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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
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.
Welcome
FREE PREVIEWHow Do I Use Thinkific
Meet Your Instructor Sue Alexander
FREE PREVIEWWhat Will You Need To Succeed in This Course?
FREE PREVIEWRegistration Conditions
What to Expect in Class Meetings, The Crucible Community and Online Group Classes
How We Evaluate Your Participation
What Credentials Are Available To Dog Trainers?
Building Relationships
Principles of Fitting Equipment
Fitting Equipment on Dogs
Mode of Action
Understanding Canine Structure
Fitting the Head Halter and Martingale
Notable Exceptions
Tool Library
An Important Thing to Know about Prong Collars, Especially if You Don't Use One
Continuing Education Credits
Some Helpful Resources
Your Turn
Welcome Chapter Quiz
Learning Objectives
FREE PREVIEWWhat is Training
Sue and Laura Talk About What Training Is
Introduction to Ethics and Morals
Some Ethical Questions for Dog Trainers
Sue and Laura Talk About Having Difficult Conversations
Some Important Definitions
Humane Hierarchy, LIMA, LIEBI, and LIFE
Humane Hierarchy
LIMA
LIEBI
LIFE
Dominance VS Science
Contact- by Trish McMillan
Understanding the basics of animal welfarewith Laura Harper MSc-Three Circles Model [11:08]
Boundaries
Who Are The People In Your Neighbourhood?
Your Turn
Some Helpful Resources
Quiz
Learning Objectives
FREE PREVIEWA Quick Overview of How Learning Works
A Little Bit of History
Operant and Classical Conditioning
Operant Conditioning-The Quadrants
Extinction
How Clickers Work
Ethical Training Methods Video with Sue and Trish (Sue and Trish Ethics [15:52}
Play
Shelter Dog Play: exercise, enrichment and b-mod by Trish McMillan
Your Turn
Some Useful Online Resources
Chapter Two Quiz
Learning Objectives
What Skills
The Most Important Skills for Shelter Dogs-TrishMcMillan
Capturing, Shaping and Luring
A,B,C?
Just the Basics
The Bowl Game For Engagement
The One Hour Down Stay
Trish McMillan-Getting a Dog Out of a Run and Onto a Leash
Leashes In The Shelter-Trish
Leash Manners
Cued Take It
Some Helpful Online Resources
Your Turn
Chapter Three Quiz
A word on rewards and Reinforcers
Learning Objectives
The Three Aspects of the Good Dog Model
The Good Dog Model
What Is Counter Conditioning and How Can We Achieve It?
Preparing To Watch The Classical Condtioning Video
Classical Conditioning
Preparing to Watch The Dog Body Language And Play Lecture
Dog Body Language And Play-Trish McMillan
Stress And Relaxation
Using the One Hour Down Stay as a Counter Conditioning Technique
Approach And Retreat As An Operant Technique for Counter Conditioning
Graduated Exposure
Where Classical And Operant Conditioning Collide
Getting Help From The Veterinarian
Your Turn
Some Helpful Online Resources
Chapter Four Quiz
Learning Objectives
What is a Problem Behaviour?
Occam's Razor
Coming Back To The Humane Hierarchy...Again!
Naughty Dog
Self Control
DRO, DRA, DRI, Extinction and the case of the Jumping Puppy
Redirection
A Closer Look at P-
Positive Punishment
The Rules For The Use of Punishment
Your Turn
Some Helpful Online Resources
Chapter Five Quizz
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.
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.
Our classes are provided by Dogs in the Park, and are taught by instructors who have earned their CPDT.
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.
Yes, however there is an extra charge for that.
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.