DOG TRAINER NETWORK · EST. 1999
Become a Professional Dog Trainer
Learn to read the dog. Build the skills to train.
Turn your interest in dogs into practical knowledge and handling skills. Dog Trainer Network connects canine behaviour, guided training practice, and owner coaching to help you develop as a thoughtful, capable trainer.
Explore the ProgramSpeak With an Instructor
English & French instruction · Theory & practical learning · Instructor-reviewed assignments
Every dog brings a different challenge. Learn how to respond.
A dog that pulls on leash. A puppy that struggles to settle. A driven dog that finds the environment more rewarding than its handler.
Effective training starts with understanding what is happening—and choosing the next step carefully.
At DTN, you study how dogs communicate, learn, and respond to their surroundings. Then you connect that knowledge to engagement, handling, obedience, and practical problem solving. You also learn to explain your work to the people who need to carry it forward.
Understand. Practise. Teach.
Understand the dog
Explore canine ethology, development, motivation, emotional responses, and learning. Build your ability to observe behaviour and consider the factors behind it.
Develop your handling
Practise engagement, reward timing, marker systems, leash communication, and obedience. Learn to adjust an exercise to the dog’s response and readiness.
Guide the owner
Learn to explain an exercise, set realistic expectations, and give useful feedback. Help owners understand what to practise and how to recognize progress.
A course that connects knowledge to action
Study the principles. Observe the details. Practise the skill. Review the result.
DTN combines written lessons, instructor guidance, demonstrations, assignments, and knowledge checks. Practical work helps you connect what you understand with what you can demonstrate.
Your learning covers canine behaviour and assessment, health awareness, breed tendencies, equipment, obedience systems, fitness and engagement, agility foundations, and introductory scent work.
Build the judgment behind the technique
What motivates this dog? Is the exercise clear? Is the environment too difficult? What does the owner need to change?
These questions matter in everyday training. DTN encourages you to observe carefully, explain your decisions, and adapt your approach rather than repeat an exercise without evaluating its effect.
Meet your program director
Chris Papakostas
Owner and director of Dog Trainer Network since 2019, Chris also leads Seirios K9 Dog Training Academy. His teaching connects canine behaviour with practical handling and the work of helping owners communicate more clearly with their dogs.
The aim is to develop trainers who can assess a situation, plan purposeful exercises, and explain their choices professionally.
Explore the paths of DTN graduates
Meet graduates and discover how they have applied their learning in their work with dogs. Their experiences offer a closer look at the people behind the network.
Joey Bacci
Christina Williams
Charlie Mercieca
Stephanie Dutchyn
Ready to take your interest in dogs further?
Talk with an instructor about your goals, your experience, and the learning arrangements available to you. Get clear information about the program before you apply.