The Academy for Dog Trainers offers a comprehensive distance learning and personal video coaching program for applied dog behavior practitioners in training, behavior modification, and client counseling. The program is divided into four sequential Levels (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior), each with a 6-month deadline for completion following student admission and registration. This course description covers the content and requirements to complete the Freshman Level. Video Training Requirements: Physical training skills are taught through extensive audio-video presentation, then practiced and coached via student video submissions. Academy coaches deconstruct student technique and provide detailed feedback for skills development through positive reinforcement of successive approximations of clearly defined target behaviors. Students submit final video clips that demonstrate their ability to efficiently train dogs in all basic obedience behaviors while adhering to training plans, adding extra steps where appropriate for a given dog, and using a standardized approach to training. Written Assignments: Students demonstrate mastery of training plan design by submitting: 1) a final written training plan for a behavior modification application; and 2) a final written training plan to condition a positive emotional response from a dog to a preset situation. Preparation includes course study, webinars, and multiple practice plans. Knowledge Test: Students study and are tested on 7 in-depth academic course modules covering: all aspects of Animal Learning theory and cognition with particular emphasis on both classical and operant conditioning; all the principles of efficient, evidence-based Dog Training including both lure-reward and clicker training; best practices for building Obedience behaviors in pet dogs; Breeds & their behavioral characteristics; and the History of behavioral science. Modules contain 600+ presentation slides, 50+ video clips, multiple training plans, and academic handouts. Students also study and are tested on 26 webinars designed to expand on the modules content. Each webinar has an average viewing time of one hour: Anatomy of a Training Plan; Breeds and Behavior; Breeds Review & Quiz; “Culture Wars” (4 webinars covering Ethics and exploring personal bias); Training Gear & Equipment Primer; Grooming plus Board & Train Add-Ons; Husbandry Project Plans (teaching dogs to volunteer for vet procedures); Husbandry Project Video Deconstructions; Learning Theory Review & Quiz; “Mad Skills” (3 sessions using video deconstruction of mechanical training technique); Overshadowing and Blocking; Owner Signature (counseling); Premack (theory & application); Quadrants Review & Quiz; Quadrants Review & Practice (2); Quadrants as Clues to Internal States; Counseling Scripts for the Cultural Fog; Sticky Counseling Scripts; Trainer Priorities; Troubleshooting Training Problems. All course content is accessed through the Academy’s state-of-the-art, interactive, online learning platform “The Dog Scientific”, which provides extensive recorded lecture presentations rich in audio-visual elements, plus both live and recorded webinars, extensive case studies, active discussion forums, study tools, video case analyses, multiple quizzes, practice exams, and ongoing client case mentoring. All Academy practices are based on the latest evidence-based models and utilize training plans and methods that have been field-tested on thousands of dogs. The minimum weekly study time for this course is 12 hours per week or approximately 300 hours over a 6 month period, though many students opt to spend more time. The additional hands-on hours required to complete final video submissions and written assignments are significant and will vary by student. For further details on the Academy's program and a complete course syllabus, please visit the Academy’s website.

Sponsor:The Academy for Dog Trainers
Speaker(s):**Jean Donaldson

Contact: The Academy for Dog Trainers
 Email: info@academyfordogtrainers.com
 Phone: 510-655-5760
 Web: https://www.academyfordogtrainers.com/index.html