Canine Behavior: Part One
tl;dr When working with canine behaviors, education and experience is important. Within this post I review my credentials, and background in canine behaviors.
Anthropomorphic metaphors
Instead of scientific terms, I use an anthropomorphic metaphor, and I consider the individuals umwelt. With metaphors, I can elicit an emotional response and people will recall the information easier. Therefore, before delving into definitions, I felt it was crucial to elaborate on my education and experience.
Please understand, my opinions are my own and may not reflect dog training or canine behavior consulting as a whole.
Canine behavior is complicated…
Dogs are sentient, social mammals who have a diverse learned history, environmental factors, and physiological symptoms.
Physiological reactions can vary depending on:
- Physical health
- Emotional state
- Developmental stage
- Environmental factors
- Intensity rate of overt behaviors
- Frequency of stressors
- Duration of stressors
- Distance of stressors
- Intensity of stressors
By obtaining my credentials, I have passed exams proving I have an adequate knowledge and experience with Canine behavior consulting (on fear, phobias, compulsive behaviors, anxiety, and aggression). With my credentials, I hold myself to a standard of practices and code of ethics. Within these practices, I comply with LIMA by following the humane hierarchy.
How many certified behavior consultants are there?
As of December 2022, there are 474 CBCC-KAs worldwide.
What knowledge base is required for my credentials?
- Applied behavior analysis & Learning theory
- Canine ethology
- Canine body language
- Observational skills
- Health & Husbandry
- Canine anatomy & physiology
- Consulting & Instructional Skills
- Development & Life Stages.
Credentials:
- Certified Behavior Canine Consultant- Knowledge Assessed
- Certified Professional Dog Training- Knowledge Assessed
- AKC Evaluator for
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Additional education/activities attended:
- Aggression in Dogs Master by Michael Shikashio (Course)
- The Forensics Of Aggression: Working with and evaluating canine aggression by Jim Crosby (Course by IAABC)
- Mentorship Collective by Renee (6 Month Course)
- Livestock Guardian Dogs- What you need to know for your aggression cases (Webinar)
- Recognizing Pain in Dogs with Dr. Debbie Torraca (Webinar)
- Dog to Cat Aggression with Katenna Jones (Webinar)
- Beyond the Bite: Crucial Consulting Skills with Dr. Melanie Cerone (Webinar)
- Using Enrichment To Treat Aggression with Emily Strong and Allie Bender (Webinar)
- Navigating Difficult Conversations: When Euthanasia for Behavior is a Consideration with Dr. Chris Pachel (Webinar)
- Our Dog Bit Our Toddler! HELP! with Jennifer Shryock: Part 1 & 2 (Webinar)
- Play Way! for Aggression Cases with Dr. Amy Cook (Webinar)
- Virtual staff member; Aggressive In Dogs 2022 (Conference)
- Aggression In Dog’s; Michael Shikashio, CDBC (3 Day Workshop)
- Aggressive In Dogs; 2021 (Conference)
- Dog Emotion and Cognition; (Course by Duke University)
- FF Animal Trainer (6 Part Course)
Currently, I am attending college in hopes to pursue a degree in animal behavior. While it may be frustrating that I cannot give one answer to a behavior problem, understand I am taking all of this knowledge to spit out the best feasible solution for the individual humans and dogs in your household