Animal behaviorist?

ok well i always wanted to do something with animals. people tell me they see me as a vet, but i dont think its what im meant to do. i was reading a book about animal carers and i think i want to be a animal behaviorist. i would also like to help people train their dogs so they wont end up in shelters. (they kinda go hand in hand)do you think this would be a good carer? do you have to go to school. my dad is a professes so i HAVE to go to collage and get some kind of degree. so what degree should i strive for, and what collage. how much would I make? how long would it take to get the degree? what classes should i take in high school. thanks
Answers:
I can't answer most of your questions.. But An animal behaviorist would be a great idea.. Many people could use the help of a behaviorist... The problem tho is trying to get them to realize that they need help. Most people it seems don't want to take their dog to the vet, or don't want to do any training.. SO meeting with a Behaviorist would be out of the question...
I would say tho if you found a niche and could get in and find clients.. You should take at least a few vet related courses so you would be able to tell if a dog had some sort of health issue that it was suffering from, and that's what was causing the behavior.

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You take what ever interests you. You can always change your major. Animal bahavior is very interesting. People tend to believe that animals think like humans but they do not. If you have a 4H program in High School that would be a great place to start.

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I work at a vet clinic, and when people come in with their animals that have behavioral problems we refer them to an animal behaviorist. The lady we refer them to started out as a veterinarian. She was so upset when she saw so many people wanting to euthanize their dogs over simple behavior issues that could easily be fixed. Because of this she starting looking into animal training and behavior. I'm not sure about the steps she took to become an animal behaviorist, but I'm sure you can talk to veterinarians, and ask who they refer to, and that person can tell you how they got into it. Good Luck!