A ‘Canine College’? Yep… For Dog Lovers Everywhere!

Wouldn’t it be great if there were a college degree that could be earned solely focusing on dog training, dog behaviors, and the many ways that we are incorporating dogs into our society these days?

I got this idea from Jon Katz, who in his book Katz on Dogs, writes:

In contemporary America, dog training has grown to be a huge and booming business, with thousands of books, pamphlets and guides for “dummies”, instructional videos and DVDs, classes, seminars, camps… I await the first degree-granting canine college any day.

I second that.

It’s obviously a great idea!…

Such a great idea that over 17,000 businesses (according to Google) have chosen “Canine College” as the name for their obedience training classes and other dog-friendly services they provide.

 

The Basics Of A Full-Fledged Canine College

Can you just imagine… a full-fledged, degree-granting institution for ALL forms of dog behavior and training methods?

All of the various training methods & theories would be included — from voice command, to positive reinforcement, to clicker training.

Dog behaviors — everything from digging, to eating poo, to aggressive dog behavior.

The proper ways to socialize dogs — with other dogs, with down owners, with children & babies, with strangers, with cats & other pets — would all be covered.

 

Course Offerings At A Canine College Or University

I could see Canine College being structured something like the typical family-counseling degree programs seen at major universities. (That’s the field I’m most familiar with, as I pursued my Master’s degree in Marriage & Family Therapy at Texas Tech and saw firsthand a number of things that would transfer nicely into the dog training world.)

Ideally, a Canine College would combine that hands-on practical and applied behavior training angle with a fair share of business-minded courses, as well.

In my mind, the purpose of Canine College would be simple: to effectively train dog lovers to be responsible dog owners, trainers, rescuers, rehabilitators, behaviorists, even dog therapists (…or, would that be “dog whisperers”?).

Included would be programs and ideas for structuring your own small-business plans, hiring employees, and other skills pertinent to running dog-friendly establishments such as shelters, kennels, spas, day care facilities, hotels, restaurants, transportation services, pet sitting companies, dog walking businesses, dog shoppes and supply stores.

In effect, there would be an endless number of dog-friendly careers that degree-holders from a Canine College would ultimately be qualified to pursue.

And, in a perfect world, a degree from a Canine College would become a prerequisite for licensure in order to professionally train or work with dogs in any capacity.

Ah well, I guess it’s just the dreamer in me speaking…