Companion Animal Sciences Institute

Course Title: Crossover Training - 207 

Credits: 3 (Approx. 42 work-hours)

Instructor: James O'Heare, CABC

Course Description

"Crossover" training refers to switching from traditional training methods to modern training methods. Clicker training and the use of positive reinforcement based methods are not a fad; they are the standard; they are the evolution of efficiency in training animals. Clicker training is cutting edge. If you are not training with a clicker you are simply not communicating with your dog as effectively as you could be and if you are making use of coercive methods then you are damaging the human-dog bond rather than strengthening and enjoying it. This course will help you make the transition from aversive to fun and effective; from coercive to motivational; from inefficient to efficient. This is an in-depth course that will explore crossover transitioning as well as clicker training techniques and learning theory. You do not have to abandon all you know about dogs and training to crossover but it will require a paradigm shift within you. This course will help arm you with the most up to date methods and principles in dog training so that you may build on the knowledge you already have. Students can expect to do a lot of studying and writing in this course.

Students should emerge from this course with a foundational understanding of:

• Operant conditioning
• Classical conditioning
• Psychological fallout caused by punishment
• Explaining to clients how dog's learn
• Continuous versus non continuous schedules of reinforcement
• Operant extinction, the extinction burst and spontaneous recovery
• Avoiding food dependency
• Differential schedules of reinforcement
• Shaping
• Clicker training
• The difference between rewards and reinforcers and between rewards and bribes
• Contrasting and comparing free-shaping, lure-reward, and physical prompting (modeling)
• Walking on loose leash
• Solid Recalls
• The importance of timing
• Phasing the lure

Course Texts

• The Crossover Clicker Training Workbook by Gail Fisher
• Getting Started Clicker Training for Dogs by Karen Pryor
• The Third Way Articles by Chris Bach
• The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson
• Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor
• How Dogs Learn by Burch and Bailey
• Coercion and its Fallout (Revised Edition) by Murry Sidman (This book can be purchased here)
• Canine Neuropsychology by James O'Heare (available at DogPsych.com)

Enrollment Package Includes

• Coursework document with assignments and course notes
• Student Handbook
• Access to Classroom, with transcripts from Guest Visits and handouts
• Free membership with IIACAB and to all issues of its journal JACAB
• Access to your Instructor for one-on-one guidance

Schedule

The course begins as soon as your enrollment is complete and you receive your enrollment package. Although we allow 6 months for this course, you are free to complete the course sooner if you can, and we do allow extensions if need be.

Prerequisites: None

Tuition

$300 Cdn. (Currency Converter) + 4% fee for for online payments. Textbooks not included in tuition. They may be purchased through http://www.dogwise.com, http://www.amazon.com, http://www.abebooks.com or http://www.half.com in most cases. Also check the Student Library. Canadian Residents 5% GST.

Enrollment

Visit the "ENROLL" page and follow the application instructions.