Companion Animal Sciences Institute

Course Title: Working with Fearful Dogs - 225

Credits: 3 (Approx. 42 work-hours)

Instructor: Nicole Wilde, B.A., CPDT

Course Description

Working with Fearful Dogs is an in-depth exploration of fear issues in dogs. This course is designed to cultivate in the student a strong grasp of the physiological and behavioral mechanisms of canine anxieties, fears and phobias in the context of a complete functional assessment, as well as an introduction to the techniques, principles, and tools that can be used to address them within the framework of a comprehensive behavior change program.

Students should emerge from this course with a solid understanding of the following:  

• Differences between anxieties, fears and phobias
• Root causes and prevention
• Manifestation of fear through subtle body language, vocalization, and behavior
• Influence of human body language and behavior
• Recommendations for management in the home Influence of nutrition and exercise on behavior
• Leadership and its importance to fearful dogs
• Training considerations 
• Useful skills to teach fearful dogs
• Considerations for the success of a behavior modification program
• Pinpointing triggers
• Desensitization and counterconditioning
• Designing protocols
• Changing specific fear behaviors
• Complementary therapies

Course Texts

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 3 months for this course, you are free to complete the course sooner if you can, and we do allow extensions if need be.

Prerequisites

Principles of Learning and Behavior 104
Functional Assessment and Behavior Change Programming 108
Behavior Change Procedures 114

Or

IAABC Certified members: no prerequisites.
IIACAB Endorsed professionals: no prerequisites.

IAABC Credits: 18

Tuition

$350 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.