# Jobs with dogs?



## Hillary Hamilton (Jan 6, 2009)

What do you guys do? How do you earn enough money to support your dogs and training? I want to be something that involves dogs, particularly a K9 Cop...? Also would love to be a dog trainer...maybe a Game Warden...Anybody got something for me? I love to be outdoors (especially the woods) and hate the inside. I can go hiking all day and not get lost and love it. I love to camp out! Thanks!!


----------



## Alyssa Myracle (Aug 4, 2008)

Someday (13 more years, to be exact) when I retire from the Army I'll have nothing better to do than train dogs.

\\/


----------



## Alex Corral (Jul 10, 2007)

I heard pooper scoopers do pretty well.. :-& 

Hey, it's a start!


----------



## todd pavlus (Apr 30, 2008)

I don't know about where you live, but in NY, the DEC ( department of environmental conservation) has a handfull of k9 handlers. Much better than a game warden. Wish I had thought about that when I was your age;-)


----------



## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

Hillary Hamilton said:


> What do you guys do? How do you earn enough money to support your dogs and training? I want to be something that involves dogs, particularly a K9 Cop...? !


Makes me realize how lucky I really am. It's actually dogs and dog training that supports me and I am (or have been) a K9 Cop. It's dogs that allow me my hobby of rebuilding Cushman motor scooters and woodworking. 

DFrost


----------



## Gerry Grimwood (Apr 2, 2007)

Hillary Hamilton said:


> What do you guys do? How do you earn enough money to support your dogs and training? I want to be something that involves dogs, particularly a K9 Cop...? Also would love to be a dog trainer...maybe a Game Warden...Anybody got something for me? I love to be outdoors (especially the woods) and hate the inside. I can go hiking all day and not get lost and love it. I love to camp out! Thanks!!


Stay in school, get a degree or become a dentist and you'll have enough money to do whatever you want whenever you feel like it.


----------



## Daryl Ehret (Apr 4, 2006)

Alex Corral said:


> I heard pooper scoopers do pretty well.. :-&
> 
> Hey, it's a start!


I think I saw an recently saw an ATF canine handler (entry level pooper scooper) starting somewhere from $30-35,000 annually in Wa.DC.
Canine Border Patrol positions require two years service first. Here's a list of Fed jobs with "canine" keyword search.


----------



## Jenn Schoonbrood (Oct 31, 2008)

Gerry Grimwood said:


> Stay in school, get a degree or become a dentist and you'll have enough money to do whatever you want whenever you feel like it.


I'll second this. I'm an IT project manager. It's boring as hell, but it pays extremely well, offers lots of freedom and flexibility, and at the end of the day I'm not so sick of training other peoples' dogs that I don't want to do anything with my own.

Best way to enjoy your hobbies is to keep them your hobbies.


----------



## Mike Scheiber (Feb 17, 2008)

I just did 21 12's on a little power house outage out by Bismark ND this will hold me till summer. Now back to 40's :grin:


----------



## Jim Nash (Mar 30, 2006)

I'm a Police K9 handler . I'll just tell you what most expect in my department . For a Police K9 handler you most remember you are a Police Officer first . New officers don't inspire much confidence if they come on the job and right away start saying they want to be in K9 , SWAT ,Narcotics , etc. . 

Your fellow officers want to know you are concentrating on being a police officer first and foremost . Because they are counting on you to watch their backs . Go on the job and work at being a good cop first . The one's who are out catching the really bad folks out there and doing good cop work out there tend to get K9 here . 

Then if you get picked to be a K9 officer open your mind to different training methods . From my experience I would rather train a new handler that as limited experience training dogs . The one's with some experience training dogs tended to second guess what I was telling them to do because it was different then what they had learned in the past . You could almost see them listening to their past trainers voice telling them that what I telling them is wrong . A new handler doesn't progress very well if they are constantly doubting what's be told to them and not committing to the different training methods .

As for other K9 related careers we have trained several Department of Natural Resourses Officers with Patrol K9's crossed trained in wild game and fish detection. Good luck .


----------



## Chris McDonald (May 29, 2008)

Shoot for the stars kid

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4GGLR_enUS308US309&q=circus+dog


----------



## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Retired printer.
Hobbies are dogs, woodworking and gardening. 
Haven't figured out what I'll do when I grow up.


----------



## Daryl Ehret (Apr 4, 2006)

Jim Nash said:


> Then if you get picked to be a K9 officer open your mind to different training methods . From my experience I would rather train a new handler that as limited experience training dogs . The one's with some experience training dogs tended to second guess what I was telling them to do because it was different then what they had learned in the past . You could almost see them listening to their past trainers voice telling them that what I telling them is wrong . A new handler doesn't progress very well if they are constantly doubting what's be told to them and not committing to the different training methods .


That was my experience with the Army's Caisson Plt. They were pleased my limited horseback experience was unlikely to obstruct their teaching of the "military seat", although in parts of my youth I grew up around horses, I wasn't set in any stubborn ways. It was after the Army, that created conflict with my riding experience.


----------



## Riley Rodewald (Feb 12, 2008)

I was thinking of joining the RCMP mainly because I've wanted to be a cop ever since I could walk, 
as most of my family (my dad, older brother and uncles) are cops and growing up around it it just seemed to be something I would enjoy.
Then my dad knowing full well how much I loved dogs said I could become a k9 handler if I became a cop.
I've been set on this ever since which is one of the reasons I joined this forum, so I could learn as much as possible. So I guess I was just wondering if it really is a bad thing if I have aspirations to be a k9 handler?


----------



## Jim Nash (Mar 30, 2006)

Riley , 

It's not a bad thing to have aspirations to be in a K9 Unit . I certainly did . For many of us Police Officers when we hear rookies talking about being in K9 or some other specialty unit it leaves the impression you're not taking your current duty serious and that's learning to be a Police Officer . Most field training officers I know will tell their rookies to forget about that stuff for awhile and concentrate on being a good cop first . At least to shut up about it for awhile so the rest of the folks you're currently working with know your focussed on being a good cop first .

Plus you're going to need those officer safety skills more than ever if you get K9 and those skills you learn hunting badguys without a dog will help you even more if you finally get to hunt them with a dog .


----------



## Riley Rodewald (Feb 12, 2008)

Thanks for the explanation. I first of all wanted to be a cop because of the teamwork aspect and like you said hunting the bad guys  , the k9 unit just seemed like an added bonus.


----------



## Jim Nash (Mar 30, 2006)

It is definately an added bonus when hunting badguys . There is nothing like searching dark alleyways with your dog when he tells you the badguy is hiding nearby . Nothing compares after that and it gets very addicting .


----------



## Riley Rodewald (Feb 12, 2008)

I'd be hooked right away. All my family ever talks about is how much they enjoy law enforcement. I'm can't wait until I finally get to experience it. Thanks for all the insight.


----------



## Dwyras Brown (Nov 21, 2008)

I agree with Jim. You're a COP 1st and foremost. Being a K9 handler is an added resposibility. You can't take it lightly, because it can come back to bite you literally and figuratively. But your foremost responsibility is to be a good COP. Hillary, if it is something you want to do, you need to first show that you are resposible enough to be a COP first. You have to prove that you can stick to those boring things before they give you the privilige(sp) and responsibility of being a K9 handler.


----------



## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Chris McDonald said:


> Shoot for the stars kid
> 
> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4GGLR_enUS308US309&q=circus+dog


A person with the right personality can make good $$ performing. Unfortunately, I don't have that personality. The actual dog training part is not that hard!


----------



## Terry Devine (Mar 11, 2008)

Hilary,
education
Education
EDUCATION

Terry


----------



## virginia reed (Mar 10, 2009)

i agree with the poster who stated to stay in school.

these days, a minimum is some sort of graduate degree in the "harder sciences." I know someone who has a graduate degree in the arts who is working as a vet assistant. - a wasted graduate degree in my opinion.

i should have gone to law school or gotten an MBA - my loss.


----------



## Ryan Cole (Mar 5, 2009)

Jim, 
there are dedicated trainers that work with the K9 Handler and the dogs prior to you and dog working alone together, right?
I'm thinking of steps in the process in which a more 'civilian' minded person could still be involved.


----------



## Jim Nash (Mar 30, 2006)

Ryan , 

Not sure what you're getting at . I was a trainer in my K9 Unit til I stepped down to spend more time with my kids .

We take green dogs and train the new handlers to train their dogs in what used to be a 13 week course and is currently a 10 week course for Patrol Dogs . Usually a class of 10 to sometimes 16 K9 teams . 

I also trained shorter courses in detection work . Years ago we trained only what was at the time the 3rd mercury detecting dog in the world . I believe the other 2 were trained in Sweden first . 

We are the major training center in Minnesota for Patrol K9's and have also trained dogs from Wisconsin , North Dakota , South Dakota and Iowa .


----------



## Ryan Cole (Mar 5, 2009)

Jim Nash said:


> Ryan ,
> 
> Not sure what you're getting at . I was a trainer in my K9 Unit til I stepped down to spend more time with my kids .
> 
> ...


After the OP's more general question, a portion of the posts were concentrating on the importance of being a good cop first, and then moving to K9 Handler......I was just asking if there is also a place for a person who is not interested in being an officer, but who'd still like to be involved in K9 training.


----------



## Jim Nash (Mar 30, 2006)

Ryan , 

I'm sure others here from different dog training fields can answer that better then me and it looks like they already are . 

I answered part of her question because she put emphasis on the fact that she wanted "in particular" to be a K9 Cop.


----------



## Tina Rempel (Feb 13, 2008)

Terry Devine said:


> Hilary,
> education
> Education
> EDUCATION
> ...


How very true. Start with a good education so you always have a paycheck. Then look at your options. It's much harder to return to school after you've been in the real world then just keep going with it.

Following ones passion can be a good thing. A hunting forum I belong to has a member that is a lawyer. She does that in the off season so she can be a camp cook, her passion, during hunting season. She could not have done that with out the good education to back it up with. Similar senario, different end goals.

Good luck!


----------



## Butch Cappel (Aug 12, 2007)

You might also look into the private Security Dog industry. Though small and rarely talked about in the media, I think it offers a really wide array of possible dog applications. I have trained and employed dogs for detection, drug and explosives, patrol dogs, riot dogs, guard dogs and supplied them to customers as varied as a small used car lot to major U.S. corporations, as well as governments, Labor strikes, and heads of states.

Like any entrepreneurial endeavor it requires a lot of hard work and hustle, but if you make it, it is very satisfying and you get the best of the police, military and civilian dog training world all in one.

I would also add my recommendation to the "get and education first" group, small business can lead to long bouts between meals, an education will keep options open for you.


----------



## Mo Earle (Mar 1, 2008)

In my real life I am an RN, and work in Trauma/ER-which gives me a very flexible schedule and the funds to have 10 dogs of my own, in which I enjoy training ,and at times competing. In having lots of dogs, a kennel boarding business evolved years back, which ultimately got me involved with caring for the local police K9's in my kennel-that was one of my most favorite and profitable endeavors- I had since moved and gave my boarding contract to a fellow club member/friend- I agree...get your education and you will always have that to fall back on, and then you can create the best job ever for yourself. good luck


----------

