Owner of Citizen Hound dog walking service in San Francisco, earns his CPDTA-KA title
For the past year I've been logging hours and studying for an exam I took a few months ago to finally obtain official certification as a professional dog trainer after 7 years of training. Saturday I found out that I passed, and with flying colors! 94% out of the 250 questions (it took hours). I'm now David Levin, CPDT-KA, which stands for Certified Pet Dog Trainer, Knowledge Assessed. As the below announcement explains, this is widely regarded as the standard for professional dog trainer designations. I'm excited to be amongst the 3,000 worldwide with this designation, but even more excited to start working toward the more prestigious next level, CPDT-Skills Assessed next year, an in person performance based test that would put me amongst only a couple hundred others. A big thank you to my study partner, coworker, and friend, Jill Andrews for helping me prepare for the test, and to all those other professionals in my industry that always pushed me to be better.
"Local dog trainer, David E. Levin, has earned certification through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers@ (CCPDT@). Now David joins over 3000 Certificants worldwide. Until the creation of the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers in 2001, there was no true certification process for canine professionals. Many schools teach dog trainers and offer certifications for their specific programs. These certificates, therefore, reflect the teachings and quality of a specific school. Other organizations offer take-home tests for "certification". These canine professionals are not monitored to ensure they are completing the test without any assistance or collaboration nor is the testing process standardized. This unprecedented process was originally implemented by the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), the largest association of dog trainers in the world, founded by noted veterinarian, behaviorist and author Dr. Ian Dunbar. A task force of approximately 20 internationally known dog training professionals and behaviorists worked for three years to research and develop the first comprehensive examination. Professional Testing Corporation (PTC) was hired to ensure the process met professional testing standards. APDT then created a separate, independent council - The Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers - to manage the accreditation and pursue future development. Candidates who pass the exam eam the title Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed and may use the designation "CPDT-KA" after their names. All certified trainers must earn continuing education credits to maintain their designations or take the examination again in three years."
Certificate number 2185626
