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Date: 10/23/2025

Animal Trainers

Train animals for riding, harness, security, performance, or obedience, or for assisting persons with disabilities. Accustom animals to human voice and contact, and condition animals to respond to commands. Train animals according to prescribed standards for show or competition. May train animals to carry pack loads or work as part of pack team.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Organize or conduct animal shows.
    • Feed or exercise animals or provide other general care, such as cleaning or maintaining holding or performance areas.
    • Evaluate animals for trainability and ability to perform.
    • Cue or signal animals during performances.
    • Train horses or other equines for riding, harness, show, racing, or other work, using knowledge of breed characteristics, training methods, performance standards, and the peculiarities of each animal.
    • Talk to or interact with animals to familiarize them to human voices or contact.
    • Administer prescribed medications to animals.
    • Observe animals' physical conditions to detect illness or unhealthy conditions requiring medical care.
    • Feed or exercise animals or provide other general care, such as cleaning or maintaining holding or performance areas.
    • Conduct training programs to develop or maintain desired animal behaviors for competition, entertainment, obedience, security, riding, or related purposes.
    • Keep records documenting animal health, diet, or behavior.
    • Use oral, spur, rein, or hand commands to condition horses to carry riders or to pull horse-drawn equipment.
    • Evaluate animals to determine their temperaments, abilities, or aptitude for training.
    • Retrain horses to break bad habits, such as kicking, bolting, or resisting bridling or grooming.
    • Advise animal owners regarding the purchase of specific animals.
    • Feed or exercise animals or provide other general care, such as cleaning or maintaining holding or performance areas.
    • Train dogs in human assistance or property protection duties.

    Skills

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    0
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    Knowledge

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 32960/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 15.85/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 1,130
    • Yearly Projected Openings 160

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Dependability
    • Integrity
    • Attention to Detail
    • Self Control
    • Independence
    • Cooperation

    Tools

    • Animal collars
    • Domestic pet training kits
    • Ear plugs
    • Harnesses or its accessories
    • Leashes or leads
    • Muzzles
    • Personal computers
    • Pet grooming products
    • Protective coveralls
    • Reins
    • Safety sleeves
    • Swivel carabiner
    • Therapeutic heating or cooling blankets or drapes
    • Whips
    • Whistle

    Technology

    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Medical software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Presentation software
    • Project management software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Transaction server software
    • Web page creation and editing software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

    • Apprenticeships are available for this occupation. These programs can help you get hands-on experience and build your skills.

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