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 Sophomore Level. Video Training Requirements: Physical training skills are taught through extensive audio-video presentation and webinars, then coached via student practice 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 the ability to: 1) efficiently train a dog to station for a complete veterinary exam; and 2) to efficiently free-shape a dead retrieve (behavior chain) without prompts and with correct use of a clicker. Video submissions must demonstrate adherence to training plans, adding extra steps where appropriate for a given dog, and a standardized approach to training. Written Assignments: Students demonstrate mastery of training plan design and client communication skills by submitting: 1) a final written DRI (differential reinforcement of an incompatible behavior) plan to meet a client’s stated goals; and 2) a written set of basic Applied Behavior Analysis re-frames for clients in user-friendly language. Preparation includes course study, webinars, DRI planning exercises and ABA re-framing quizzes. Knowledge Test: Students study and are tested on 7 in-depth academic modules including: all aspects of Animal Learning theory and cognition; in-depth review of Ethology in general and Dog Behavior in particular; understanding and resolving dog Behavior Problems using applied behavior analysis; designing and executing effective training Classes with curricula for dog owners. Modules cover 700+ presentation slides, 29+ videos, multiple training plans, academic handouts, and class lesson plans. Students also study and are tested on 27 webinars designed to expand on modules content. Each has an average viewing time of 1 hour: All About Retrieves; Behavior Problems Review & Quiz; Behavior Chains; Body Language Practice I and II; Deconstructing Training Methods; Developmental Events; Dog Behavior Review & Quiz; “Do As I Do” Literature Review & critical thinking practice; Evolution of Cooperation; Fixed or Plastic: integrating action patterns and behavior plasticity; Housetraining Case Studies; Immediate Causation/Adaptive Significance Review; Intro to Evolutionary Psychology; Latest Domestication Findings; Multi-Dog Households; Off-leash Wrangling Exercises for Classes; Predatory Behavior; Puppy Classes Best Practices; Refereeing Puppy Play; “Rad Retrieves” video deconstruction; Rescorla-Wagner Model of Classical Conditioning; “Scripts to Save Us from the Desert” (counseling); Training & Behavior Terminology Review & Quiz; Training Plans Review I & II; Tug and Toy Motivators. 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 with training plans and methods that have been field-tested on thousands of dogs. The recommended 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