Canine Behavior Counseling

DIPLOMA PROGRAMS

Diploma
Canine Behavior Counseling

Diploma Entrance
Requirements

Diploma Transfer of Credits

Diploma Programs
Tuition & Fees

DCBC Required Books

Trainers Pack

Available Courses

GENERAL NAVIGATION

Faculty/Staff
Financial Aid
Request A Catalog
Employment Opportunities
PR & News
About ACAS
Home

Program Description and Objectives

This diploma program for professionals is designed to prepare individuals for a career as a family dog trainer, instructor, and behavior counselor. Graduates may establish their own dog training businesses or non-profit organizations working in client homes, veterinary practices, or from storefront dog training/daycare businesses. Others may seek employment with veterinary practices, established animal training businesses, wildlife and theme parks, animal shelters, or other related businesses or non-profit organizations. Completion of this program satisfies the theoretical and practical requirements for board certification as a Certified Canine Behavior Counselor (CBC) with the Board of Professional Certification of the Association of Companion Animal Behavior Counselors. Students receive a diploma upon satisfactory completion of all 9 academic courses, which include 6, 12-week instructor lead online courses and 2, 5-day academic residencies (hands-on workshops with animals) offered at the college's science and field station in Florida near Orlando & one field study. The courses may also be taken individually for continuing education units (CEUs) approved by the International Association of Continuing Education and Training (IACET). All courses are taught by MS, PhD and DVM credentialed instructors.

Total Clock Hours = 27 credits/432 hours

DCBC 101 - Animal Learning - 3/48
This course serves as an examination of basic scientific assumptions as they apply to the practice of applied companion animal behavior analysis. The course will include an analysis of animal learning behavior processes, including respondent and operant conditioning. This analysis will focus on the theory behind the procedures used by applied animal behavior specialists for increasing and decreasing animal behavior. Students will receive the theoretical framework behind animal behavior analysis within the context of real-life clinical examples. A discussion of current and past research on animal cognition will also be entertained.
This is an online course.

Perquisites: None

DCBC 103 - Principles of Ethology - 3/48
This course will explore animal behavior as observed in the natural environment and in the context of evolutionary adaptation with particular interest in the behavior of domestic animals or animals kept in captivity. Ethology is based on the theory that an animal's behavior is generally adapted to its environment in much the same way as its physical characteristics. Unlike the behaviorist, the ethologist's point of view is that a laboratory environment constrains animal behavior too much to provide a true understanding of its full range of functions and activities. Topics in this course include the cause of behavior, development within the lifetime of the individual animal, evolution within the lifetime of the species, and adaptive function or how it helps the animal's species to survive. The pioneering work of Konrad Lorenz and Niko Tinbergen and its effect on such wide-ranging disciplines as genetics, anthropology, psychology and political science will be reviewed through current practices in ethology and conservation.
This is an online course.

Perquisites: None

DCBC 104 - Family Counseling for Animal Behavior Professionals - 3/48
Certain principles governing behavior are common to all life forms by means of interplay between biological, genetic, psychological, and sociological factors in determining individual behavior. This course will explore the potential for collaboration among families, the family veterinarian and the animal behavior professional with the goal of shaping appropriate companion animal behavior to meet reasonable expectations. Principles of family systems theory will be considered. Students will learn to consider the behavior of individuals and families responsible for the care of a companion animal and will employ strategies to increase the probability of success in the animal's treatment program and reaching determined goals. Included is development of flowcharts to guide decision making for family intervention, client history and survey forms, and methods for graphing client progress.
This is an online course.

DCBC 106 - Canine Behavior Modification and Treatment - 3/48
This course focuses on approach and technique in modifying unwanted behavior in the family dog through the application of learning principles and biopsychology in the behavior clinic or in the family home setting. Normal and abnormal behavior and the social, communication and sensory systems of the dog are examined. An in-depth analysis of abnormal classifications of behavior and the protocols for treatment are explored. The student will learn to create assessment forms, take a behavioral history from the human family, and use methodical observations in order to formulate a clear and concise behavioral diagnosis of the problem. Using this diagnosis, the student will learn to develop a behavioral treatment plan; advise the human family members of how to implement the plan, and prepare a report for the family veterinarian. This is an online course.

DCBC 120 - Canine and Feline Nutrition and Wellness - 3/48
This course provides a through examination of the science of companion animal nutrition and practical feeding management information for dogs and cats. Topics covered include the basic principles of nutrition, nutrient requirements for cats and dogs, animal feed production and selection, feeding management through life's stages, feeding problems, and dietary management of nutritionally responsive diseases. Current research is reviewed and balanced discussions of controversial issues of dietary management are presented. Differences between the nutrient requirements and feeding practices of cats and dogs are addressed.
This is an online course.

Residencies

DCBC 701 - Dog Training and Instructor Skills Development Residency - 3/48
This 5-day, residential residency with dogs is designed to develop a student's dog training and instructor skills for the purpose of training dogs in what is commonly known as basic obedience and to teach pet owners how to train their dogs in private and group settings. Humane operant and respondent conditioning techniques will be employed to shape present behaviors and create new ones using clicker training and Gentle Leader ® head collars when possible. Motivational, non-aversive and non-punishment techniques will be stressed. Students may elect to bring their own dog, however, the emphasis will be on working with many dogs and dog breeds. A review of animal learning theory is also included.
This is a residential residency.
Dog Trainers Pack required with this residency

DCBC 702 - Applied Behavior Modification and Family Counseling Residency - 3/48
This 5-day residential seminar/residency will build upon the theoretical foundation acquired during the DCBC 101 and 103 courses and the practical experience gained in the DCBC 120 seminar/residency. Students will learn how to treat dogs with a variety of abnormal behavior disorders including fears, phobias, aggression, compulsive disorders, anxiety disorders and other problems that may present in a family home. Treatment plans will be developed which include an 8-point behavioral plan intended to modify behavior. Family counseling sessions will occur as well as workshops designed to prepare clinical behavior reports to the family veterinarian.
This is a residential residency.

DCBC 900 - Field Study Project – 3/48
This course is intended to provide the student with real world experience working with family dogs with reported behavior problems. Having completed all online theoretical courses and academic residency courses with animals, students will identify an animal facility in their community such as a shelter, sanctuary, veterinary practice, animal training center, or other such location and arrange to work there as a volunteer. Under the direction of an ACAS faculty member, the student will identify dogs in the facility’s population that are reported to present possible abnormal behavior problems and then proceed to assess, diagnose, and develop an intervention plan for each. Working next with the caregivers, the student will implement the intervention plan and write a clinical behavior report for each case that will become a portion of the student’s final project paper. In cases where students are already working in private practice or employed at an animal facility, current cases may be used as an alternative to volunteering at another facility.
This is a residential residency.

Elective: Choose 1 from the following 2

DCBC 110 - Animal Behavior Practice Business and Ethics - 3/48
This course will provide an overview of business practices for the student who wishes to create and grow a private companion animal behavior practice, animal training business or animal behavior facility; or for those who want to work for an established animal behavior business as an employee and professional. Topics will include examining personal objectives, determining business feasibility, researching the market, analyzing the competition, choosing a business name, opting for a home-based versus business facility, choosing a legal structure, writing a mission statement and business plan, graphic identity and promotional materials, forms and contracts, educational materials, resale certificates and sales tax, setting up a bank account, selecting insurance, business financing, record keeping, hiring professionals, developing a marketing plan, pricing your services, and marketing on the Internet. Ethical concerns encompass every aspect of business activity, and so ethical choices in business are unavoidable. Business ethics can provide important support for maximizing long-term owner value or cost a business its very life. This course will also consider the importance of business ethics in ordinary, everyday, routine activities in a companion animal behavior practice and how the business or practice deals with its staff, its customers, its veterinary and pet service professionals, and the services it provides to the public. Actual cases from animal behavior business start-ups will be examined and live "chats" with successful professionals in the field will allow the student to ask questions while learning. The final project for this course will include development of a professional business plan and a code of standards and ethics.
This is an online course.

DCBC 111 - Animal Welfare and Services - 3/48
This course is intended to provide an appreciation of the scope of, and working positions within, the field of companion animal welfare including the areas of protection, control, and the use of working animals to assist humans. The training of working dogs, i.e. guide dogs for the blind, service dogs, search and rescue dogs, hearing dogs, detector dogs, therapy dogs, law enforcement dogs, performing animals and other specialty dogs will be explored as will their role in society. The mission of no-kill animal shelters, animal sanctuaries, government animal control agencies, and non-profit animal training organizations will be explored. Issues in companion animal welfare, overpopulation, and its prevention will be addressed.
This is an online course.

Total Credits/Clock Hours = 27/432 clock hours

© 2004-2007 American College of Applied Science, Inc. All rights reserved.
Licensed by the Florida Department of Education, Commission for Independent Education
Licensure | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Contacts | Developed By: AP Consultants