Course Title: Professional Activities in Animal Behavior Technology 113
Instructor: James O'Heare, CABC, CDBC, PABC
Course Description:
This course will help prepare the student to engage in professional animal behavior technology services provision. It will provide a model for working through behavior change projects. The professional activities of the animal behavior technologist involves all of the assessment and behavior change programming practices and also working with clients effectively to identify and achieve specific behavioral objectives. This course will explore how to work with clients in that capacity and how to manage behavior change projects. Liability issues will be explored as well. This course will also improve the learner’s repertoire of professional interpersonal behaviors that function to facilitate effective consultation services. You will be exploring how to deal with the client professionally. For the most part, much of the behavior consultant’s job is advising human clients and not working directly with companion animals (although that happens sometimes). A solid repertoire of effective attending and communication behaviors will make you a more effective behavior consultant.
Learning Objectives:
Upon completing this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify potential liability problems and how to avoid them
- Outline a basic structure for working through behavior cases
- Produce a service agreement document to be used in professional settings including identification of services and payment arrangements, informed consent information and liability clarifying and limiting clauses
- Formulate a liability limiting clause
- Define and describe informed consent
- Discuss personal safety issues in case management
- Describe boundary issues with regards to veterinarians and how to work effectively with them as allied professionals
- Describe and discuss effective attending behaviors to promote more effective communication
- Explain the importance of utilizing written documentation of assessment and behavior change programming as well as end-of-services closing documents
Texts:
- One on One A Dog Trainer's Guide to Private Training by Nicole Wilde (CASI students may receive a 10% discount on Nicole’s books. This offer may end without notice.)
- So You Want to Be a Dog Trainer A Step-by-Step Guide by Nicole Wilde (CASI students may receive a 10% discount on Nicole’s books. This offer may end without notice.)
- It’s Not the Dogs, It’s the People! A Dog Trainer’s Guide to Training Humans by Nicole Wilde (CASI students may receive a 10% discount on Nicole’s books. This offer may end without notice.)
- The Dog Trainer’s Business Kit by Nicole Wilde (CASI students may receive a 10% discount on Nicole’s books. This offer may end without notice.)
- Avoiding Liability (DVD) by Kenneth Phillips (recommended but not required)
- Course Notes
Course Evaluation:
This course will be evaluated by short essay assignments that will reflect and demonstrate mastery of the course topics and achievement of the learning objectives. The final grade will be the mean average of the assignment grades.
Prerequisites:
- Principles of Behavior 104
CEUs: Continuing Education Credits Available. See Course Approvals page for credits.