainer?

I am just wandering where does most of us start off as a trainer?

By doing it free, at dog clubs, at shelter homes? I do hope to be an instructor one day but don't know where can I get an experience to be able to start a class of my own.

I started with my own dogs--but it helped that I have always had at least 3. For a long while I had 5. Three weeks ago I rescued two from a puppy mill and so I now have 7.

I don't know how many dogs you have, but if you think you might be able to give a good home to one more dog, you can adopt one from a kennel, and then you will have more than one dog and one personality to work with.

The reason I have so many dogs is:

1) I love 'em! and

2) I have always felt very bad about dogs that are in shelters, kennels, or other poor situations and that need a good home.

Sometimes, certain organizations will allow people to foster a dog, meaning that you don't keep it forever, but babysit it until someone else wants to adopt it permanently. So that is another way to have more dogs in your own home to work with.

The next step would be to go to a local shelter and volunteer some of your time. If you don't have a lot of training background, you can just volunteer to walk the dogs and help out generally--but that will give you the chance to be around many different dogs, and you can work a little with each. Something as simple as teaching a shelter dog how to sit can make the difference between a potential adopter passing over the dog or taking the dog!

The other great thing about doing some vounteer work with dogs like this is that you are not only helping the dogs, but you are getting the experience for free--whereas someone going directly into a program at a training school will be paying thousands of dollars, often to work with the same dogs!