Overview
Required
Schedule
Prerequisites
CEUs & Pricing
About Your Instructor
Course Begins: October 4, 2023
Duration: 8 Weeks
Instructor: Kristina Spaulding, PhD, CAAB
Course type: Mentorship
** IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT WEEKLY ONLINE MEETINGS **
- Auditors do not attend online meetings
- Meetings are not recorded
- Meetings take place on Wednesdays at 12:00 pm Eastern (first meeting October 11th)
- Meetings are 1 hour in duration
- There are 8 meetings for this mentorship
Would you like to improve your effectiveness and success rate with impulsivity/hyperactivity, reactivity, and fear clients, or are you looking to get started with these types of behavior issues?
This 8-week Mentorship will focus on canine impulsivity/hyperactivity, reactivity, and fear, and will discuss:
- the current scientific understanding
- history taking, assessment, and client communication
- development and implementation of behavior modification specific to these issues
By the end of this course, students should know how to:
- Define and correctly identify hyperactivity/impulsivity, reactivity and fear and explain what leads to the behavior
- Develop effective, comprehensive behavior plans for these issues
- Track progress and make adjustments as needed
- Communicate effectively with clients
The course is ideal for:
- Dog trainers, behavior consultants, and shelter volunteers or staff
- Veterinarians and veterinary staff
- Dog walkers and dog day care staff
- Pet owners may also benefit from taking the course, although they would be best served if done in conjunction with one-on-one work with a certified behavior consultant
This 8-week mentorship provides mentees with ongoing video lectures, documentation, online chat, and scheduled weekly live/online meetings.
Relative to the course topics, mentees can discuss their own cases or any others, ask questions about application and theory, ask for tips and advice on overcoming specific challenges, and be guided toward even higher levels of professionalism and effectiveness. The mentors are there for the mentees, and offer all help and discussion that each mentee finds useful.
Auditors may observe and learn about topics under discussion between the mentor and full mentees. Auditors do not attend the weekly live chats and may not introduce their own cases or ask for specific input on their own work.
To receive CEUs and/or a certificate of completion, Full Mentees must:
- Choose a case to work with throughout the course (this can be your own dog, a shelter dog, or a client’s dog). If you do not have a case to work with, you can create a hypothetical case, but the greatest benefit will come from working with a live dog. The best fit for this course are dogs that are showing reactivity, fear and/or impulsivity, and hyperactivity without a history of aggression. Redirection during reactive episodes and extreme mouthing still fall under the scope of this course, but strictly aggression cases do not.
- Review the recorded lectures prior to the live discussion calls
- Attend and participate in at least 6 of the 8 online meetings
- Complete homework consisting of short written assignments
- Develop, modify, and track progress on a behavior plan throughout the course
Full Mentees should expect to spend an average of 3-5 hours per week on the course depending on the week’s materials.
To receive CEUs and/or a certificate of achievement, Auditors must:
- Review the recorded lectures
This eight-week mentorship will begin on the specified start date and includes 8 weekly online meetings.
Students will have access to the course material for 1 year from the date of their most recent IAABC Foundation purchase.
This eight-week mentorship includes 8 weekly online meetings on the following topics: Each week will include pre-recorded lectures, readings, quizzes, and live/online meeting with discussion and interactive activities.
Weeks 1 – 3: Assessment
Activities include development of training plans, case study, case selection, begin drafting behavior plans, and client communication written assignment.
Week 1 - Defining and recognizing reactivity, fear and hyperactivity/impulsivity
Week 2 - Working with emotion in dogs and how stress impacts behavior
Week 3 - Client communication and expectation setting
Weeks 4 – 6: Specific behavior issues – what the science tells us
Activities include updating behavior plans, receiving instructor feedback, and client communication assignments.
Week 4 - What the research tells us, how to use this information to improve outcomes, and addressing impulsivity/hyperactivity
Week 5 - Fear, learned helplessness, and addressing fear
Week 6 - Reactivity, the role of habit and emotion, and addressing reactivity
Weeks 7 - 8: Putting it all together - Core skills
Activities include finalizing behavior plans and receiving instructor feedback.
Week 7 - Foundation skills for reactivity, fear, and hyperactivity/impulsivity
Week 8 - Improving confidence and stress coping skills
This course is designed for students that already have a basic understanding of dog training principles (basic learning theory, how to teach new behaviors) and have strong mechanical skills.
CEUs: 24 (IAABC, KPA); 21 (CCPDT)
Member Cost: $540 *
Non- Member Cost: $600
CEUs: 8 (IAABC, CCPDT, KPA)
Member Cost: $324 *
Non- Member Cost: $360 **
* IAABC Members: Click HERE to get your IAABC Member discount code from your account.
Refund Policy:
90% refund more than 30 days pre-event.
50% refund 15-30 days pre-event.
No refunds or credits issued 0-14 days pre-event or once the event has begun.
Instructor: Kristina Spaulding, PhD, CAAB
Dr. Kristina Spaulding has been in the dog training and behavior profession since 1999. She has a PhD in biopsychology—the study of the biological basis of behavior—and is a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist through the Animal Behavior Society. Kristina is particularly interested in stress, neurobiology, cognition, emotion, and wellbeing and how to apply these concepts to the prevention and early intervention of behavior problems in dogs. In her private practice, she specializes in working with puppies and adolescents and dogs with reactivity, fear and hyperactivity and/or impulsivity issues. In addition to working with behavior clients, Kristina teaches a variety of online courses and webinars on the science of behavior. She also regularly presents on canine behavior science at conferences and other events.
In 2019, Kristina received the Association of Professional Dog Trainer’s (APDT’s) Member of the Year Award. She serves on the APDT Education Committee, the IAABC Foundation Board, and the Fear Free Advisory group.
Before opening Smart Dog, Kristina earned her B.S. in Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. In college, she worked for the local humane society for several years. She also served as an assistant trainer at Dog’s Best Friend which was owned at that time by Dr. Patricia McConnell.