You know how to train dogs. Now what?
Discover the professional client system for turning what you know into a real-world dog-training practice.
Live on Zoom. You'll choose the session that works best for you when you register.
You may know more about training dogs than you give yourself credit for.
You've trained dogs. You've studied, attended workshops, watched other trainers and practised your skills.
Maybe you're already the person friends, family members or colleagues turn to when they need help with their dogs. You may even have worked with a few paying clients, or thought seriously about doing so.
You know you have something valuable to offer. But there's still a gap between…
And when you try to figure out how to cross that gap, the questions start piling up.
If those questions sound familiar, you may not need another dog-training technique. You may need a professional system for putting what you already know to work.
That's what we'll explore in this masterclass.
In From Dog Trainer to Professional, I'll walk you through the professional client journey, from the moment someone first asks for help through assessment, planning, coaching, follow-up and progress review. You'll see how the pieces fit together and why knowing how to train a dog is only one part of working successfully with real-world clients.
The Professional Client Journey
See what happens between “Can you help me with my dog?” and the successful completion of a training program. Instead of a collection of disconnected tasks, you'll begin to see the complete professional process.
- 1INQUIRE
- 2PREPARE
- 3ASSESS
- 4PRIORITIZE
- 5PLAN
- 6COACH
- 7REVIEW
- 8REFINE
The Difference Between Knowing Dog Training and Operating Professionally
Knowing training techniques matters.
But professional trainers also need to know how to gather information, assess what they're seeing, determine priorities, develop realistic plans, coach owners, evaluate progress and recognize when they need additional support.
You'll begin to see where the dog-training knowledge you already have fits into that larger professional picture.
How Professional Confidence Is Actually Built
If you've been telling yourself “I'll start when I feel more confident,” we're going to challenge that assumption.
Professional confidence isn't built by pretending you know everything. It develops as you responsibly apply what you know, observe what happens, reflect, seek feedback when needed, refine your decisions and gain experience.
You don't have to know everything before you can begin moving forward. But you do need to understand how to move forward responsibly.
This masterclass may be for you if…
- You've spent meaningful time learning and training dogs, but you're still hesitant to call yourself a professional dog trainer.
- You have practical dog-training skills, but the process of working professionally with clients feels less clear.
- You've taken courses and workshops but feel like you're collecting more and more pieces without seeing how they fit together.
- You find yourself second-guessing what you know.
- You're waiting for another course, certification or milestone to finally feel “ready.”
- Or you simply want a clearer, more professional structure around work you're already doing.
If any of that sounds like where you are right now, this is for you.
You've given me the opportunity to grow, you inspire me, and you opened your heart to share the tools to be successful at making huge changes in my world.
This isn't a masterclass about becoming a dog trainer overnight.
And it's not about replacing education, practice or experience. It's about helping capable dog people see the professional framework around the skills they already have, so they can identify what they know, what they still need to develop and what responsible forward movement can look like.
I've been where you are.
When I moved from competitive field-dog training into the pet-dog-training world, I wasn't starting from zero. I had spent years training dogs, learning from accomplished trainers and competing successfully with my own dogs.
But entering the pet-dog profession made me feel like a beginner all over again. Different philosophies. Different methodologies. Different opinions about what a “real” dog trainer should believe and do. The more I tried to piece everything together, the more confusing it sometimes became.
So I did what many students do. I went looking for another workshop. That decision introduced me to renowned gun-dog trainer Martin Deeley.
During the workshop, I peppered Martin with questions about training, dog psychology and business. Eventually, over dinner, I admitted that I didn't know if I could succeed as a pet dog trainer. His response stopped me:
“You're not afraid of the dog training. You're afraid of the business part.”MARTIN DEELEY
He was right. Martin helped me recognize that the years I'd spent training field dogs had taught me far more than I realized, and much of that knowledge could transfer to working with pet dogs and their owners.
I was still short on confidence. I started running through everything I'd need to figure out before I could possibly be ready. Martin cut through it:
“You don't know how much you know until you get started.”MARTIN DEELEY
So I started. The very next week, I mentioned the idea to my veterinarian. He stopped the exam and said:
“Oh my God, give me your cards. People NEED what you can provide right now.”MY VETERINARIAN
That was another push I needed. I started my professional dog-training business in 2006.
What I needed wasn't to know everything before I began. I needed a professional way to put what I already knew into practice, and a willingness to keep learning from experience.
Since then, I've spent years working with dogs and their families, developing programs, solving problems, refining systems and learning from what worked, and what didn't.
Today, I can see something I couldn't see clearly when I was starting:
I can't give another trainer my experience. But I can share the framework built from that experience so they don't have to start from a blank page.
That's why I created this masterclass and the Dog Trainer T.R.I.B.E. Academy.
Karen Laws · Ontario Dog Trainer & Dog Trainer T.R.I.B.E. Academy
Here's what that shift can look like.
“I wouldn't be where I am today without Karen's leadership and mentorship. She has been pivotal in helping me learn how to handle clients, handle financial matters as well as improving my dog training skills. I am enormously grateful for the judgement-free mentorship of the T.R.I.B.E community of trainers who love, support, challenge and cheer each other on.”
“You should put Karen Laws on your radar. She's got a great year-long program that is balanced and ends in certification, but more importantly, helps you with everything from games to teach clients with their dogs, program building, one-on-one to talk about clients you're working with, and so much more.”
You don't need to have everything figured out to take the next step.
You do need to understand what that next step looks like. Join me for From Dog Trainer to Professional and discover the professional client system that can help you turn what you already know about dogs into a more structured way of working with the people who need your help.
A few questions you might have
Is this going to be a sales pitch in disguise?
I'll mention my programs at the end because some of you will want to go further, but the masterclass itself stands on its own.
You'll walk away with the framework whether or not working with me further is ever the right fit for you.
Do I need to already be working professionally?
No. But this isn't a beginner dog-training class.
It's designed for people who already have meaningful hands-on experience training dogs and want a clearer professional process for working with clients, whether you're preparing to take on paying work or you've already started.
What if I can't attend live?
This masterclass is designed to be experienced live, and I encourage you to choose one of the three session times and plan to stay for the full session if you can.
A replay will be available to registered participants for 24 hours after the final session.
You know how to train dogs. Now what?
Come see what you already know, and discover the professional system for putting it to work.
Live on Zoom.