Understanding Canine Behavior Part 1

Ever found yourself frustrated by your dog’s challenging behaviors? Maybe you’re puzzled by your client’s dog’s behavior? Have you ever received conflicting advice and felt unsure how to proceed? Do you struggle to see the reason for certain behaviors and to come up with any potential solutions? We are here to help! 

Join us to analyse your dog (or your client dog’s) behavior using ABC (Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence) model and behavior analytic approach to understanding and addressing problem behaviors in dogs. We can help you if you’re struggling to apply positive reinforcement effectively. Whether you’re an experienced dog trainer or a dog caregiver curious about canine behavior, this course is designed to provide valuable insights and effective strategies for all levels. 

Who would benefit from taking this course?

This course is ideal for:

• Dog caregivers who want to gain insights into their dog’s behavior and strengthen their bond through positive training methods.
• Dog trainers seeking a deeper understanding of behavior analysis and problem-solving techniques.
• Regular dog parents interested in canine behavior and looking to address specific problem behaviors in a supportive and knowledgeable environment.

What will you learn from this course?

Throughout this program, you will learn:

• How to analyze problem behaviors using the ABC model to identify triggers and consequences.
• Recognizing and fulfilling your dog’s various needs, including biological, safety, social, and cognitive needs.
• Implementing positive reinforcement and conditioning techniques to shape desired behaviors effectively.
• Developing observation skills, marker training, and understanding the importance of timing in training sessions.
• Utilizing prevention and management strategies to create a safe and supportive environment for your dog.
• Applying the 3Ds (Distance, Duration, and Distraction) to generalize learned skills and progress in training.
• Overcoming challenges and advancing in training to address behavior problems in various environments.

Imagine that there’s a magical wand and you can wish your dog’s problem behavior away. What would your life be like? Join us on this course so we can help you get closer to using that magical wand!

Lessons:

• Week 1 21 Dec 2024
  • Introduction

    Read this before proceeding to the first lesson!…

  • Week 1 – Do you know your ABCs?

    Week 1 Lesson Outline Lesson 1: Behavior Analysis and why use it. Lesson 2: Life without the problem behavior(s). Lesson…

  • Lesson 1: Behavior Analysis and Why Use It.

    What is behavior analysis? And why would we use it?…

  • Lesson 2: Life without the problem behavior(s).

    What would your life look like when the problem behavior was no longer a…

  • Lesson 3: Describing the behavior(s).

    Describing the behavior(s). The initial stage of Functional…

  • Lesson 4: Identifying Antecedents.

    Under what conditions does the behavior occur? As…

  • Lesson 5: Consequences of the behaviors.

    What are the consequences of the behavior?…

  • Lesson 6: The conditions under which the behavior doesn’t occur.

    Under what conditions the behavior does not occur?…

  • Lesson 7: Can it be prevented?

    Is it within your control to prevent this behavior?…

• Week 2 21 Dec 2024
  • Week 2 – What would you like to see instead?

    Week 2 Lesson Outline Lesson 8: Where do we start?   Lesson 9: Understanding Your Dog’s Nature: Dog Needs Lesson…

  • Lesson 8: Where do we start?

    Humane Hierarchy by Susan Friedman…

  • Lesson 9: Understanding Your Dog’s Nature – Dog Needs

    The first thing to do is to make sure that your dog’s needs are…

  • Lesson 10: Analyzing the function of the behavior.

    In week 1 you described the behavior you would like to focus on in…

  • Lesson 11: Defining the behavior you want the dog to do instead of the problem behavior.

    Preventing from rehearsing the behavior (rehearsed behavior continues to get stronger) Response prevention…

  • Lesson 12: Defining the antecedent that will allow for this new behavior to happen.

    Instead of trying to eliminate the problem behavior, we should be focusing on building…

  • Lesson 13: Management solutions

    Antecedents are crucial because they provide structure to our behavior, signaling which behaviors will…

• Week 3 21 Dec 2024
  • Week 3 – How do we teach skills and behaviors?

    Week 3 Lesson Outline Lesson 14: Positive reinforcement Lesson 15: Classical Conditioning and Desensitization  Lesson 16: Skills for the human Lesson…

  • Lesson 14: Positive reinforcement

    Learning Before going into what positive reinforcement is,…

  • Lesson 15: Classical Conditioning and Desensitization

    Classical conditioning Classical conditioning, also called associative learning…

  • Lesson 16: Skills for the human

    Observational skills Watching a variety of dogs Tracking data (of behaviors presented, to find…

  • Lesson 17: Reinforcement for your dog

    How to assess what’s reinforcing for your dog and under which conditions.

  • Lesson 18: Establishing ways of reinforcing new behaviors

    Reinforcement delivery patterns Different ways of delivering treats …

  • Lesson 19: Skills for the dogs

    Training games There are plenty of training exercises…

• Week 4 21 Dec 2024
  • Week 4 – Starting the Training

    Week 4 – Lesson Outline   Lesson 20: Body language Lesson 21 Finding your dog’s threshold or limit Lesson 22: Finding…

  • Lesson 20: Canine Body Language

    Canine body language is a display of different emotional states in response to the…

  • Lesson 21: Finding your dog’s threshold or limit.

    Once you understand your dog’s relaxed body language (a.k.a. baseline), you will be more…

  • Lesson 22: Finding your dog’s starting point.

    Before we start changing behavior, have you ruled out health issues (Exit 1 in…

  • Lesson 23: Setting up your training environment.

    How to set up a training environment? We gave you many examples of management…

• Week 5 21 Dec 2024
  • Week 5 – Shaping the Behavior(s)

    Week 5 Lesson Outline Lesson 24: What is shaping?  Lesson 25: Creating a training plan Lesson 26: Flowchart  Lesson 27: Shaping…

  • Lesson 24: Shaping

    What is shaping? Shaping is commonly defined as…

  • Lesson 25: Creating a training plan.

    What are your criteria? You have your goal…

  • Lesson 26: Flowchart

    One way of approaching training plans and making sure we continue progressing in the…

  • Lesson 27: Shaping example: mat behavior

    In this lesson, we will try to illustrate the shaping process with the use…

  • Lesson 28: Raising and lowering criteria based on what the dog is doing.

    Shaping means reinforcing successive approximations. We need to raise criteria to be able to…

• Week 6 21 Dec 2024
  • Week 6 – Progressing the Training

    Week 6 Lesson Outline   Lesson 29: Identifying a difficult environment for your dog Lesson 30: What can you try first before…

  • Lesson 29: Difficult environment for your dog.

    What is a difficult environment for your dog?…

  • Lesson 30: What you can try first before you get to the difficult environment.

    Fading in distractions to the environment. Distractions can…

  • Lesson 31: Building duration.

    Building duration on a behavior is something that can be a challenge. There are…

  • Lesson 32: Repetition is key, so keep training!

    New repertoires of behavior come from repetition. We are never fully done with a…

  • Lesson 33: List of resources and further reading.

    Here is a list of resources we used as references. We share them in…

  • Outro

    Farewell and Keep Moving Forward! Mega Cheers and…

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