Puppy to Teenager: Understanding Your Dog

Puppy to Teenager: Understanding Your Dog An educational online course exploring canine development, behaviour, communication and how dogs learn. Has yesterday’s brilliant recall disappeared? Preparing for your first dog, or keen to understand the why behind everyday advice? This course connects learning theory with everyday life, helping you understand behaviour and make informed choices about dogs’ care and training. Explore puppy biting and chewing, toilet training, sleep and rest, socialisation, canine body language, adolescence and everyday skills such as recall and loose-lead walking. Understand why behaviours happen through reinforcement, classical conditioning and the ABC model—Antecedent, Behaviour and Consequence—with practical examples linking the theory to everyday life. The approach is reward-based, practical and patient, with clear explanations and examples from life with my Sprocker, Bruno. Who is it for? Prospective, new and experienced dog owners, including owners of adult dogs, alongside aspiring and existing dog walkers and pet sitters. Although the course follows puppyhood through adolescence, many principles apply throughout a dog’s life. How it works Study six modules online at your own pace, with detailed lessons, practical examples and opportunities for reflection. Each module has a five-question quiz, followed by a 20-question final assessment at the end of the course. You must achieve at least 80% in every quiz and the final assessment. Practical activities are optional and adapted to the dog. No photographs or videos need submitting. This is a text-based course, with no video lessons or individual behaviour consultations. A Certificate of Completion is included after completing the course and passing all assessments. This independent educational course is not accredited, regulated or a vocational qualification. Completion does not qualify you as a dog trainer or canine behaviourist.