Course Details
Whether your dog is having problems in the ring or struggling in daily life, the key to addressing problematic behaviour can be understanding and improving the dog’s emotional state. That's where counterconditioning and desensitization (CC&DS) come in. CC&DS can help dogs get into a better “headspace” – and that can mean more engagement and focus when it really counts.
In this somewhat geeky – but also highly practical – course, we'll explore the concepts of CC&DS in depth. We’ll look into how emotions drive behaviour, discuss ways to use CC&DS to improve emotional states (and behaviour), and go over best practices and considerations for CC&DS.
The focus in the course will be on how to optimize CC&DS techniques in real life. The theoretical grounding you’ll get in CC&DS will help you get the best results possible as you apply CC&DS today and in the future.
Bottom line: You'll leave the course with a better understanding of how to apply CC&DS for better performance and a happier pup!
Gold students will create and implement a training plan using CC&DS techniques for a situation they would like to improve with their dog. For example, you could work on helping your dog live peacefully with the vacuum cleaner, tackle grooming tasks such as brushing or nail trims, focus on reducing barking at things going by your house, or teach your dog to stay calm when the doorbell rings.
Note: Serious aggressive behavior such as biting (or any other behavior where there is a risk of injury to humans or other animals) is beyond the scope of this course. If you are not sure if the issue you want to tackle is appropriate for this course, please reach out so we can discuss it.
One more note: CC&DS takes time. The amount of time it takes depends on a lot of factors that are outside of our control (more about that during the course). Six weeks may not be long enough for you to fully address whatever issues you are targeting, but my goal is to give you the tools you need to continue your training confidently even after the course ends.
Teaching Approach
Lectures will be released once a week, but each week will include more than one mini-lecture. You can watch all the week’s mini-lectures at once or space them out, as you prefer. Lectures that relate to a video submission will be labelled as such (to help Gold students ensure they can submit videos on time). There will also be optional quizzes and other interactive content that you can engage in or not, as you prefer. Some of the interactive content will be exclusively for Gold students, but much of it will be available to students at all levels.
NOTE: Each lecture will be provided in video format as well as in a transcript.
I will be checking the class forums morning and evening (Pacific time) each day, unless an announcement is made otherwise. I will endeavor to address posts within about 12 hours, but it may occasionally take a little longer.
Guest Instructor: Irith Bloom
