If you love animals, there are more career paths available than highly competitive and expensive veterinary schools. Become a certified dog trainer by enrolling in one of the many dog training schools.

Entering an official training school rather than becoming self-taught gives you an advantage when you’re finished, since many schools have networking opportunities or include direct job placement. Certification ensures that you are a reputable, knowledgeable trainer. The Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT) requires the passing of a multiple choice exam in five context areas: learning/theory, instruction skills, husbandry, ethology, and equipment.

Sure, you may not need to extensively study anatomy and physiology or the chemistry of medication dosages, but that does not mean that your depth of knowledge will only stretch so far as proper leash holding or dispensing treats, either. Expect to learn a little history of the subject. Knowing how dog training contrasts with other animal training and  when certain successful methods came into standard practice will make you a better trainer overall. Because different dog breeds react to different methods, you will need to become familiar with individual breed characteristics. A chihuahua will not typically behave the same way or arrive with the same problems as a Rottweiler, for example, so you must be able to vary your techniques according to what you’re presented with. 

Dog training is a position that requires extreme attention to detail. Dogs give subtle warnings of their shifts in mood. A certain movement of the eyes, head lowering, lip licking and change in stance may be a prediction for a dog’s aggressive reaction and you have to pick up on those cues to stop the behavior before it becomes dangerous to you or to the owner. 

Above all, it's important to remember that although you're an animal lover, you're working with and for humans, too. Your interpersonal skills and teaching abilities are just as valuable as any dog handling techniques. The dog is not supposed to behave only when you are there to correct its actions. You are essentially a teacher so that the owners can control their pet even after you leave. The owner/pet relationship is usually very sensitive; animals truly become members of the family, so when you are finished with your training school and enter the field, maintain a professional and serious attitude toward your work.