Progressive Dog Trainer Diploma Level One
Details
This is the only course that Pet Sense College offers which includes classes and practical sessions. The courses consists of 8 modules and therefore offers the best value for money when comparing other similar courses.
Upon completion of this course, each student will be able to competently train a dog to a basic standard of obedience and run effective and professional classes. This course is run over a three month period, three Saturdays a month. Students will be required to bring a dog to practical training sessions, either their own dog, or one that they can work with outside of practical sessions. This college only supports the use of positive reinforcement. Other methods are discussed so that students understand the implications of negative training methods.
This course is developed as a foundation course and includes an introduction to problem behaviours and aggression however it is not specialised on this subject. Further study in the area of Canine Behaviour would be necessary in order to specialised.
The PDT DIP requires the following criteria:
- You have some practical experience with dogs.
- You can commit to Saturday morning sessions over 3 months – see dates below.
- You are able to attend classes in Bedfordview, JHB.
- You have additional time to read the subject specific literature and prepare your assignments.
- You have a dog to work with on practical assignments.
Outline
1. Ways of Explaining Canine Behaviour
• The effects of biology on behaviour
• Natures approach to behaviour
• Nurtures approach to behaviour
• How food affects behaviour
• Associative learning
• Do dogs think?
• Canine intelligence
• Various ways dogs communicate
• Canine instincts
• What is a behaviourist?
2. Understanding Canine Behaviour
• Introduction to developmental psychology
• The newborn puppy
• Associative learning in the newborn puppy
• Reflex actions
• Initial development in the newborn puppy
• The puppy’s vision
• The puppy’s hearing
• Lapping behaviour
• Early experiences with semi-solid foods
• The Nature/Nurture debate
• The behaviour of the mother
• Natural selection
• Elimination behaviour in the newborn puppy
• The behaviour of the father
• The importance of play in the newborn puppy
• Why puppies play
• The play bow
• The role of hormones
• Social development
• Canine senses
• Artificial selection
• What is an adult dog?
• Sexual maturity
• Physical maturity
• Psychological maturity
• The dog as a predator
• Instincts
• Types of aggressive behaviour
• The dog as a social animal
• The structure of a pack
• Personality expression
• Vocalisation
• Posture
• Scent marking
• Burying food
• The elderly dog
3. Body Language
• What is meant by body language?
• Personal space
• Various types of body language
• Faces and their expressions
• What the mouth can convey
• Staring
• Yawning
• Body postures
• The confident dog
• The shy dog
• Distraction signals
• The stress signal
• Play
• The play bow and play dance
• The older dog and play
• Tail language
• Positions of the tail
• Wagging
4.Canine Learning
• Charles Darwin’s biological adaptations
• The nature verses nurture debate of learning
• Environmental influences on behaviour
• Canine learning
• The parental influences on learning
• Critical and sensitive periods of the puppy’s development
• Classical conditioning
• Chaining
• Instrumental or operant conditioning
• Reward and punishment in learning
• Reinforcers and punishment in learning
• Primary and secondary reinforcers
• Reinforcement schedules
• Shaping behaviour
• Sensitisation
• Cultural transmission
• The importance of play
• Insight learning
• Habituation
5. Dog Training
• Why train dogs?
• The senses and training
• Schedules of reinforcement
• Primary and secondary reinforcers revisited
• Choice of primary reinforce
• Benefits of using positive reinforcement
• Putting the theory into practice
• Basic training of house training, the recall, the sit, sit/stand, down, watch and progressing to heel with problems and solutions. Impulse control, prevention of aggression over food and toys, leash management. Leave-it, take-it, give-it.
• Puppy socialisation
• Running classes
• The advantages and disadvantages of using Clicker Training
• Summary of training principles
• Trainer skills
6. Handling Aggression
• Dealing with aggression
• Learning theory
• Operant conditioning
• Positive and negative reinforcement
• Positive and negative punishment
• One trial learning
• Generalisation with behaviour to different surroundings
• Initial measures
• When should training begin?
• Desensitisation and Counter Conditioning Techniques
• What is flooding
• Aversive conditioning
• Learned helplessness
• Over learning
• Holistic approaches to behaviour modification
• Legal Issues and the Dangerous Dogs Act
7.Unusual Canine Behaviour
• What is unusual canine behaviour
• What is normal canine behaviour
• Innate behaviour
• How owners confuse their dogs
• Unwanted barking behaviours
• Territorial aggression
• Fear aggression
• Progressive desensitisation
• Destructive behaviour
• Canine anxiety
• Feigning injuries
• Chasing behaviour
• Fouling indoors
• Coprophagia
8. Avoiding Problem Behaviour
• The thinking behind this module is to equip students with the ability to provide their dogs with the required social environment to avoid common problem behaviours developing. Prevention is always better than cure.
Speaker/s
Pet Sense College is correspondence college for education in animal care, behaviour and training which exclusively represents Compass Education and Training, in Africa and Australia. Our association ensures that our courses are of the highest standard.
Pet Sense College provides quality education to students who would like to work with animals in a professional capacity. Pet Sense College aims to provide education which is competitive and prides itself in offering courses which are internationally recognised thanks to our partnership with Compass Education and Training UK.
People who love animals and want to work with them are often faced with the challenges of not being able to prove their skills or to build on those that they have. It is for these people, who want to work in shelters, day care, pet sitting, vet practices or animal training, that Pet Sense College is introducing a series of diploma courses.
Our courses are recognised by International Educational Standard bodies as well as self-regulatory bodies.
Registration is open all year round. You decide when you are ready to register as all our courses are correspondence. There are no exams as you are marked on course work and module projects. You can work at your own pace, within reason. We believe there should be a limit, as the longer the gap between modules the more you need to reacquaint yourself with previous work. ...
