{"id":761,"date":"2025-10-25T13:05:03","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T18:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.petworks.com\/?p=761"},"modified":"2025-10-25T13:05:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T18:05:22","slug":"animal-behaviorist-or-pet-trainer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.petworks.com\/articles\/animal-behaviorist-or-pet-trainer\/","title":{"rendered":"Are There Differences Between Pet Trainers And Pet Behaviorists?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s the scenario: your pet recently began to do something really out of character. Maybe she started snapping at another household pet, or maybe he started to -gross!- eat his own poop. You know this calls for a professional\u2019s input, but who can help? Should you bring in a pet trainer, or is this a case for a different kind of specialist known as an animal behaviorist? We\u2019ll share the differences between the two pet pros so you can get the help you need.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pet Trainers<\/b><\/h3>\n

Pet trainers are individuals who work to teach animals skills and change animal behaviors. These include actionable commands like \u201csit, stay, come\u201d but also include situational behaviors – like teaching a dog not to jump on guests when they enter the home. <\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to working with the dog, cat, horse, or other animal, trainers work with the pet <\/span>owner<\/span><\/i> to reinforce learnings. Trainers will provide direction to owners so that the skills can be practiced and perfected outside of the training environment. This \u201chomework\u201d helps teach owners to reinforce the learned behaviors, so it’s crucial that trainers are good communicators with humans, too! <\/span><\/p>\n

Trainers can be self-taught, take animal behavior courses, or work with other trainers to learn their skill. What all good trainers have in common, though, are many hours of successful practice sessions with animal clients! Though there are a variety of training school offerings and certification courses, there is only one nationally recognized certification for dog trainers: the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT<\/a><\/span>). To become certified, individuals must log a required amount of training hours, have letters of recommendation, and pass an evaluation on canine ethology (behavior), basic learning theory, and canine husbandry (a branch of agriculture that deals with breeding and raising domestic animals).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA dog trainer helps lay a basic foundation for your pup and can handle basic issues. An Applied Animal Behavior Consultant (someone with a Master’s or PhD in Animal Behavior) is more specialized.\u201d – Reddit User<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"AnimalHow does an Animal Trainer work?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Animal trainers will typically meet with your pet one on one, or in small group settings with other pets. Some trainers will seclude pets from their owners, while others work with both trainer and owner together so owners can actively reinforce from the beginning. There are also trainers and facilities that give you the option to board your animal for an extended period of time. This fully immerses them in the training environment, which can be more efficient for behaviors like high energy or aggression.<\/span><\/p>\n

To teach pets, trainers will use methods like desensitization (repeatedly exposing pets to certain high-stimulation situations, like coming in contact with a unfamiliar person, in order to change their response), positive reinforcement (like providing a treat when an animal correctly responds to a command), clicker training (using a small clicker or other noise-maker while giving a command, so that the animal learns to take action by sound), hand signals (using a hand signal while giving a command so that the animal learns to take action by visual signal), and other tactics.<\/span><\/p>\n