Animal Trainers

The working hours for animal trainers vary considerably, depending on the type of animal, performance schedule, and whether travel is involved. For some trainers, such as those who work with show horses, educational programs with hunting birds, or new animals being brought into zoos and aquariums, the hours can be long and quite irregular. Travel is common and will probably include responsibility for seeing to the animals' needs while on the road. This can include feeding, creative housing, and driving with the animal. For one program director of a rescue center that works with injured hawks, it means traveling frequently for educational shows with a suitcase full of frozen rats and chicks for food.

Trainers conduct much of their work outdoors. In winter, trainers may work indoors, but depending on the animal, they may continue outdoor training year-round. If the animal is expected to work or perform outdoors in winter, it has to be trained in winter as well. Companion animals have to cope with every type of weather, so the trainer is responsible for training and testing the animal accordingly.

Working with certain animals requires physical strength; for example, it takes arm strength to hold a falcon on your wrist for an hour, or to control an 80-pound dog who doesn't want to heel. Other aspects of the work may require lifting, bending, or extended periods of standing or swimming. Trainers of aquatic mammals, such as dolphins and seals, work in water and must feel comfortable in aquatic environments.

Patience is essential to the job as well. Just as people do, animals have bad days where they won't work well and respond to commands. So even the best trainer encounters days of frustration where nothing seems to go well. Trainers must spend long hours repeating routines and rewarding their pupils for performing well, while never getting angry with them or punishing them when they fail to do what is expected. Trainers must be able to exhibit the authority to keep animals under control without raising their voices or using physical force. Calmness under stress is particularly important when dealing with wild animals.