Online course • Learn and master three key principles in dog training.
Dog Training 101 is a 24-session online training course offered on the website, The Great Courses Plus. The course shows the benefits of training dogs for both the owner and his pet. Each lecture runs from 21 to 34 minutes long, allowing the student to learn and master different training methods in a digestible format.
What is it?
Dog Training 101 aims to teach three key principles in dog training, and use these principles for every lesson it subsequently teaches. Each lecture deals with a particular aspect of dog training, but there are some topics that are broken down into multiple sessions such as Getting the Behavior (lectures 2 to 5), Impulse Control (lectures 7 to 10), and Husbandry (lectures 18 and 19).
Who’s behind it?
The course is taught by Jean Donaldson, the founder and principal instructor of The Academy for Dog Trainers. She is an author and a four-time winner of the Dog Writers Association of America’s Maxwell Medallion. Many of the dogs she has trained and owned have competed and won in competitive dog sports.
How much does the course cost?
Sign up for a 14-day free trial to try the online course. After the free trial period, you can choose to get a membership of 20 USD a month (monthly plan) or 15 USD a month (quarterly plan). The plan gives you unlimited streaming access to hundreds of The Great Courses Plus courses on any device you own.
*Please note these rates are based on currency conversions at the time of writing this post and may fluctuate.
What does the course include?
The 24 lectures include the following: The Principles of Dog Training; Getting the Behavior (Training Mechanics; Sit and Down; Prompting and Premack; Verbal Cues); Understanding Your Dog’s Behavior; Impulse Control (Leave It, Wait, Leash Walking; Increasing Generalization; Deepening Obedience; Cold Trials and Finishing); Fear and Aggression Prevention; Proofing Behavior Across Contexts; On the Road: Training in Public Spaces; Verbal Cues: Developing Discrimination; Tricks (Wave, Take a Bow, Spin, Heel; Distance Drop, Frisk, Sit Pretty); Building a Conditioned Emotional Response; Husbandry (Handling and Object Conditioning; Limb Handling and Toothbrushing); Puppies and Senior Dogs; Housetraining, Chewing, and Digging; Crating and Alone Training; Managing Barking; and Training Challenges and Solutions.
Why is this course better than other online training courses?
This dog training course takes learning a step further through the proofing process. It confirms that your dog knows how to act even when he’s in different conditions or environments, and teaches you how he can get over obstacles such as competing motivation or distractions. Husbandry—the physical care given to dogs such as feeding, grooming, and health monitoring—is also a unique aspect of the course. These lectures show how training can go hand in hand with aspects of care that a dog may find unpleasant.
How do I start it?
Click here to get more details about the course. Follow the prompts to sign up for the free trial.
