Use Your Education in Becoming a Service Trainer

Hello everyone,

I received a call from a gal who is working in applied behavior analysis (in NY with Doug Greer) and is interested in service dog training. She'd like to learn about (a) becoming a service dog trainer and (b) teaching others to train service dogs. As an aside, she is also interested in the possibility of training exotics (zoo animals). Can any of you help her out with some information? Where she might receive this kind of training? Who she could talk to? Etc.?

Her name is Claire Cahill. She has given me permission to share her contact information so you can contact her directly.

Thanks,

Barbara

Dear Claire,

There are two good places for learning exotic animal training (modern training, that is, operant conditioning with a marker signal and based on positive reinforcement, not correction). One is Moorpark College, 1000 Oaks, California, which offers a two-year program in exotic animal management. Graduates almost always get great jobs in the zoo and oceanarium world. Many add this program to their four years of undergraduate work in planning a zoo career.

The other is www.naturalencounters.com, which gives onsite courses (in Orlando) of varying length in the same kind of training, especially for birds but also other exotic animals. Their programs are aimed at the person who is already a staffer in a zoo or other facility, but they are open to others.

There are many service dog organizations that train dogs commercially and then sell them to handicapped people. Most of these are still entirely or partially traditional; that is, the training is punishment based and taught by apprenticeship, with little reference to behavior analysis. Some of these do take on apprentices or training students, to train to be their own employees, but of course, they are learning the old ways. Some people find it difficult to make themselves do the punishing that is expected.

There are also not-for-profit organizations that do use modern training, but they exist to turn out the dogs; none of them are in the business of teaching people to do this per se as far as I know. You would have to apply for a job and persuade them that you would be an asset. One such organization is Texas Hearing and Service Dogs, www.servicedogs.org, also the CADET program at the Denver Humane Society. There are also many individuals ranging from highly skilled to novice that train service dogs on a local basis in their own cities. Try Google to find some of these.

Finally, there is at least one topnotch clicker-based service dog operation in England, run by Nina Bonderenko: do a Google search. I don't know their hiring needs.

Karen Pryor

Dear Claire,

Another source of undergraduate training is the University of North Texas, Center for Behavior Analysis. Dr. Jesús Rosales-Ruiz is the person who directs students in their animal studies at a local zoo. Eddie Fernandez, who is also listed on this e-mail, can tell you about that program. At least it might be a starter. It depends on whether you want academic training and background or just want to do animal work without the formal training.

Judy Stowe

Hi Claire,

Your e-mail was sent to me as a possible source of help for a career in service dog training or, possibly, zoo animals. I can give you information about the former. I've also copied this e-mail to three other dog trainers, who are active, fellow members of ABA and ATF. They, I hope, can give you added information.

I've been a full-time, professional dog trainer for 30 years. I had experience for two years working through an accelerated apprenticeship at Leader Dogs for the Blind while writing a book for them, so I'm familiar with hiring procedures in that field. I've also done a lot of tracking over the years, primarily with German shepherds, and have been on call with our county's police and affiliated search/rescue.

The service dog field has numerous specialized areas and each area requires different types of dogs, and different working goals. To be a trainer in one area does not qualify you for another, so the first step for you is to narrow your field. It's vast!

Some service dog areas are volunteer fields in which experienced handlers work with their own dogs for the love of it. (I assume you want to be hired, but you should be aware of all the fields and how they relate). For example, pet dog owners often take training courses (available at numerous well-run obedience schools) that prepare dogs (with the proper temperament) for hospital or assisted-care facility visitation programs. These dogs are certified through testing. They then go with their owners to give patients or residents an emotional lift. These "teams" are volunteers. Some of these teams also help in rehab centers (helping people regain use of limbs or voices), but they are always under the direction of the facility's doctors or nurses. Mary Burch has written a classic book on this work, entitled <span class=justitalic>Volunteering With Your Pet</span>.

Medical personnel often train their own dogs to help them in their work. It's not unusual for clinical psychologists or counselors to use their own trained pets in their practices to help open lines of communication. Mary Burch can give you information on this, too. One of her dogs was named the Delta Society's Dog of the Year for his remarkable ability to relate to children in her practice. If you were planning on becoming a counselor or working in a residential setting, this is a viable "addition" to your career. Mary Burch has done this, and Dee Stanton (also a member of ABA-ATF) is using a dog in her work as an applied behavior analyst in a residential setting.

Search & Rescue is also largely a volunteer endeavor. Units are often asked to assist outside their area (e.g., 9/11), in which case expenses are paid by the requesting agency or through donations to the rescue unit. Quite a few police departments, though, have their own tracking and rescue dogs. Interested officers are trained and certified by the police as K-9 officers. I've had one such officer "moonlight" for me as a pet obedience instructor. She is also certified as a humane officer, which allows her to rescue abused or neglected animals while issuing citations or arresting the humans involved. All of her training was paid for by her department, which also paid for a Bachelor's degree in psychology at a local university. This is service work of another type, but it shows how a career in law enforcement can prepare you for working with animals.

Humane societies usually hire people who have an extensive background in working with dogs. Pet and competitive trainers fall into this category. Pamela Reid, Ph.D. at ASPCA in NYC might be someone to contact. They have hired apprentices in the past, and your educational background is a huge plus.

The service dog fields in which dogs are placed with handicapped individuals (deaf, blind, confined to wheelchairs, etc.) hire their trainers and then put them through their own apprenticeships that vary from field to field and center to center. When a human's safety is turned over to a dog, it's easy to understand why a trainer (and each dog) must be outstanding at what they do. Apprenticeships usually take years at these facilities, but you're a paid employee throughout the process. The best of these schools stand out when you begin a search.

The most highly-respected centers either do not charge the handicapped individual for the dog or else they ask for a token fee under the theory that what is purchased is perceived as more valuable. These centers are funded entirely by donations. I'd be very suspicious of anyone not directly affiliated with such a center training/selling dogs like this for profit.

Assuming you're interested in work like this, choose your field (deaf, blind, physically impaired, etc.). Then contact schools directly to ask about their hiring and apprenticeship procedures. Ask about training methods, number of "teams" produced yearly, and their completion rate (i.e., how many dogs are dropped in training). Also, ask if there are any public relation liaisons or people using their dogs in your area. You want to see these dogs work. All of these schools will help you.

When hiring, these centers may run small ads in dog-related magazines such as Dog World, AKC Gazette, and Off-Lead, but they usually have a waiting list of applications. When contacting them, ask if you can fill out an application and be put on the wait list. Don't worry about previous lack of experience in training dogs. The whole purpose of an apprenticeship is to teach their employees. In fact, a strong background in another area of training is sometimes counterproductive. It may create a bias that gets in the way of learning.

They're looking for:

• Dedicated interest in teaching dogs
• Dedicated interest in teaching people (a service dog trainer must have both qualities)
• Predisposition to have the necessary physical dexterity and stamina to train dogs outdoors several hours a day in all kinds of weather
• Personality: socially outgoing, friendly, optimistic, enthusiastic, patient, eager to learn
• Flexibility in personal life that allows you to move to the school's town

Your background in psychology is a huge plus. Some schools require at least a BA/BS in the field.

Methodology will vary from field to field. This is normal, as each field has different goals. Avoidance conditioning will be part of the process in programs in which safety of the human recipient is an issue. The type of aversive used is enough to create a startle response, and is usually a tug on a collar or head halter. Dogs not responding rapidly on their own are rejected. Service dogs must take initiative and be confident of their ability to make decisions, even if it is to adamantly disobey a handler's command that would put that person at risk.

A program based on heavy-handed aversives would not be in any service dog school's best interests, not only for public reputation but for the inherent risk in destroying the very abilities to make decisions that they're trying to instill! (Dog guide trainers, for example, often work with eyes closed, and they regularly find themselves falling over sidewalks, toys, walking into posts, and being side-swiped by set-up, moving cars. The objects then are physically "punished" as car hoods are banged, etc. The dog's avoidance is based primarily on a startle reaction rather than physical correction.) Positive reinforcement far outweighs negative reinforcement at these schools, or it should! In checking out programs, bypass any organization that relies on "corrections" as first choice or that uses equipment such as shock collars.

To summarize: narrow your field for the type of service work you'd like to do. (Morristown, NJ, isn't that far from you. One of the finest dog guide schools in the world is there: The Seeing Eye. Check them out!) Contact schools involved in the field you want and fill out applications. Ask if there are dogs working in your area and for contact numbers. Ask about their methods, apprenticeships, and for their suggestions for helping you move your application up the list, etc.

Marge Gibbs

Hi Claire,

I agree with Marge's assessments as well as her suggestions. While my personal educational background is in both the experimental analysis of behavior and applied behavior analysis, and I believe that a solid background in behavior analysis is essential to ongoing success in addressing the diverse demands inherent in applied situations, none of the programs available at any of the universities with psychology programs founded on behavior analysis have actual programs in applied animal behavior change. They can supply the tools (the principles and theory of behavior analysis), but they won't have courses dedicated to applied work with non-humans. An analogy might be that they can provide you the boat and teach you how to use and manipulate the sails, but you are on your own out on the ocean.

Now, judging by some of the outstanding presentations in applied behavior analysis with animals given at the Association for Behavior Analysis's annual conventions, a number of professors are indeed embracing the ideas of students of behavior analysis who wish to work with animals and supporting these students in their endeavors. As mentioned, Jesus Rosales-Ruiz at the University of North Texas is one such person, as is Kennon A. Lattal at the University of West Virginia, and James Dougan at Illinois Wesleyan University, and Valeri Farmer-Dougan at Illinois State University. Jonathan Worcester and Michelle Duda of the University of South Florida also had a dog behavior treatment presentation this year. We at Western Michigan University are also pleased to support applied animal behavior practicums (contact myself, Jennifer Sobie, Lisa Baker, or Dick Malott). But, again, the programs themselves (and therefore the basic course work) are not geared toward work with animals.

Some veterinary schools offer behavior programs, and a second approach might be to contact one of these universities. I'm not suggesting you become a DVM (which I do not feel is in any way necessary to excellence in clinical or applied animal behavior change), but you could do a search of their psychology programs and see if you could find a supporting degree and design yourself an inter-disciplinary program. Some suggestions of schools with known behavior programs are Tufts University, the University of Geulph, the University of Pennsylvania, Texas A&M, and the University of Georgia. Realize though that these behavior programs are adjunct to a veterinary medicine degree and not stand-alone programs (they are, more or less, graduate-level courses rather than programs designed to prepare you for a career in behavior change with animals).

Which all brings me back to the point that I agree with Marge. Because there is no known and accepted accredited program in applied behavior change with domestic animals, companies and organizations that hire people do not have some universal standard that they adhere to in their hiring practices. Familiarize yourself with the employment opportunities available, and then find out what those organizations that offer the opportunities you desire dictate as their hiring criteria. Then pursue those criteria. If you find that you need a degree of some sort, I will be happy to help you evaluate available programs in any way that I can.

Best wishes,

Jennifer Sobie