Course Details

The Introduction to Professional Dog Training is intended to take you from being interested in dogs and dog training and prepare you to work in the field! This class is limited to 10 members, allowing you to get to know your instructor and colleagues and get the attention you need and deserve.

  • The entire course drops on October 20, 2025, but you will have access to the first two chapters as soon as you enroll. Each month on the second Sunday, there are optional Office Hours to help you to understand the content. We limit enrollment to 10 students per cohort so that you can be assured of a personal connection to your instructor. The content of this course will not only prepare you to work in the field of professional dog training, but it contains all the information you need to study for the CPDT exam. Value-$1299.99

  • Many online courses will offer you information to learn about dog training, but very few of them provide actual coaching of YOU training a dog. In this course you get to participate in online puppy and adult classes where you can get one on one coaching from the comfort of your own home. Value-$1799.94

  • Students in this course will get access to our Crucible Community for one year. The Crucible Community meets weekly. You will meet other professional trainers socially, listen to live chats from some of the most important names in our field today, and you will also have access to an extra webinar each month beyond what already get in your main classroom. Value-$299.88

Content Will Begin Releasing On October 20, 2025

In this one year long course, you will learn all the theory online at your own pace and have access to The Dog Trainer's Crucible Community with weekly meetings, guest speakers and additional webinars, online group dog training classes to take with whichever dog you choose, and monthly meetings with the other nine members of your class! You will have access to the material from your course for three full years at no extra cost.

Enroll now to reserve your spot!

Course curriculum

    1. Welcome

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. How Do I Use Thinkific

    3. Meet Your Instructor Sue Alexander

      FREE PREVIEW

    4. What Will You Need To Succeed in This Course?

      FREE PREVIEW

    5. Registration Conditions

    6. What to Expect in Class Meetings, The Crucible Community and Online Group Classes

    7. How We Evaluate Your Participation

    8. What Credentials Are Available To Dog Trainers?

    9. Building Relationships

    10. Principles of Fitting Equipment

    11. Fitting Equipment on Dogs

    12. Mode of Action

    13. Understanding Canine Structure

    14. Fitting the Head Halter and Martingale

    15. Notable Exceptions

    16. Tool Library

    17. An Important Thing to Know about Prong Collars, Especially if You Don't Use One

    18. Continuing Education Credits

    19. Some Helpful Resources

    20. Your Turn

    21. Welcome Chapter Quiz

    1. Learning Objectives

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. What is Training

    3. Sue and Laura Talk About What Training Is

    4. Introduction to Ethics and Morals

    5. Some Ethical Questions for Dog Trainers

    6. Sue and Laura Talk About Having Difficult Conversations

    7. Some Important Definitions

    8. Humane Hierarchy, LIMA, LIEBI, and LIFE

    9. Humane Hierarchy

    10. LIMA

    11. LIEBI

    12. LIFE

    13. Dominance VS Science

    14. Contact- by Trish McMillan

    15. Understanding the basics of animal welfarewith Laura Harper MSc-Three Circles Model [11:08]

    16. Boundaries

    17. Who Are The People In Your Neighbourhood?

    18. Your Turn

    19. Some Helpful Resources

    20. Chapter One Quiz

    1. Learning Objectives

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. A Quick Overview of How Learning Works

    3. A Little Bit of History

    4. Operant and Classical Conditioning

    5. Operant Conditioning-The Quadrants

    6. Extinction

    7. How Clickers Work

    8. Ethical Training Methods Video with Sue and Trish (Sue and Trish Ethics [15:52}

    9. Play

    10. Shelter Dog Play: exercise, enrichment and b-mod by Trish McMillan

    11. Your Turn

    12. Some Useful Online Resources

    13. Chapter Two Quiz

    1. Learning Objectives

    2. What Skills

    3. The Most Important Skills for Shelter Dogs-TrishMcMillan

    4. Capturing, Shaping and Luring

    5. A,B,C?

    6. Just the Basics

    7. The Bowl Game For Engagement

    8. The One Hour Down Stay

    9. Trish McMillan-Getting a Dog Out of a Run and Onto a Leash

    10. Leashes In The Shelter-Trish

    11. Leash Manners

    12. Cued Take It

    13. A word on rewards and Reinforcers

    14. Your Turn

    15. Some Helpful Online Resources

    16. Chapter Three Quiz

    1. Learning Objectives

    2. The Three Aspects of the Good Dog Model

    3. The Good Dog Model

    4. What Is Counter Conditioning and How Can We Achieve It?

    5. Preparing To Watch The Classical Condtioning Video

    6. Classical Conditioning

    7. Preparing to Watch The Dog Body Language And Play Lecture

    8. Dog Body Language And Play-Trish McMillan

    9. Stress And Relaxation

    10. Using the One Hour Down Stay as a Counter Conditioning Technique

    11. Approach And Retreat As An Operant Technique for Counter Conditioning

    12. Graduated Exposure

    13. Where Classical And Operant Conditioning Collide

    14. Getting Help From The Veterinarian

    15. Your Turn

    16. Some Helpful Online Resources

    17. Chapter Four Quiz

    1. Learning Objectives

    2. What is a Problem Behaviour?

    3. Occam's Razor

    4. Coming Back To The Humane Hierarchy...Again!

    5. Naughty Dog

    6. Self Control

    7. DRO, DRA, DRI, Extinction and the case of the Jumping Puppy

    8. Redirection

    9. A Closer Look at P-

    10. Positive Punishment

    11. The Rules For The Use of Punishment

    12. Your Turn

    13. Some Helpful Online Resources

    14. Chapter 5 Quizz

About this course

  • $1,599.99
  • 197 lessons
  • 17 hours of video content

Register Now!

We are ONLY accepting ten students in this course! Acting now will ensure that you are one of the ten. Once the first ten students are enrolled we will have a wait list in case anyone drops out.

Click To Join For $1599.99
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FAQ

  • Do I need a dog of my own to participate?

    No! You will be able to attend online classes with any dog you like. In fact, you don't even need to attend class with the same dog for the whole year. And if you have multiple dogs, you can attend multiple classes each with with different dogs.

  • Who teaches the online training classes?

    Our classes are provided by Dogs in the Park, and are taught by instructors who have earned their CPDT.

  • I work shifts. I may not be able attend class meetings. Can I still participate?

    Absolutely! We allow each student to have 2 one on one meetings with the instructor over the duration of the course at no extra charge.

  • I am local to you. Can I attend classes in person?

    Yes, however there is an extra charge for that.

  • What equipment will I need in order to participate in this course?

    The majority of this course occurs online, so you will need a computer and an internet connection. For the online training classes, you will need a dog, some treats and a space to work where your computer can record what your dog is doing.