What Equipment Does a Dog Trainer Need?

If you have a passion for dogs and love spending time with them, you may have considered becoming a dog trainer. Dog trainers have to undergo training, certification and a lot of practice to be able to train dogs professionally—not to mention the patience required for this job. With dog training comes a lot of necessary equipment to do the job effectively. So, what equipment do you need as a dog trainer? Your friends at Pet Care Insurance are here to help you understand the dog training equipment you need to purchase to be a successful dog trainer.

Treats

This is one of the most essential items you will need to purchase before starting to train dogs. Treats are an integral part of training because they are an indication of reward if a dog does something correctly. Rewards keep dogs interested and motivated to keep training. Keep in mind that treat preference will depend on the dog, so have a handful of different treats on hand to see which ones they respond best to. These treats should be fairly small so the dog doesn’t fill up on too many treats during training.

Target Sticks

You cannot train dogs without a target stick. A target stick is a long stick that helps you teach dogs basic behaviors, like walking nicely on a leash or doing a spin or a bow. Some target sticks come with clickers, which we’ll discuss next.

Clickers

Clickers are another essential tool to add to your dog training equipment. These handheld clickers mark or pinpoint a desired behavior with a click noise. There are a variety of different clickers you can purchase, so make sure you do some research beforehand. If you’re training multiple dogs, there are clickers with distinct sounds for each dog.

Leashes

There are specific leashes designed for training, and they vary in length—typically 4–6 feet long. The ideal leash allows some slack while walking a dog so they can stay close to you while walking. Make sure you have a couple different leash lengths with your dog training equipment.

Barriers

Barriers are an important part of equipment for training dogs. These can include playpens, crates, and pet gates. These barriers help contain the dog in a specific location and helps with house training and chewing management.

Gather Your Equipment

Although this is not a comprehensive list of all the dog training equipment you’ll need to train dogs, it is a great starting point to gather the essentials. Always make sure you have treats, a target stick, a clicker, a leash, and a barrier on hand so you can train your dogs effectively and safely. We wish you the best of luck with your dog training endeavors.