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As a dog trainer, you’re going to require a variety of equipment, in various sizes to suit all dogs.
You may not have the funds to buy everything at once, and may need to pick up extra pieces as your business grows. However we recommend getting your hands on the following tools and equipment that are essential for running a dog training business:
- Dog training collars, leads and harnesses in all sizes – It’s important to remember that you have to cater to all breeds whether big or small and one of the most common reasons pet parents enlist the help of a trainer is because their furry friends pull on a lead.
- Dog food and treats – When it comes to pawsitive reward training, dog food and treats are an essential training tool, provided that they are not overused and you have asked permission from the owner beforehand. So it’s important to stay stocked up.
- Toys and accessories – As a trainer you may find you have a dog that reacts better with a ball than a treat so you need to seriously consider other types of training tools that you need to buy. If you’ll be offering agility sessions then you also need to think about the obstacles you’ll need to install into your agility space.
- Clickers and whistles – Clickers and whistles are extremely powerful tools when it comes to training recall and correcting negative behaviours so you must make sure you stock up on them (as we all know how easy it is to lose something of that size).
- Cleaning supplies for the training area – Cleaning should be a priority in your business especially as you don’t know a pet’s medical history. Regardless of what a pet parent says,the last thing you want is to be sued because a dog has caught an illness from another dog you train. If your business focuses on puppy training or rehabilitating rescues then it’s only natural that accidents will happen and you need to be equipped to clean up and move on quickly.
Always make sure you’re using positive methods of reinforcement, both in the practices and the equipment you use. Although legal in the US, shock collars and devices for training are banned in many other countries and strongly discouraged.