Course Category: Single Course

A Proficiency Verification is a session where you demonstrate that you have the necessary practical proficiency in handling an animal. In the X Proficiency Verification, you work with an animal from a species other than dog or horse.

 

Theory and Practice Hand in Hand

You need theoretical knowledge and practical experience to be a good animal trainer. Once you have read and understood the theory, you begin training your animal. Ideally, you should start all training first after having taken the first three courses, “Evolution,” “Ethology and Behaviorism” and “The 20 Principles All Animal Trainers Must know.” For this PV, you may need more courses depending on the species you choose. If you are an experienced trainer, you will probably take this proficiency verification without problems. It’s not a difficult proficiency verification per se, but note that we require simplicity, precision, and kindness. To combine all three—we know from experience—is what our students find the most challenging.

 

Science and Ethics

We base our approach to animal training on science applied with thoughtfulness. We require precision for it leads to the best results in the long term. Kindness and leniency (or sloppiness) are different matters. We promote and encourage the former, from ethical and scientific points of view, but not the latter. There are many ways to train any particular skill. You choose the one that best suits you and the animal you train, keeping in mind that whichever method you select, it must conform to sound science and deep respect for all living organisms.

 

Proficiency Verification Preparatory Course (PVPC)

If you are a beginner, you should maybe attend a PVPC, which we regularly organize in various locations. Watch the Forums page’s sidebar. If you follow a PVPC, your instructor can conduct and approve your proficiency verification, and we will add it to your curriculum.

 

Video proficiency verification (VPF)

If you have no opportunity to attend a PVPC, you may submit a VPF. Read the instructions to send your VPF in the guidelines for this course and lesson (see assessment).

The PV is a full one-on-one tutored course. You and your tutor keep in touch via our messaging system and Skype if necessary. You upload your video clips to our cloud for your tutor’s review and comment. Once your tutor is satisfied with your work, you will receive your approved check mark.

The X Proficiency Verification is individualized depending on the species you choose to train. Most students choose cats or Guinea Pigs. If you choose Guinea Pigs, you may be able to attend and complete your PV at one of our Guinea Pig Camps. Contact your tutor to decide on species and the set of skills you and your animal will have to demonstrate.

• Kindness and leniency (or sloppiness) are different matters. We promote and encourage the former, from ethical and scientific points of view, but not the latter.
• Our Proficiency Verifications require simplicity, precision, and kindness. To combine all three—we know from experience—is what our students find the most challenging.

Join the course forum where you can read our tutors’ answers to questions previously posed by your colleagues. If you have a new question, do not hesitate in posting it.

The course forum is solely for academic questions. For administrative matters or difficulties accessing the functionality of the site, please submit a ticket.

Keep in touch with your tutor via our messaging system (in Forums).

A Proficiency Verification is a session where you demonstrate that you have the necessary practical proficiency in handling an animal.

 

Theory and Practice Hand in Hand

You need theoretical knowledge and practical experience to be a good horse trainer. Once you have read and understood the theory, you begin training your horse. Ideally, you should start the training after having taken the first three courses, “Evolution,” “Ethology and Behaviorism” and “The 20 Principles All Animal Trainers Must know.” These books do not target horse training specifically, but the fundamental principles are the same for all species. If you are an experienced trainer, you will probably take this proficiency verification without problems and without too much preparation time. It’s not a difficult proficiency verification per se, but note that we require simplicity, precision, and kindness. To combine all three—we know from experience—is what our students find the most challenging.

 

Science and Ethics

We base our approach to animal training on science applied with thoughtfulness. We require precision for it leads to the best results in the long term. Kindness and leniency (or sloppiness) are different matters. We promote and encourage the former, from ethical and scientific points of view, but not the latter. There are many ways to train any particular skill. You choose the one that best suits you and the animal you train, keeping in mind that whichever method you select, it must conform to sound science and deep respect for all living organisms.

 

Proficiency Verification Preparatory Course (PVPC)

If you are a beginner, you should maybe attend a PVPC, which we regularly organize in various locations. Watch the Forums page’s sidebar. If you follow a PVPC, your instructor can conduct and approve your proficiency verification, and we will add it to your curriculum.

 

Video proficiency verification (VPF)

If you have no opportunity to attend a PVPC, you may submit a VPF. Read the instructions to send your VPF in the guidelines for this course and lesson.

The PV is a full one-on-one tutored course. You and your tutor keep in touch via our messaging system and Skype if necessary. You upload your video clips to our cloud for your tutor’s review and comment. Once your tutor is satisfied with your work, you will receive your approved check mark.

 

Equine Proficiency Verification Part One deals with the skills you and your horse must master on the ground; Part Two deals with riding where you demonstrate that you can professionally and comfortably handle the essential horse riding.

• Kindness and leniency (or sloppiness) are different matters. We promote and encourage the former, from ethical and scientific points of view, but not the latter.
• Our Proficiency Verifications require simplicity, precision, and kindness. To combine all three—we know from experience—is what our students find the most challenging.

Join the course forum where you can read our tutors’ answers to questions previously posed by your colleagues. If you have a new question, do not hesitate in posting it.

The course forum is solely for academic questions. For administrative matters or difficulties accessing the functionality of the site, please submit a ticket.

Keep in touch with your tutor via our messaging system (in Forums).

Learning and Behavior is a most comprehensive course at graduate level reviewing the various forms animals learn and acquire new behavior. It is an essential course to understand behavior modification.

In lesson one, you’ll read Paul Chance’s “Learning and Behavior” that you’ll have to acquire separately. If you arrived at this course via our program path, you have completed CPDT and CACE. You are, now, an advanced student of behavioral sciences. Therefore, we leave it more up to you to plan how best to take this course. We recommend you read the textbook and takes notes. You will need your notes to complete the lesson quiz and to write your course assignment. Sort out the most fundamental from the least. It’s a big book. Enjoy your reading. Your knowledge will increase with each page you read.

In lesson two, you will also practice and demonstrate your behavior modification skills with Sniffy, the virtual rat. Using a CD-ROM and lab manual, you will get a hands-on experience in setting up and conducting experiments that prove the phenomena of classical and operant conditioning using Sniffy the digital rat.

If you have a question that you’d like answered, or you find a topic especially challenging, feel free to ask in the course forum. This is true for all students and most of all for the student who arrives at this course without having previously taken any of our courses. In the course forum, our tutors will guide you and will answer your questions. We want you to feel confident that you know your stuff once you have earned your certificate. In distance education, lacking the personal contact of traditional classes, it is essential for student and tutors to keep in touch using all the means they have at their disposal. Our course forums are by far the best option.

PS—If you arrive at this course without having taken any previous courses, we strongly recommend you take The 20 Principles All Animal Trainers Must Know and Animal Learning and then come back. These two courses are at the undergraduate level and easier than the current Learning and Behavior, which is at the graduate level.

Advanced. This is a course at the graduate level.

“Learning and Behavior”

by Paul Chance, Ph.D.

 

Book contents

Introduction Learning to Change

The Study of Learning and Behavior

Pavlovian Conditioning

Pavlovian Applications

Operant Learning Reinforcement

Reinforcement Beyond Habit

Schedules of Reinforcement

Operant Learning Punishment

Operant Applications

Observational Learning

Generalization Discrimination and Stimulus Control

Forgetting

The Limits of Learning

 

• Chance, P. (2013). Learning and Behavior. Cengage Learning; 7 edition.

Although not mandatory, we recommend that you supplement your readings with:

• Alloway, T., Wilson, G., & Graham, J. (2011). Sniffy the Virtual Rat Pro, Version 3.0 (with CD-ROM). Cengage Learning; 3 edition.
• Catania, C. (1997). Learning. Prentice Hall; 4 edition.
• Darwin, C. (1859) On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. London: John Murray. 1st ed.
• McFarland, D. (1982) The Oxford Companion to Animal Behaviour. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Watch the movie(s) and read the book(s). Join the course forum where you can read our tutors’ answers to questions previously posed by your colleagues. If you have a new question, do not hesitate in posting it.

The course forum is solely for academic questions. For administrative matters or difficulties accessing the functionality of the site, please submit a ticket.

Once you’re ready for it, take the quizzes. You may take a quiz as many times as you like. We recommend you re-take quizzes once a year as a self-imposed quality control.

Evolution is the process of change in all forms of life over generations; Ethology is the study of animal behavior in the natural environment. This is a comprehensive and advanced course in evolution and ethology. Behavior as a tool in the struggle for survival and reproduction. It was Charles Darwin in his ‘The Origin Of Species By Means Of Natural Selection’ (1859) who first formulated the hypothesis that species evolved as a result of the struggle for life, i.e. as a result of natural selection, where the fittest had an advantage.

In this course, you’ll read David McFarland’s “Animal Behaviour” that you’ll have to acquire separately. If you arrived at this course via our program path, you have completed CPDT and CACE. You are, now, an advanced student of behavioral sciences. Therefore, we leave it more up to you to plan how best to take this course. We recommend you read the textbook and takes notes. You will need your notes to complete the lesson quiz and to write your course assignment. Sort out the most fundamental from the least. It’s a big book. Enjoy your reading. Your knowledge will increase with each page you read.

If you have a question that you’d like answered, or you find a topic especially challenging, feel free to ask in the course forum. This is true for all students and most of all for the student who arrives at this course without having previously taken any of our courses. In the course forum, our tutors will guide you and will answer your questions. We want you to feel confident that you know your stuff once you have earned your certificate. In distance education, lacking the personal contact of traditional classes, it is essential for student and tutors to keep in touch using all the means they have at their disposal. Our course forums are by far the best option.

PS—If you arrive at this course without having taken any previous courses, we strongly recommend you take Evolution and Ethology and then come back. These two courses are at the undergraduate level and easier than the current Evolution and Ethology, which is at the graduate level.

Advanced. This is a course at the graduate level.

“Animal Behaviour: Psychobiology, Ethology and Evolution”

by David McFarland, Ph.D.

 

Book contents

1. Introduction to the Study of Behaviour.

I. THE EVOLUTION OF BEHAVIOUR.

2. Genetics and Behaviour: Genes and Chromosomes: Development of Behaviour: Behaviour Genetics.
3. Natural Selection: Natural Selection, Ecology and Behaviour: Survival Value and Fitness: The Evolution of Adaptive Strategies.
4. Evolution and Social Behaviour: Sexual and Social Behaviour: Behavioural Ecology: Primate Social Behaviour.

II. MECHANISMS OF BEHAVIOUR.

5. Animal Perception: Neural Control of Behaviour: Sensory Processes and Perception: Ecology of the Senses.
6. The Animal and the Environment: Coordination and Orientation: Homeostasis and Behaviour: Physiology and Behavioural in Changing Environments.
7. Animal Learning: Conditioning and Learning: Biological Aspects of Learning: Cognitive Aspects of Learning.

III. UNDERSTANDING COMPLEX BEHAVIOUR.

8. Ethology: Instinct and Learning: Ritualization and Communication: Human Behaviour.
9. Animal Competence: The Complex Behaviour of Honey-Bees: Animal Economics: Animal Robotics.
10. The Mentality of Animals: Language and Mental Representation: Intelligence, Tools Use and Culture: Animal Awareness and Emotion.

 

• McFarland, D. (1998). Animal Behaviour: Psychobiology, Ethology and Evolution. Benjamin Cummings. 3rd ed.

Although not mandatory, we recommend that you supplement your readings with:

• Darwin, C. (1859) On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. London: John Murray. 1st ed.
• Dawkins, R. (2006) The Selfish Gene. Oxford University Press, USA.
• McFarland, D. (1982) The Oxford Companion to Animal Behaviour. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
• McFarland, D. (1998) Animal Behaviour. Benjamin Cummings. 3rd ed.

Watch the movie(s) and read the book(s). Join the course forum where you can read our tutors’ answers to questions previously posed by your colleagues. If you have a new question, do not hesitate in posting it.

The course forum is solely for academic questions. For administrative matters or difficulties accessing the functionality of the site, please submit a ticket.

Once you’re ready for it, take the quizzes. You may take a quiz as many times as you like. We recommend you re-take quizzes once a year as a self-imposed quality control.

Zoology is the branch of biology that studies the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct. This course is only an introduction to this vast subject-matter. Its goal is to give you a better understanding of the various species. It was Charles Darwin in his ‘The Origin Of Species By Means Of Natural Selection’ (1859) who first formulated the hypothesis that species evolved as a result of the struggle for life, i.e. as a result of natural selection, where the fittest had an advantage.

Both lessons consist of movies. The first one gives you a good review of how you classify animals. The second one reviews mammals. The textbook, “An Introduction to Zoology: Investigating the Animal World” provides you with an accessible and engaging look at the fundamentals of zoology. Sections at the end of each chapter discuss how the animals described in the chapter connect to us from an economic, ecologic, medical, and cultural perspective, emphasizing how the animal world and the human realm are intimately intertwined.

End-of-chapter questions challenge your ability to think critically, and they support the development of your science process skills (e.g., communication, formulating hypotheses, experimental design).

It’s a big book with material for many hours of study. You do not need to read it from one end to the other to pass the course quiz. Since this course belongs to the CAAE program with courses at the undergraduate and graduate level, we leave it up to you to plan your studies. Join the course forum and keep in touch with your tutors and peers.

Intermediate/Advanced. This course is an introduction to zoology at the undergraduate level.

“An Introduction to Zoology: Investigating the Animal World”

by Joseph T. Springer and Dennis Holley.

 

Book contents

Chapter  1  Zoology: Investigating the Animal World
Chapter  2  Ecology of Animals: Populations and Communities
Chapter  3  Ecology of Animals: Ecosystems and Biomes
Chapter  4  The Animal Body: Matters of Form and Behavior
Chapter  5  Phylogeny and Taxonomy: Questions of Origins and Organization
Chapter  6  Phylum Porifera: Exploring Sponges
Chapter  7  Phylum Cnidaria and Phylum Ctenophora: A Radial Existence
Chapter  8  Phylum Platyhelminthes and Phylum Nemertea: The Acoelomate Body Plan
Chapter  9  Pseudocoelomates: The Rise of Hollowness
Chapter  10  Phylum Annelida: Masters of Coeloms and Segments
Chapter  11  Phylum Mollusca: A Scheme of Shells and Tentacles
Chapter  12  Phylum Arthropoda: Sovereigns of the Terran Empire
Chapter  13  Phylum Echinodermata: Bizarre Benthic Beings
Chapter  14  Phylum Hemichordata and Phylum Chordata: The Backbone Arises
Chapter  15  Fishes: Monarchs of an Ancient Realm
Chapter  16  Amphibians: Between Two Worlds
Chapter  17  Reptiles: Shattered Remains
Chapter  18  Birds: Lords of the Air
Chapter  19  Mammals: The Magnificent Hairy Ones
Chapter  20  The Human Condition: Rise of the Cultural Ape
Appendix  A  Scientific Writing
Appendix  B  Charting the Patterns of Evolution
Glossary

 

• Springer, J.T. and Holley, D. (2012). An Introduction to Zoology: Investigating the Animal World. Jones & Bartlett Learning; Har/Psc edition (January 27, 2012).

Although not mandatory, we recommend that you supplement your readings with:

• Darwin, C. (1859) On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. London: John Murray. 1st ed.
• Dawkins, R. (2006) The Selfish Gene. Oxford University Press, USA.
• McFarland, D. (1982) The Oxford Companion to Animal Behaviour. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
• McFarland, D. (1998) Animal Behaviour. Benjamin Cummings. 3rd ed.

Watch the movie(s) and read the book(s). Join the course forum where you can read our tutors’ answers to questions previously posed by your colleagues. If you have a new question, do not hesitate in posting it.

The course forum is solely for academic questions. For administrative matters or difficulties accessing the functionality of the site, please submit a ticket.

Once you’re ready for it, take the quizzes. You may take a quiz as many times as you like. We recommend you re-take quizzes once a year as a self-imposed quality control.

Feline Behavior and Misbehavior is a broad introduction to the study of cat behavior as well as the most common causes of problem behavior and how to solve them. This course focuses on the practical aspects of keeping cats as companion animals. 

Lesson one covers the origin and evolution of the domestic cat and reviews common behaviors such as social and agonistic behavior. Lesson two deals with the most common feline problem behavior that cat owners encounter, causes, and treatment. In lesson three, we review and illustrate with short video clips the most fundamental learning principles and their application in behavior modification (training). Our recommended textbook for this course is Linda Case’s “The Cat: Its Behavior, Nutrition and Health.” You can complete this course without the book, but we strongly recommend it if you wish to gain a fuller insight into all the aspects involving keeping a cat.

Beginner/Intermediate. This course is an all-around course about cats, their health and behavior. It’s a course for all interested in cats. For our CAAE students, it gives you the opportunity to learn about one more species and gain new perspectives.

“The Cat: Its Behavior, Nutrition and Health”

by Linda Case.

The bond that owners have with their cats and the health benefits that are afforded by this bond have been the topic of numerous studies in the past 25 years. This book provides pet owners, undergraduate students and pet professionals with a complete guide to four topical areas that are of interest: the history of the human-cat relationship; behavior of the domestic cat; feline nutrition; and feline health and disease.

Book contents

Part 1 Knowing the Cat Within the Companion

Part 2 Behavior: Understanding the Domestic Cat

Part 3 Health and Disease: Keeping Cats Healthy and Happy

Part 4 Nutrition: Feeding Cats for Health and Longevity

 

“The Cat: Its Behavior, Nutrition and Health” by Linda P. Case.

Although not mandatory, we recommend that you supplement your readings with:

• Darwin, C. (1859) On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. London: John Murray. 1st ed.
• McFarland, D. (1982) The Oxford Companion to Animal Behaviour. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
• McFarland, D. (1998) Animal Behaviour. Benjamin Cummings. 3rd ed.

Watch the movie(s) and read the book(s). Join the course forum where you can read our tutors’ answers to questions previously posed by your colleagues. If you have a new question, do not hesitate in posting it.

The course forum is solely for academic questions. For administrative matters or difficulties accessing the functionality of the site, please submit a ticket.

Once you’re ready for it, take the quizzes. You may take a quiz as many times as you like. We recommend you re-take quizzes once a year as a self-imposed quality control.

Equine Behavior studies the behavior of the horse and in particular its social behavior, senses, how it apprehends the world, and its ability to solve problems. It’s an essential course for everyone dealing with horses. CACE students continuing their studies to earn the CAAE diploma will find it challenging to work with a new species which requires a slightly different approach as to the application of the learning principles.

Beginner. This course is an introduction to equine behavior and learning.

“The Nature of Horses: Exploring Equine Evolution, Intelligence, and Behavior”

by Stephen Budiansky.

 

Horses have a shared history with humans going back millennia to their domestication around 4000 B.C. Yet only in very recent years have scientists begun to study this remarkable animal. Modern scientific research is beginning to explain long-standing mysteries about the true nature of the horse. How well can horses see? How intelligent are they compared to other animals, and are some breeds smarter than others? Does nature or nurture matter more in creating a great sports horse? What causes cribbing and other vices? In this beautifully illustrated, compelling narrative, Budiansky tells the story of the origins, behavior, intelligence, and language of the horse.

 

Book contents

Chapter 1 The Improbability of the Horse

Chapter 2 From the Brink of Oblivion

Chapter 3 Equine Nature, Human Nature

Chapter 4 Socioecology

Chapter 5 Seeing and Perceiving

Chapter 6 Horse Talk

Chapter 7 Horse Sense

Chapter 8 The Mechanisms of Movement

Chapter 9 Assume a Spherical Horse

Chapter 10 Nature or Nurture

Conclusion The Fate of the Horse

 

“The Nature of Horses: Exploring Equine Evolution, Intelligence, and Behavior” by Stephen Budiansky.

Although not mandatory, we recommend that you supplement your readings with:

• Darwin, C. (1859) On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. London: John Murray. 1st ed.
• Dawkins, R. (2006) The Selfish Gene. Oxford University Press, USA.
• McFarland, D. (1982) The Oxford Companion to Animal Behaviour. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
• McFarland, D. (1998) Animal Behaviour. Benjamin Cummings. 3rd ed.

Watch the movie(s) and read the book(s). Join the course forum where you can read our tutors’ answers to questions previously posed by your colleagues. If you have a new question, do not hesitate in posting it.

The course forum is solely for academic questions. For administrative matters or difficulties accessing the functionality of the site, please submit a ticket.

Once you’re ready for it, take the quizzes. You may take a quiz as many times as you like. We recommend you re-take quizzes once a year as a self-imposed quality control.