Become ABTC registered & get a badge that means something
Being an ABTC practitioner is more than bagging a logo, it’s a badge of evidenced expertise
Being able to evidence your enormous investment in your skills, knowledge, and practice is more than a nice to have. It’s how you show prospective clients that you don’t just have a pretty array of badges, you’ve been independently assessed and earned an accreditation that means something.
It also means you join a collective of practitioners who get access to the behind the scenes work the ABTC are consistently contributing to on legislation.
When you’re registered with The Animal Behaviour and Training Council, you’re a recognised practitioner sitting on a directory heralded as the go to place to find a professional by the RSPCA, Dogs Trust, Battersea, and even Defra!
The Dog Trainer School is an ABTC-approved Assessing Organisation & a Practitioner Organisation.
We can assess your prior knowledge and skills AND your practical skills.
And we can provide the ongoing support and access you need to be a registered ABTC practitioner.
Why the ABTC?
The ABTC are a registered UK Charity and that means they don’t make a profit from overseeing and advocating for practitioner recognition and regulation.
In a sea of organisations offering badges for profit, this is different.
The Animal Behaviour and Training Council is an organisation committed to promoting humane practice in the training and behaviour sector and to lobbying for improvements in animal welfare related to these activities.
Three Routes to ABTC Registration
There are three ways to join the ABTC register with The Dog Trainer School and they depend on where you are in your dog training career. Click the statement below that best describes you to find your path forwards.
I’m an experienced trainer, but not ABTC qualified
You can become ABTC registered without taking a course - and be assessed for your prior experience and learning instead.
No further learning required, just a comprehensive assessment of the skills and knowledge you’ve already spent years acquiring… so you can finally have your expertise recognised.
I hold an ABTC recognised qualification
If you already hold a qualification that’s recognised by the ABTC, you can join the register via The Dog Trainer School.
You might currently be registered via another practitioner organisation and want to move - or be newly qualified and looking for an organisation to belong to.
I want to gain an ABTC recognised qualification
We’re working on approval for our ABTC recognised course. It’s not quite ready for enrollment but if you’d like to be the first to hear, click here to join the waitlist.
Why The Dog Trainer School?
The Dog Trainer School has passed thorough assessment and oversight to become both a Practitioner Organisation and an Assessing Organisation for the ABTC.
That means we’ve been approved to assess a trainer's knowledge, skills and practical abilities against a national standard - and register them with the ABTC.
Assessed by who?
Lee
Lee has trained thousands of dog trainers and still works face to face with clients as a dog trainer today. That experience as a teacher, mentor and current boots on the ground trainer makes him an industry expert who’s well equipped to both assess and support dog trainers effectively.
Helen
Helen has a background in both dog training and marketing, which means her combined skills are invaluable to brilliant dog trainers who need support with the business side of things… that often don’t come naturally to many dog trainers.
Adrienne
Adrienne is a highly experienced dog trainer and a qualified veterinary technician with over 20 years in the field. Her qualifications and specialisms mean she’s brilliantly positioned to guide, assess, and support both new and experienced trainers in their careers.
Accredited By Who?
The Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC) is the only UK organisation of its kind to have a UKAS-recognised certification scheme.
Which means when you join their register of practitioners, you’ve been assessed against a national standard that’s consistent for everybody. The roles are clearly defined, the assessment criteria is standardised, and the benefits of registration apply to every member.
Curious about whether you’re ready for assessment?
This quick and easy series of questions will help give you a sense check on whether you’re ready to become ABTC registered.
It’ll also give you guidance on what it’ll cost if you decide to go ahead.
Sources & further reading
The ABTC is referenced as a source of professional training and behaviour support by organisations including the RSPCA, Dogs Trust, Battersea and Defra.
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