Interested in being a Scoutmaster or Evaluator?
A Scoutmaster is a person who is certified by DSA to give the Dog Scout test.
A Dog Scout Evaluator is a person who is certified by DSA to give the tests for one or more specialty badges (for dogs that are already Dog Scouts.) Getting the Dog Scout Evaluator title is very similar to the steps for the Scoutmaster certification.
Certification to administer the testing for each badge is done individually (each badge separately) and often involves video of the instruction of the badge behaviors as well as putting a dog/handler team through the test and evaluating them. Some badges have written tests as well to verify the knowledge of the testing requirements of the future Scoutmaster or Evaluator.
As a Scoutmaster or Evaluator, you will need a firm understanding of positive, reward based training, the DSA training and testing guidelines for each badge you want to get certified to administer, good teaching/people skills and the ability to be fair and impartial when testing.
If you read through the “Guide to the Dog Scout title” you’ll get an idea of how the certification process works. A person wishing to become a Scoutmaster or Evaluator should use video to document themselves training and teaching a person how to help their dog achieve the badge as well as put one or two people through the test for that badge using DSA standards. Include on the video or in writing your critique of the performace as though you were the evaluator. Did the person/dog pass? What parts of their test were good and which need work? We need to know you have the same standards and evaluation criteria as the other Scoutmasters and Evaluators. And we need to see you have a good grasp of the methods and criteria used by DSA. The badges are not meant to be easy, they are meant to be earned as a symbol of a certain level of training. The testing for each badge should be the same regardless of where the testing is taking place.
Your video will be evaluated by a Certified Scoutmaster/Evaluator trainer. If you have any questions after reading through the pages of the manual and the pages in the “Certification Program” section, please contact the Certification Program Director.
