DOG TRAINER COMPREHENSIVE
Learn modern, effective positive reinforcement training online.
(BASED ON OUR ACCLAIMED PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM)
DOG TRAINER COMPREHENSIVE
Learn modern, effective positive reinforcement training online.
BASED ON OUR ACCLAIMED PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM
LEARN
the skills you need to train your dog and help others.
GAIN
confidence through online coaching and video feedback.
INTEGRATE
the science and practice of modern, positive dog training.
PRACTICE MAKES PERMANENT
We give you the right stuff to practice. Engaging videos, fun exercises, and personal coaching help you internalize the skills of our pioneering approach.
Start Today for $999PRACTICE MAKES PERMANENT.
We give you the right stuff to practice. Engaging videos, fun exercises, and personal coaching help you internalize the skills of our pioneering approach.
Start Today for $999
LEARN AT YOUR OWN PACE
Take the Time to Love What You're Learning
LEARN AT YOUR OWN PACE
Take the Time to Love What You're Learning
READY WHEN YOU ARE
START ANYTIME
Begin on your schedule
FROM ANYWHERE
Learn wherever there is internet access
USE ANY DEVICE
Tablet, cell, desktop, laptop. All good to go!
The key benefits of this course include:
1. Comprehensive coverage of the theory, skills, and application of positive reinforcement training. This coverage includes the knowledge and skills needed to tackle the training requirements for: basic household training, problem-solving behavioral issues, canine sports participation, the application of useful husbandry skills, and more. The course also introduces the process of assisting others with their training.
2. 10 hours of high quality online coaching from a dedicated and certified KPA coach.
3. The ease of taking a course designed expressly for online learning, that allows you to learn at your own pace, and that requires no travel.
4. The option to take the course with or without a companion animal and with a non-canine animal.
5. The flexibility to start right away, with any level of training experience, and to put the course on hold if you need to interrupt your studies.
1. Teach basic and complex behaviors efficiently using three core techniques: capturing, targeting, and shaping.
2. Learn the science that underpins positive reinforcement training, the role of the marker, and the factors that strengthen or weaken animal learning.
3. Learn how to build behaviors to fluency, how to generalize learning to new environments, and how to meet distance, duration, and distraction criteria.
4. Learn about stimulus control, including when and how to select, add, and strengthen appropriate cues for any behavior. Learn how cues get "poisoned," when to transfer behavior to a new cue, and how cues also reinforce behavior.
5. Learn to chain multiple behaviors together, how behavior chains work, and how to use them in performance settings and everyday life.
6. Recognize the behavioral signals that indicate levels of arousal and valence (e.g."calm" or "stressed") in dogs and how to build that knowledge into both training and teaching.
7. So much more! See all 68 Learning Goals.
Learn online, set your own pace and receive the guidance of a dedicated, online, personal, and certified KPA coach.
Your coach is there to support you all along the way—from answering questions to reviewing course training videos.
The course is divided into four units and each unit is divided into four lessons, providing natural breaks in your work.
Course videos and multi-part hands-on exercises are tightly woven together to let you practice as you go along. Online quizzes let you self-assess.
You can revisit, retake, and redo any section of the course while enrolled.
See the visual Course Guide.
This course is for those with a significant interest in animal training and behavior.
It is designed for the serious enthusiast who wants to learn and practice the full set of skills used by effective positive reinforcement dog trainers. A Dog Trainer Comprehensive student may not plan to pursue a professional career as a trainer, or may not yet be ready for the time and financial commitment of the KPA professional certification course, the Dog Trainer Professional program.
The Dog Trainer Comprehensive course is ideal for someone looking to: assist an experienced positive reinforcement trainer; enter the field of canine training; or add training skill to an existing animal-care skill set, such as a veterinary technician, pet sitter/walker, or groomer. A student can also enroll in and complete this course with a non-canine species.
Think you might be ready for the Professional program? Compare courses.
READY WHEN YOU ARE
START ANYTIME
Begin on your schedule
FROM ANYWHERE
Learn wherever there is internet access
USE ANY DEVICE
Tablet, cell, desktop, laptop. All good to go!
The key benefits of this course include
1. Comprehensive coverage of the theory, skills, and application of positive reinforcement training. This coverage includes the knowledge and skills needed to tackle the training requirements for: basic household training, problem-solving behavioral issues, canine sports participation, the application of useful husbandry skills, and more. The course also introduces the process of assisting others with their training.
2. 10 hours of high quality online coaching from a dedicated and certified KPA coach.
3. The ease of taking a course designed expressly for online learning, that allows you to learn at your own pace, and that requires no travel.
4. The option to take the course with or without a companion animal and with a non-canine animal.
5. The flexibility to start right away, with any level of training experience, and to put the course on hold if you need to interrupt your studies.
1. Teach basic and complex behaviors efficiently using three core techniques: capturing, targeting, and shaping.
2. Learn the science that underpins positive reinforcement training, the role of the marker, and the factors that strengthen or weaken animal learning.
3. Learn how to build behaviors to fluency, how to generalize learning to new environments, and how to meet distance, duration, and distraction criteria.
4. Learn about stimulus control, including when and how to select, add, and strengthen appropriate cues for any behavior. Learn how cues get "poisoned," when to transfer behavior to a new cue, and how cues also reinforce behavior.
5. Learn to chain multiple behaviors together, how behavior chains work, and how to use them in performance settings and everyday life.
6. Recognize the behavioral signals that indicate levels of arousal and valence (e.g."calm" or "stressed") in dogs and how to build that knowledge into both training and teaching.
7. So much more! See all 68 Learning Goals.
Learn online, set your own pace and receive the guidance of a dedicated, online, personal, and certified KPA coach.
Your coach is there to support you all along the way—from answering questions to reviewing course training videos.
The course is divided into four units and each unit is divided into four lessons, providing natural breaks in your work.
Course videos and multi-part hands-on exercises are tightly woven together to let you practice as you go along. Online quizzes let you self-assess.
You can revisit, retake, and redo any section of the course while enrolled.
See the visual Course Guide.
This course is for those with a significant interest in animal training and behavior.
It is designed for the serious enthusiast who wants to learn as much as possible about effective positive reinforcement training. A Dog Trainer Comprehensive student may not plan to pursue a professional career as a trainer, or may not yet be ready for the time and financial commitment of the KPA professional certification course, the Dog Trainer Professional program.
The Dog Trainer Comprehensive course is ideal for someone looking to: assist an experienced positive reinforcement trainer; enter the field of canine training; or add training skill to an existing animal-care skill set, such as a veterinary technician, pet sitter/walker, or groomer. A student can also enroll in and complete this course with a non-canine species.
Think you might be ready for the Professional program? Compare courses.
MEET YOUR COACHES
They Help You Through The "Ruff" Spots
AND REMEMBER... SOMETIMES YOUR DOG IS SUPPOSED TO EAT YOUR HOMEWORK.
Jen Biglan
KPA Faculty
Certified Training Partner
Training Spot
Certified Dog Behavior Consultant
Terrie Hayward
KPA Faculty
Certified Training Partner
Peace Corps, Papua
New Guinea
School principal
Deaf-dog devotee
Alexis Davison
KPA Faculty
Certified Training Partner
Barefoot under the
Aurora Borealis
Fergus the car-loving cat
Australian shepherds
Sherrie Yuschak
KPA Faculty
Certified Training Partner
Crafts
Sunshine
Untraditional routes
“People are so happy to see the pleasure and the joy that their dogs are having in the training. It becomes a fun project for both the human end of the leash, and the dogs as well. ”
— Carolyn Clark
Steve Benjamin
KPA Faculty
Burgers & Fries • Former "G" Man • Upstate New 'Yawk'
Steve Benjamin is the owner of Clicking With Canines in Endicott, NY. Steve retired from the federal government in January 2004 to pursue his passion for working with dogs and their owners. Steve specializes in teaching clicker training to his clients, helping them teach their dogs to be socially acceptable, happy, and intelligent family pets. Steve is a faculty member for the Karen Pryor Academy and instructs KPA Dog Trainer Professional program sessions in New York (spring/summer) and Florida (fall/winter).
THERE'S A REASON WE CALL IT "COMPREHENSIVE"
THERE'S A REASON WE CALL IT "COMPREHENSIVE"
Learn how to tackle basic household training, problem-solve behavioral issues, participate in canine sports, husbandry, and more!
START TODAY“I enjoyed it [the Dog Trainer Comprehensive course] because I discovered the concept of error-free learning, the science behind learning, that proof corrections don’t help dogs learn faster, and how to shape behavior. I’d need a whole page to summarize what I learned! Using the focus filter with my students has helped me become a better trainer. I’m looking forward to the next class.”
– Marie S.
“I loved this course, learned a lot from it, and have already highly recommended it. The quizzes were great to test my knowledge, but they also helped me better understand what I learned.”
– Elonnah D.
“I think it was a great course, especially for anyone who wants to know how to train their pet properly.”
– Nicole P.
“Because I am a clicker trainer and have completed practical and theoretical courses previously, I was unsure if it [the Dog Trainer Comprehensive course] would be worth the investment. It has been—100%. The course has been amazing. It has helped me improve my clicker training skills and I feel confident putting those skills into practice with my own dogs and with clients’ dogs.”
– Helen B.
“I enjoyed it [the Dog Trainer Comprehensive course] because I discovered the concept of error-free learning, the science behind learning, that proof corrections don’t help dogs learn faster, and how to shape behavior. I’d need a whole page to summarize what I learned! Using the focus filter with my students has helped me become a better trainer. I’m looking forward to the next class.”
– Marie S.
“I loved this course, learned a lot from it, and have already highly recommended it. The quizzes were great to test my knowledge, but they also helped me better understand what I learned.”
– Elonnah D.
“I think it was a great course, especially for anyone who wants to know how to train their pet properly.”
– Nicole P.
“Because I am a clicker trainer and have completed practical and theoretical courses previously, I was unsure if it [the Dog Trainer Comprehensive course] would be worth the investment. It has been—100%. The course has been amazing. It has helped me improve my clicker training skills and I feel confident putting those skills into practice with my own dogs and with clients’ dogs.”
– Helen B.
$999
$999 $949
USE COUPON CODE: DTCBTS2023
TRAINER EDUCATION?
WE TAKE IT PERSONALLY
- Personal online coaching from our professionals
- Tons of fun, at-home activities for you and your dog
- Unlimited course access for 8 months
- Learn at your own pace, from anywhere
- Enroll now
Enroll with friends and save $50 each! Tuition is $949 for each member of a group of three or more who enroll at the same time. Email us to set up your group.
[email protected]
If you want to purchase the course now and delay your start, we can do that. Immediately after purchase and before you access your course, please send us an email.
If you have started the course and need to suspend your participation, we can place the course on hold for up to two months. In "on hold" status you do not have access to the course.
Email: [email protected]
Take the Dog Trainer Comprehensive course and gain the skills to qualify for, and thrive in, our professional certification program.
If you are accepted into the Dog Trainer Professional (DTP) program after completing this course, you can apply 25% of your Dog Trainer Comprehensive tuition toward DTP tuition.
For more details, email
[email protected]
- The Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT)
-
- CEUs: 30
- The International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC):
- CEUs: 36
$999
$999 $949
USE COUPON CODE: DTCBTS2023
TRAINER EDUCATION?
WE TAKE IT PERSONALLY
- Personal online coaching from our professionals
- Tons of fun at home activities for you and your dog
- Unlimited course access for 8 months
- Learn at your own pace, from anywhere
- Let's Get Started
Enroll with friends and save $50 each! Tuition is $949 for each member of a group of three or more who enroll at the same time. Email us to set up your group.
[email protected]
If you want to purchase the course now and delay your start, we can do that. Immediately after purchase and before you access your course, please send us an email.
If you have started the course and need to suspend your participation, we can place the course on hold for up to two months. In "on hold" status you do not have access to the course.
Email: [email protected]
Take the Dog Trainer Comprehensive course and gain the skills to qualify for, and thrive in, our professional certification program.
If you are accepted into the Dog Trainer Professional (DTP) program after completing this course, you can apply 25% of your Dog Trainer Comprehensive tuition toward DTP tuition.
For more details, email
[email protected]
Coming soon!
A "NOSE-TO-TAIL" CURRICULUM
A short and sweet
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$999. Group pricing is also available.
See price.
1. A Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner will be your personal online coach and will help you with the course training. Your coach will provide up to 10 hours of coaching through a platform that includes email, chat messaging, voice, video phone calls,video review, and more. If you need additional support from your coach, additional support time can be purchased at $55/hour.
2. Our technical student-support staff is also ready to help you with any platform-related issues.
3. An online classroom discussion forum for all students enrolled in the course to share ideas and experiences is available and is another option for support.
The course is designed to be completed in 4-6 months, but you receive 8 months of access so that you can take your time. If you need additional time to complete the course, extensions can be purchased for $50 for each 30-day extension.
If you have a significant interest significant interest in dog training and behavior, you should consider this course.
Modern, positive reinforcement training.
This course provides comprehensive coverage of the training skills and knowledge practiced by Karen Pryor Academy trainers and applied in quality, modern, positive reinforcement training.
Are you looking for an in-depth program? This course provides deep and broad coverage in canine training. The curriculum is based on our renowned Dog Trainer Professional program.
Do you need flexibility? This course gives students the flexibility to learn at the pace and level that works for them. The more you put into the course, the more you will get out of it. There is no passing grade and no certification of your skills. For this course you also don't need to travel. You can put the course on hold if you need to and you can complete this course with an animal other than a canine—or even with no animal at all.
Do you already work with animals? This course is a wonderful fit for canine trainers looking for a complete online educational program in modern training. It is also a great fit for someone looking to add training skills to his/her animal-care skill set, such as a veterinary technician, pet sitter/walker, or groomer.
Not much experience? This course works for people with all levels of experience in canine training and behavior. It's a wonderful fit for someone looking to really dig in and learn all that they can.
Are you looking for career education or capstone in this field? You may want to apply to our Professional program. The Comprehensive course is thorough preparation for that program.
Want to compare course? Please compare courses if you think you might be ready for the Professional program, or think the Foundations course might be a better match for your goals.
1. Computer or device with high-speed internet access
2. Clicker or other distinct sound to mark good behavior
3. Training treats (lots!)
4. All students will need a free Google account to work with the coach. If you have an existing Gmail address, you already have a Google account. If not, you will be given easy instructions for setting up an account.
While not required, consistent access to a dog or other companion animal is recommended to get the most benefit of the course. The dog (or other animal) can be your own, but does not need to be.
Not necessarily.
A dog will certainly help you get much more out of this course because you can practice what you are being taught. A dog of any age, including a puppy, will make a wonderful companion as you complete the course. That said, the videos, the lessons, and the coaching provide all that you need to learn from this course, even without a dog.
Although the exercises within the course are written for you and a dog, your coach can help you adapt the exercises for use with other animals, including cats, rabbits and horses!
If you do go through this course with a dog, any age, including puppies, will make a wonderful companion in the course.
Yes, although the exercises within the course are written for you and a dog, your coach can help you adapt the exercises for use with other animals including a cat, a rabbit, bird, and a horse!
Videos of your training can be a great way to help your coach help you, but you are not required to submit videos.
Absolutely. Your coach is there as a resource, but the course was built to be completed independently, providing clear videos, step-by step instructions, and fun exercises for you and your dog.
- The Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT)
-
- CEUs: 30
- The International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC):
- CEUs: 36
No. While this course is based on the same curriculum as the Dog Trainer Professional program, it does not have the same depth and breadth of content - for training, teaching others or running a business - nor the level of assessment and hands-on coaching hours built into the DTP. The DTP program fully prepares you for a career in the training field.
The Dog Trainer Professional program (DTP) is an application-based, six-month certification course with many more educational components than the Dog Trainer Comprehensive course. The DTP includes multiple days of in-person workshops, provides greater depth and complexity in the areas of training animals and teaching others, and offers curriculum surrounding the business of dog training.
Demonstrated knowledge and demonstrated practical fluency in these areas by students in the DTP program is a focus leading to certification as a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner.
The Dog Trainer Comprehensive course is excellent preparation for the DTP. Dog Trainer Comprehensive students are eligible for partial tuition credit toward the DTP.
Compare the courses. You can also contact the KPA student coordinator to discuss which course is right for you. Email [email protected]
Completing this course does not guarantee acceptance to the Dog Trainer Professional program, however, it should make you a very strong candidate. Candidates who want to use their DTC course as qualification will be asked to record some of their training. Please follow these guidelines.
You can also reach out to [email protected]
