NM: ABQ/Santa Fe/East Mtns/South Valley - Dog Training Apprenticeship

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Dog Training Apprenticeship

This apprenticeship opportunity is a hands-on opportunity in NM (specifically the areas of Albuquerque, Santa Fe, East Mtns and South Valley) to learn dog handling, training and canine psychology and behavior with the guidance of our national training partner, Sarah Thompson. Sarah is the owner of Innovative Dog Training & Education located in northern CA.

Sarah is a leading canine expert who specializes in impounded dogs in shelter environments and difficult dog cases once dogs are in the home. She has over 2 decades of experience and is one of only a handful of trainers in the country with that many years under her belt combined with the rare experience of also assisting over 100 animal shelters throughout her career. She is the perfect canine expert to partner with on this endeavor to help both people and dogs.

The goal of our dog training apprenticeship is two-fold:

1. to provide an educational and/or career training opportunity without participants paying thousands of dollars in trainer education fees
2. to increase the number of dog handlers and trainers who can learn to handle all dog behaviors and related people behaviors successfully

As the demand for Sarah’s training services far outweigh her ability to cater to every demand in person, Sarah will provide remote IDTE video assessment and training services during the apprenticeship to help build the next generation of Whole Dog Care Trainers. One of the best parts of the apprenticeship is weekly meet ups in-person with other team members where we give and get support, new ideas and solutions for the dogs in our care and for ourselves. Once our CA center is open, apprentices that have successfully completed the foundation work will receive info on intermediate and advanced training opportunities in person with Sarah in CA. While in NM, participants work toward fully utilizing the IDTE Training Program to be able to successfully handle all dog behavior cases that present themselves. Participants will also learn to adequately match dogs with adopters and provide post-adoption or other related in-home support services. This oppty requires from the participant a willingness to learn and successfully deliver specific handling, training and support to program dogs regardless of prior training and experience.

This dog training apprenticeship is a non-profit program of the Innova21 Foundation (I21F) that will manage the program. So as to best use Sarah’s time and commitment to the program, participants must be at least 18 years of age, have an interest in canine behavior and psychology, if not a strong interest in pursuing a career in dog training and adopter support/training. Each participant must also have the ability to foster in their home, support and train an existing Canine Café or RHAP program dog selected for them. Participants can expect to work with different Canine Café and RHAP program dogs during their apprenticeship.

For the sake of individual choice, there are no set beginning and end dates for this dog training apprenticeship oppty. Participants will need to provide a minimum of 2 weeks’ notice should they decide to end their participation to allow for transition of their training dog to a new participant.

Apprentices must be in good physical, mental and emotional condition. You must be able to walk, run, lift up to 50 lbs and handle strong dogs on occasion. You should have the ability to stand for long time periods, move quickly, work with and around animals - including potentially diseased, injured and/or potentially aggressive animals. Allergic conditions which may be aggravated when handling animals or in the course of this oppty may be a disqualification. Participants must also be free of anything that would hinder applicant's ability to follow directions and guidelines from Sarah and program management.

Applicants should be dependable, reliable and serious about the pursuit of this oppty. They should also be comfortable with dogs of all breed mixes, ages and sizes and have no violent criminal history and should be able to pass a criminal background check and drug test successfully if conducted.

To begin the Dog Training Apprentice application process, please complete our online application at https://tinyurl.com/DogTrainingAppren. (you must copy and paste this link into a browser window if it is not clickable) You will receive a follow-up email soon thereafter. Thank you for your interest!