How To Become A Guide Dog Trainer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a guide dog trainer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a guide dog trainer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $18.46 an hour? That's $38,392 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 28% and produce 101,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreGuide Dog TrainerUS Average

Salary

3.0

Avg. Salary $38,392

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.7

Growth Rate 28%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 1.66%

Black or African American 4.43%

Hispanic or Latino 14.62%

Unknown 7.62%

White 71.49%

Gender

female 39.13%

male 60.87%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress Level

6.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

4.3

Complexity Level is basic

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

9.3

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a guide dog trainer

Explore guide dog trainer education requirements

Most common guide dog trainer degrees

Bachelor's

67.9 %

High School Diploma

12.3 %

Associate

8.5 %

Start to develop specific guide dog trainer skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Satisfaction	100.00%

Complete relevant guide dog trainer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New guide dog trainers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a guide dog trainer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real guide dog trainer resumes.

Research guide dog trainer duties and responsibilities

Assure proper annotation of administrative MWD utilization and training records used for legal reviews.
Assure proper annotation of administrative MWD utilization and training records used for legal reviews.

Prepare your guide dog trainer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your guide dog trainer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a guide dog trainer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Guide Dog Trainer Resume templates

Build a professional Guide Dog Trainer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Guide Dog Trainer resume.

Apply for guide dog trainer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a guide dog trainer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do guide dog trainers rate their job?