Dog Trainer Courses - Short Intensive Course

Dog Trainer Courses: Part-Time

Cost: $3,500

Application process

Click the 'Apply now' button and complete the online form
You will be emailed the details of the free pre-course information session
You will be expected to attend the free pre-course information session on either Thursday 17th February or Saturday 19th February 2022
At this point there is no obligation to enrol in the part-time course. If you choose to enrol, payment will be due after the information session

Apply now

Course Overview

The ACP Part-time Dog Trainer Course runs over a twelve month or eighteen month period depending on the options selected. The course runs once a year and usually begins in February or March.

There will be two free pre-course information sessions on Thursday 17th February and Saturday 19th February 2022. All applicants will be emailed the details of this session. To apply for the course click on the 'Apply now' button above.

The part-time dog trainer course begins on Saturday February 26, 2022

Dates for 2022 Saturday handling workshops and Sunday lectures are as follows:

Saturday workshops:

Feb 26th
Apr 9th
June 25th
Aug 27th
Oct 22nd

Sunday lectures:

Feb 27th
Mar 27th
April 17th
May 29th
June 26th
July 31st
Aug 28th
Sep 11th
Oct 23rd
Nov 27th

Introduction

The Alpha Canine Professional Part-time Dog Trainer Course has been developed by dog trainers, for dog trainers. This course/traineeship is unique within the industry and offers successful applicants the opportunity to learn their craft within a successful business model (Alpha Dog Training) where they will be able to apply their teaching skills in real training scenarios, with real owners and their dogs.

Alpha Canine Professional along with Alpha Dog Training have pioneered many exciting and new training and service initiatives within our industry. Trainees will see and experience the results of progressive approaches to teaching owners and training dogs that are based on many years of extensive research and development. When combined with the 'hands-on' handling and training of many different dogs throughout the course, the learning opportunities are invaluable.

Target Audience

The Part-time Dog Trainer course has been developed for anybody wishing to learn how to become a professional dog trainer. This course has also proven to be helpful for those already in the industry, but are in need of more 'hands-on' dog handling and training experience or have found that the methods they have previously learned are not effective in reality.

Due to the length of the course and required contact hours, the part-time option is only suitable for those who live in Melbourne, Australia.

Objectives

The focus of this course is to teach trainees how to develop a genuine feel for teaching different dogs good manners, leadership obedience and where applicable, rehabilitation techniques that target and interrupt unacceptable canine behaviour.

Through ''ands-on' application of the methods on their own dogs and many different dogs throughout the course, trainees experience and validate the methods first-hand which in the end gives them an invaluable belief in the techniques being taught. At the same time an important empathy is developed for the dog owners they will be helping in the future. The methods learned and practiced on the course are exactly the same as those you will teach others!

The extra teaching opportunities offered on the part-time course option will add another level of method validation and customer communication skills.

Outcomes

At the end of the course all trainees are handling and training dogs of all shapes and size with a genuine confidence and competence that can only be achieved through 'hands-on' experience. The knowledge and skills gained are both incredibly relevant to working with dog owners in the real world and teaching them the finer points of both preventative training approaches and if required, rehabilitative training approaches.

The Alpha Canine Professional Part-time Dog Trainer Course truly prepares trainers for the realities of helping owners to understand, train, (if need be) rehabilitate and safely manage their dogs.

Pre-requisites

Alpha Canine Professional requires that all trainees must speak and understand the English language.

There are no pre-requisites on dog training or handling experience.

Alpha Canine Professional teaches relevant theory and effective methods that are not widely known or understood within our industry. Those with prior learning from other industry courses or previous industry experience are accepted onto Alpha Canine Professional courses on an individual case basis to avoid any potential conflict of interest.

This is a 'hands-on' dog trainer course and as such is suitable for anyone who is fit and healthy. Dog training can be a physical activity, however it is not overly strenuous. Please contact us if you have any ailments that could affect your ability to participate in the more physical aspects of the course.

All trainees must own a dog and if they are from Australia, must bring their own dog along to the course for training up to demonstration standard.

All trainees must have a diver's licence and their own transport.

Course Outline

The Alpha Canine Professional Part-time Dog Trainer Course is structured around modern, relevant canine learning and behavioural theory that is then combined with 'hands-on' workshops covering dog handling and behaviour recognition, Leadership Obedience training, Canine Good Behaviour Shaping and Alpha Canine Behavioural Rehabilitation. The Part-time course is broken down into three sections.

There are ten compulsory, half-day seminars/workshops, with the exception of the February one which is a FULL-day. Set dates are listed in the "Dates for 2022 Saturday handling workshops and Sunday lectures are as follows" section (above)
Supervised Dog handling and training sessions (150 dogs over the 12 month course or 220 dogs over the 18 month option)
Compulsory attendance at Alpha Dog Training on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings for the duration of the course (132 hours)

These elements combine to give trainees a well rounded experience working with both dog owners and many different dogs throughout the duration of their course.

Alpha Canine Professional has pioneered many exciting and new approaches to canine learning and behavioural theory based consistent and positive results - successfully working with real owners and their real dogs that have been experiencing very real behavioural issues. The topics listed below go well beyond any popular or academic theories of the day and are based on methods that can be consistently demonstrated to be relevant and effective in obedience, behaviour shaping and canine behavioural rehabilitation.

Theory topics covered include:

Understanding the negative side-affects and limitations of food rewards in obedience training and canine behavioural rehabilitation
Understanding Reinforcement and Reward - learning and behavioural theory that translates into positive results with all dogs, including dogs with serious behavioural issues
Perspective On Punishment - Not all punishment is the same - Objectively moving beyond dated, subjective and emotive attitudes and opinions
Leadership Obedience Training - reliable obedience under distraction
The Pattern Learning Training Method
The Perfect Position & Short Loose Lead
The 3 Ds (reliable step-aways)
Reinforcement Contrast Effect
Reset Learning Principle - Situation Creation & Regroup & Retry
The Quadrants Of Canine Good Behaviour Shaping
Reinforcement Crossover Consistency
The 4 Rs of Canine Behavioural Rehabilitation
Canine Behaviour Recognition - The Rules Of Engagement
The Canine Behaviour Interrupt Principle
The Control Zone (superseding critical distance)
The Four Cs of method consistency
The Canine Behavioural Transition Phase
The Phases Of Learning - Teaching, Training Proofing & Communication
Real-time Canine Behavioural & Relationship Assessments (not questionnaires)
Customer Service & Relations - guidelines from successful business models - Leading By Example!
Random Teaching Principles & Class Structures
The Alpha Split System (standards and exercise placement)
Alpha Integrated Distraction Training (class settings)
Regular discussions on case studies and outcomes (current & past)

The 'Hands-on' workshops are conducted throughout the course and are closely related to the theory topics above. Trainees work their own dogs (project dogs for international students), other assigned project dogs and many different dogs of varying age, breed and disposition. As the course progresses the three core disciplines within The Canine leadership System (obedience, behaviour shaping & rehabilitation) merge seamlessly to consistently produce complete and positive outcomes for the dogs you are handling.

Workshop Topics include:

Training Equipment Options & Demonstrations
Leadership Obedience - Effective and practical handling techniques under distraction
Canine Good Behaviour Shaping - manners that really matter - under distraction
Canine Behaviour Recognition - Interaction and assessment
Canine Body Language - Learning from real dogs
Canine Behavioural Rehabilitation Techniques & Strategies - Real dogs, real problems... real results
Canine Socialisation Techniques & Strategies
'Hands-on' Canine Behavioural Assessments

By the end of any ACP course you will understand how these important concepts and principles come together to create methods that are changing the accepted ideas on canine behavioural rehabilitation, obedience training, private and group teaching methods and professional standards in our industry.

Important Note: Everything on the previous lists can be explained and demonstrated to be relevant in achieving positive outcomes in both the prevention or rehabilitation of unacceptable canine behaviour. These concepts and principles have been developed with real owners and their real dogs with real behavioural problems in very real living situations... not in unnatural scientific experiments void of any reality, distraction and ultimately... relevance!

Instructor Information

Greg Fontana is the Training Director of The Alpha Canine Group here in Melbourne, Australia. Greg has been a trainer since 1985 and has extensive experience in applying and teaching effective dog training methods in group obedience classes, in-home private tuition and boarding school settings. His teaching style is both informative and supportive, with his wealth of practical knowledge being complimented by the ability to demonstrate realistic methods on virtually any dog whilst drawing attention to the consistent links between relevant theory and 'hands-on' results.

George Visentin is the Head Trainer at Alpha Dog Training here in Melbourne, Australia. George has a great passion for teaching others and is always helping trainees to understand the finer points of method and application. With a commonsense attitude and ability to demonstrate the important learning and behavioural principles in real-time with real dogs, George is a great example to follow and a valuable source of information for all trainees developing their teaching and handling skills on the part-time course.

Greg and George are also assisted by many of The Alpha Canine Group's full-time, professional training staff who actively apply the methods on a daily basis when educating dog owners and training dogs. The part-time trainers at Alpha Dog Training also play a major role in helping trainees to learn their craft. These professional trainers are skilled teachers in their own right and enjoy helping trainees to perfect their skills whilst answering any questions along the way.

No Dogless Experts On Alpha Canine Professional Courses! The 'Lead By Example' standard set by Alpha Canine Professional ensures that you will be learning from dedicated and experienced instructors (full & part-time) who teach with their own well trained and behaved dogs by their side and are capable of demonstrating the methods being taught with the many different dogs handled throughout the course. We do this to inspire our trainees to reach for industry leading standards and to prove that our practical knowledge and experience comes from real results with real dogs - results that can be explained and demonstrated in real-time... anytime!

Please take the time to watch the informative videos on all our websites to see exactly what our methods are capable of achieving for owners and their dogs.