Dog Psychology Course

Lesson 1 • Evolutionary History of the Domestic Dog

Traces dog domestication from wolf ancestors to modern breeds. Provides context for understanding instinctual drives that persist in pet dogs today.

Lesson 2 • Basic Ethology and Species-Typical Behaviors

Introduces fixed action patterns, appetitive behaviors, and consummatory acts in dogs. Grounds students in species-normal behavior before addressing abnormalities.

Lesson 3 • Canine Sensory Systems

Examines olfactory, auditory, visual, and tactile capabilities of dogs. Explains how sensory dominance influences perception and behavioral responses.

Lesson 1 • Postural Communication Signals

Analyzes whole-body postures indicating confidence, fear, and submission. Builds the observational foundation needed for all subsequent behavior assessment.

Lesson 2 • Tail and Appendage Signaling

Examines tail carriage, wagging asymmetry, and paw raises as nuanced signals. Corrects common misinterpretations of tail wagging as universal friendliness.

Lesson 3 • Facial and Vocal Expressions

Decodes ear position, eye shape, lip tension, and vocalizations as communication channels. Connects facial signals to underlying emotional states.

Lesson 4 • Calming Signals and Conflict Avoidance

Introduces Turid Rugaas's calming signal framework and its practical applications. Students learn to recognize and respect de-escalation attempts in dogs.

Lesson 1 • Operant Conditioning and the Four Quadrants

Explains positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment with canine examples. Evaluates welfare and efficacy implications of each quadrant.

Lesson 2 • Generalization, Discrimination, and Stimulus Control

Addresses how dogs generalize learned behaviors across environments and discriminate between cues. Teaches proofing strategies for reliable real-world performance.

Lesson 3 • Shaping, Chaining, and Capturing

Teaches systematic behavior building through successive approximations, behavior chains, and capturing naturalistic responses. Expands the trainer's toolkit beyond lure-based methods.

Lesson 4 • Reinforcement Schedules and Behavior Strength

Analyzes continuous, fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, and interval schedules and their effects on behavior durability. Guides schedule selection for training and maintenance phases.

Lesson 1 • Juvenile and Adolescent Development

Addresses behavioral changes from twelve weeks through social maturity, including fear periods and hormonal shifts. Prepares practitioners to support owners through challenging adolescent phases.

Lesson 2 • Primary Socialization Window

Focuses on the three-to-twelve-week sensitive period for social bond formation and fear threshold setting. Explains lasting consequences of under-socialization during this window.

Lesson 3 • Adult and Senior Behavioral Changes

Examines how social maturity, aging, and cognitive decline alter behavior in adult and senior dogs. Connects age-related changes to modified training and management approaches.

Lesson 1 • Dog Park and Group Play Assessment

Teaches structured observation of group play dynamics and identification of dogs at risk. Equips practitioners to advise clients on appropriate social environments.

Lesson 2 • Dog-to-Dog Communication Protocols

Examines greeting rituals, play negotiation, and conflict resolution between dogs. Builds skills for distinguishing healthy play from escalating conflict.

Lesson 3 • Multi-Dog Household Management

Provides strategies for resource management, feeding protocols, and space allocation in homes with multiple dogs. Reduces conflict through environmental and behavioral management.

Lesson 1 • Desensitization and Counter-Conditioning Protocols

Teaches systematic desensitization paired with counter-conditioning as the primary fear intervention. Guides students through protocol design, threshold management, and progress monitoring.

Lesson 2 • Fear Responses and Survival Strategies

Covers the fight, flight, freeze, and fidget responses and their behavioral expressions in dogs. Teaches practitioners to identify which survival strategy a dog is employing.

Lesson 3 • Common Fear Triggers and Phobias

Catalogs frequent fear triggers including sounds, strangers, handling, and novel environments. Provides a framework for systematic trigger identification in client dogs.

Lesson 4 • Stress Physiology and the HPA Axis

Explains cortisol release, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and cumulative stress effects. Connects physiology to observable behavioral stress indicators.

Lesson 1 • Prognosis, Referral, and Ethical Decisions

Guides practitioners through prognosis assessment, referral criteria, and quality-of-life considerations for aggressive dogs. Addresses ethical obligations when safety cannot be guaranteed.

Lesson 2 • Safety Protocols and Management Tools

Establishes non-negotiable safety measures including muzzle conditioning, leash management, and environmental controls. Prioritizes human and animal safety before any modification begins.

Lesson 3 • Bite Assessment and Risk Evaluation

Applies Dunbar's bite scale and contextual factors to evaluate bite severity and recurrence risk. Teaches objective documentation practices for liability and case management.

Lesson 4 • Aggression Classification Systems

Introduces motivational and functional classification of aggression types in dogs. Provides a consistent taxonomy for case documentation and communication.

Lesson 1 • Progress Monitoring and Case Closure

Establishes objective measurement tools, follow-up schedules, and criteria for successful case closure. Ensures accountability and continuous improvement in practitioner practice.

Lesson 2 • Designing Individualized Behavior Plans

Translates behavioral assessment findings into SMART goals, management steps, and modification protocols. Balances owner capacity with clinical best practices.

Lesson 3 • Client Education and Coaching Skills

Teaches motivational interviewing, skill demonstration, and feedback delivery to maximize owner compliance. Connects effective coaching to improved behavioral outcomes.

Lesson 4 • Professional Ethics and Scope of Practice

Defines ethical boundaries, mandatory reporting obligations, and scope-of-practice limits for behavior consultants. Prepares students to operate responsibly within the professional community.