Course Overview

Learn how pet dogs differ from those in the natural world examining basic canine behaviour.  Understand what dogs can and can’t be trained to do.  Discover how to tailor your techniques to a dog’s breed, providing the most effective training regime.  Acquire the skills to quickly and efficiently earn a dog’s respect and obedience.  Explore how to deal with problems such as separation anxiety.

Pre-requisites/previous study

No previous experience required.

Qualification

ICS Pet Obedience Diploma

Support and benefits

• Complimentary dog toys: ‘Kong’ behavioural toy and ‘Kong’ flyer frisbee
• Complimentary ‘Top to Tail’ textbook
• Complimentary clicker training kit
• Access to a dedicated ICS tutor to mentor and motivate you throughout
• Access to the ICS online Student Community, allowing you to interact with other students and browse our resource library
  

Key topics

• Introduction to Pet Obedience

Examine the role of a dog obedience trainer. Explore a wide variety of dog breeds, as well as canine evolution and domestication. Consider the needs of a pet dog. Study rudimentary dog behaviours and motivations.

• House Training

Learn how to set up a dog friendly home and how to house train a dog. Explore methods of resolving house training problems. Discover how to overcome separation anxiety.

• The Breeds and their Requirements

Explore the considerations which should be taken into account when choosing a dog, and gain the confidence to help clients or friends select a dog. Examine the requirements of different dog breeds.

• Principles of Obedience

Study the key principles of obedience, and examine training theories and methods. Analyse barking and body language. Examine canine-canine and canine-human socialisation. Explore interaction between dogs and children, and discover how to teach children the responsibilities of dog ownership.

• Training Methods

Explore how a dog’s environment impacts on its learning process and discover how to avoid negative learning environments. Consider your role in canine social-based learning. Study canine patterns of association.

• Practical Obedience Training

Learn how to teach the basic commands of obedience, and how to develop your own teaching and training methods. Explore how to overcome obstacles involved in dog obedience training. Consider the teaching of more advanced canine learning.

• The Senses

Examine the canine senses and explore ways of exploiting the different senses for obedience training. Learn how to identify sensory problems. Consider ways of training a dog that has lost one of its senses – for example, a blind dog.

Course Code

E06

Hours of study

6 months / 60 hours

Technical requirements

None

Outline

You’ll complete seven assessments during your course and a final assessment on completion of your course. These assessments can be submitted to ICS online via the Student Community, or they can be posted to ICS. It is recommended that you submit your assessments online as you will receive your results more quickly this way – in fact, for multiple choice assessments, you receive your results instantly!

Assessment Breakdown

• Assessments 1-7: 20 multiple choice questions (per assessment)
• Final Assessment: 10 scenario-based questions

Notes

Each multiple choice question comes with four potential answers. Only one of these answers is correct; the other three are wrong. You must identify the correct answer.

Scenario-based questions test that you can apply the knowledge you have learnt from the course to imaginary scenarios. For example, you may be given some information about the lifestyle and personality of a hypothetical person and then be asked to recommend a suitable dog for that person.