This Scholarship Program is based on the honor system.
I offer a lot of free resources to help pet owners and animal professionals get happier animals that are reasonably well behaved and thrive with people.
But some of my courses are paid. These paid courses constitute my living and fund the production of my free courses and all the other free educational content that I create. I’m really grateful to host a global audience, and I’m acutely aware of the vast range of economic realities that my audience is facing – especially in these dire times.
So, I’m offering a number of scholarships – I don’t want financial constraints to limit people’s access to this information!
This Advanced Animal Training Scholarship program is based on the honor system. Please, only submit an entry for a potential scholarship if it’s truly needs-based. I’m entrusting you — on your honor — to apply for a scholarship because without it, taking the course would not be financially possible right now.
In my selection efforts, I’ll strive to focus on finding candidates that can somehow make an impact in their community – among animals and people. So, check out the details below, and get to it. 🙂
The Advanced Animal Training Scholarship Program.
What it is: Complimentary access to the Advanced Animal Training course.
How to be considered: Read the following questions and post your answer in the comments below.
Make sure your response is 250 words or less.
- Where do you live?
- How many animals would directly or indirectly benefit from your taking the course?
- Do you do any animal-related teaching?
- If admission to the Advanced Animal Training course landed in your lap, how would it help you, the animals in your care or your community? What difference would it make to you and the animals and people around you?
Everything You Need to Know
- You apply with a written comment below. Yes, it must be public. No email entries will count.
- Answer the three questions above.
- Limit your word count to 250 – longer applications will be disqualified. If you’re unsure of whether you’re at the limit, count them here.
- I’ll award a number of scholarship seats. A specific number is not predetermined.
- The entry deadline for this scholarship is Tuesday, April 25th at midnight PST, and the recipients will be notified the next day.
- No purchase is necessary to receive a scholarship.
- I’m the judge and my decision is subjective and final.
- Remember: I’m looking for heart, compassion, drive and the ability to follow directions. Show me how this course will help you create meaningful change.
I can’t wait to see your entry!
ps – when you write your entry, it doesn’t become visible immediately – you’ll just be brought to the top of the page. No worries, the comment is in limbo waiting for approval – I will see it before the deadline!
1. I live in Halden, Norway, work 150% in my petshop, with out any salary.
2. All of my students and New dog Owner’s in my classes and my shop. Also my 3 dogs and 3 cats.
3. Yes. Puppy classes, AKC CGC and S. T. A. R. Puppy,, NKK’s bronsemerke, behaviour analysis.
4. I would have a deeper understanding in what I do on a daily basis, and that would benefit all dogs that visit my shop and classes. I would help in spreading Good learning to all that will listen. The animals around mexwould benefit the most.
Me and my fourlegged pack lives in the hills of Brösarp, Skåne. AT THE MOMENT my two horses (one born here 19 ys ago and one 7ys old from Iceland – both trained with clicker and start buttons), two dogs (one rescued mix and one american bully – both search dogs) and two cats (19 and 10) would benefit from the course, but in the long run – as I learn – also ,my friends in my training group (dogs) and my volonteers who come to my farm to learn more about the way I train my horses today. And of course, my future cats, dogs and horses…
I am now building up an “adventure track” for dogs and humans and If I get enough confident by learning more, I will also do some teaching there. At the moment, its more of “giving advice” than teaching. I need more knowledge to be able to teach.
I aim to work with animal training as a part of my work, in my company, but I feel that I need to take my knowledge and confidence to the next level. I need to know WHY some things work, and why some doesn’t. I am at the moment in a EU-funded project for search dogs and my teacher there is a bit tired sometimes over all my nerdy questions where I want to know “why”. Taking part of your free videos has made me think that I will get a whole bunch of answers through this course
I live in Southern Arizona, USA. I have locations in 2 states, 4 assistant instructors and 3 mentor students. The impact of this course would not only benefit my clients but my ciriculum, assistants, students currently and future students. I am currently working on Teaching Guides for higher level classes and Service Dog Task Training. This course could not have come at a better time. I am working on a dealine as I have a trip booked to work with my Tennessee team for 5 days in May to go over new ciriculum and changes to our core classes. Thank you for your consideration.
FINAL REVISION!*
1) I live in Virginia Beach, VA
2) As a Professional Dog Training Business ,Every student/client would most definitely benefit from me taking this course . I have also a name in the local community .Vets as well as other dog professionals and referrals from past clients have sought me out to help solve problems with specific dogs. I teach group classes, also In Home /Private . I teach people how to communicate better with their dogs and avoid harsh aversive methods. My goal over 25 years has been to help and create a more public awareness of how owners must take more responsibility of their dogs behavior. I am single and just make enough to pay bills so financially this would really help me as I believe the value of this course would far surpass the ones the new dog trainers are taking. I have enough knowledge that this would most certainly give me more credibility to focus on those special hard to solve cases.
3) Yes I own a Dog Training Business and have experience in a multitude of areas including accomplishments .
4) part is in number 2 .To summarize, this course can only help me become better at solving cases I sometimes found difficult despite my experience. Based on knowledge from this course. I know that I can feel confident and give the best advice which in the end goal would increase the communication between the owner(s) and their dog(s).
I live in BC, Canada!
At least a thousand horses a year would benefit from the knowledge I would gain from this course; through providing education for other professionals I can reach thousands of horses.
I am an equine +R trainer and behaviour consultant.
I live within a large equestrian community, sadly most people still use harsh methods and their horses suffer greatly.
I have started working with many equine professionals educating them on behaviour and learning theory to positively change how horses are trained / handled.
I provide them with knowledge and tools to handle dangerous situations with client horses and educate owners on how to better prepare their horses for these situations in the future. This creates a massive ripple positively effecting every horse and human this professional works with.
I want to educate myself as much as possible so I can bring even more assistance to other professionals as well as to my own clients. I primarily teach remotely, due to my disability, so being extra knowledgeable on how to train behaviours is incredibly important since I cannot be there physically.
This course would allow me to have a much larger toolkit of knowledge to give to curious professionals that could then educate hundreds of clients. I often need a lot of information to convince people to change approaches and ethics. It would mean the world to me to be able to create even more positive change for horses in my community and world wide!
1) Hard to say. I’m a Fear Free® Groomer, Animal Reiki Master and R+ trainer/behaviour consultant from Ireland. Started my own business almost 2yrs ago. I’m just finishing creating my new website where my focus will include free educational material on why this approach is best for both animal and human. This will reach a much wider audience. I am on a mission to change mindsets. I am also on a mission to change laws. I am passionate about advocating for those who cannot advocate for themselves. Statistically, here, dogs end up in rescue centres when they hit the teenage phase. I want to help put a stop to that also.
2) As above. I also give free talks in various community settings to promote more compassionate, empathic, relationship based interractions with our animals.
3) I want to be the best that I can be in this area, so I can be the best that I can be for the animals in my community and their caregivers. I am a stickler for detail and I have to know why I’m doing what I’m doing. The Devil is in the detail. I know this course will deliver that and improve my knowledge of how animals learn, improve my training outcomes and my self-confidence in the face of varied cases. I did your free Masterclass and I feel I have found my home.
Thank you for the opportunity to apply for the scholarship and the best of luck to everyone.
Hello im Roxy- Uk, Berkshire.
I run a small training practice training 30-40 dogs a week plus my own 2 dogs. I strive for best practice working with paraprofessionals offering free lunch and learns, school visits, social media. So i reach thousands thinking about it, which i never have so thank you.
I have a degree in animal behaviour and have taken quite a few courses. Im a APDT trainer and working towards becoming a clinically certified behaviorist. I currently stay up to date with practicing techniques, researching training and collaborating with fellow trainers.
This opportunity would help rebuild my confidence. It would enable me to have 121 time with my dogs (a rescue goldendore and cavashon) and enjoy the process of learning again. I’ve been recovering from burnout and compassion fatigue after 10 years training, previously lecturing animal behaviour and teaching high school science.
This opportunity would help reset my enthusiasm and top up my training tool kit. Being a catalyst for further services and accessible spaces ( we already offer scholarships) discounted owner mentorship programs. My job is keeping dogs in their homes, we are very successful at, because we coach people and share knowledge as freely as possible. learning became hard with undiagnosed ADHD until I was 35 – micro lessons are prefect, with your course nerniness to capture my interest- il focus on this to give back to my clients and community -your program sounds prefect for me.
Q1. A vast number of animals would benefit by me taking the course. Not only interacting with my own three horses and three dogs but the sixty to one hundred equines, including donkeys on a daily basis under my sole responsibility as branch Manager of a UK Public Funded Welfare Charity, I have held this position for over eighteen years. My role also includes Welfare Advising in communities where this course would be invaluable.
Q2. Yes, I teach and support hands on, with theory and practical training. Not only to retain companions but with under saddle equines to reach the required level to be Rehomed on the Charities Loan Scheme. Training the permanent residents to settle into herds, receive veterinary care, follow on treatments, I guide staff through conflict behaviours as a reaction to the process, using a variety of methods including Clicker Training.
Q3. Having 18 years experience but no actual paper qualifications, it would give me the confidence and a credible voice to be heard. I share my knowledge with many communities and this would be empowering. The scientific elements, knowledge that we now know, to make better judgements within my training.
Three key elements:
– A difference to me personally and for others I meet in improvement of observational skills, the detection of behaviours at the first signals, often missed.
– Listening skills, communication, improving the lives of animals I am in contact with along with humans.
– Confidence to explore questions, solve problems, search for answers and not be scared of change.
Hi Karolina ! I am grateful for watching your free masterclass ! I’d absolutely love to take your advanced animal training but although i find the cost really reasonable , i cannot purchase it this period of time as i have no job & no income . I am not a professional trainer yet . I am the founder & admin of the group “The Cocker Spaniel Club of Greece” with 1500 active members & parent of a 11year young female cocker spaniel . So many dogs & dog parents would benefit from the knowledge i would acquire from your valuable courses . I have been a successful agility handler for 9 years but i know there is much more than being a team with one’s dog . I am eager to learn more on animal emotions & cognition ! Thank you anyway !!
I’m excited to be considered for this opportunity. I have 2 dogs that would directly benefit from this training and also volunteer with rescues. I believe that having this knowledge and being able to share it with others in the rescues would benefit many more animals.
I’ve been deeply interested in animal training since a woman taught me some basics for training my childhood dog when I was around 11 years of age. I have considered a career in animal training and have been told it might suit me, but I have not had the opportunities (money for courses being one of them) to pursue it. I follow subreddits, Facebook pages, YouTube channels, and sign up for free training courses every chance I get in order to learn as much as I can.
Admission to the Advanced Animal Training course would help me to better tailor my training to my individual dogs and further the basic training I have already begun with them. One of my dogs was adopted with the hope of me training him to be a service dog. Even if I train him with the help of another, I believe the knowledge from this course will be very beneficial.
Having a service dog may allow me to get back into the workforce and bring money into our household. Further, this course could help me find a career in something I’m passionate about and would love doing. Thank you so much for considering me.
Hello! Many animals would greatly benefit from the information learned throughout this course. Not only my own personal and family pets but also the shelter animals I work with as well. I’m on disability, but volunteer my time at local shelters teaching the animals some basic obedience and some cute, little tricks to help with their physical, emotional, and mental well-being while in the shelter and waiting for their forever homes. But, it’s also in hopes of helping these animals find their forever home as well. I’m also a volunteer puppy raiser for a local service dog organization.
No, however, I would LOVE to try to obtain my CDTC-KSA certification one day.
This opportunity would be huge for both me and my community! For me, as someone who volunteers their time, the scholarship helps greatly financially! But most of all, it offers a chance to take the course, learn all this wonderful new information to then be able to apply this knowledge to the animals who come in and out of our shelters. Presenting the community with a more well-balanced dog greatly increases their adoption chances. It also gives me the chance to apply this knowledge to all the little pups growing up to take on the pretty big job of being a wonderful, dedicated service dog to someone in need. A win-win situation for everyone!
Thank you for offering this amazing opportunity! It is much appreciated.
Based on my experience, I believe that the Advanced Animal Training course would directly benefit around 12 dogs that I work with each year and indirectly benefit over 2,100 dogs a year that my students train (I teach two dog training courses a year). Additionally, the course would help me to deliver better information to my clients and students, ultimately resulting in improved outcomes for the animals in my care and in my community.
If I were to be admitted to the course, it would undoubtedly help me to incorporate the latest training techniques and methodologies into my practice. This, in turn, would result in better outcomes for the animals that I work with, such as reduced anxiety, and increased socialization I would also be able to share my newfound knowledge with my clients and students, empowering them to improve the way they care for their animals.
Additionally, as I share my newfound knowledge and skills with my clients and students, they too would be able to improve the way they care for their animals. This could also lead to a decrease in dog-related incidents in the community, such as dog bites and aggressive behavior. Ultimately, taking the Advanced Animal Training course would have a positive impact on both the animals and people in my community, creating a safer and more compassionate environment for all.
Hi,
My name is Rinske and I’m from The Netherlands.
I have 2 dogs that would benefit directly from deepening my knowledge on animal behaviour and training. Especially my 1 year old mix. I have had and trained many different dogs but her behaviour puzzles me and I wonder if I’m on the right track with her.
Indirectly many dogs who are in my mantrailing classes would benefit. I train many different dogs ánd owners and I find the most joy in seeing dog and owner become a better team and enjoying working together. Dogs who are insecure or fearfull grow in confidence when they start to use their nose and take lead to follow the trail. Dogs and owners that struggle to become a good team and understand each-other often will start to have a more positive relation bases on trust and having fun together.
I would love to have more tools in my toolbox to help with training. I understand that the approx 20-25 dogs and owners I train do not make a huge difference. For me personally it has been most important in my life. Due to chronic disease I’m not able to hold a paying job. Being able to give joy to dogs and their owners means the world to me.
Hi! I’m an animal scientist in Brazil, working with horses as a researcher and trainer. My main focus is to educate people about animal behavior and training concepts in my country, so I’ve been giving lectures and courses in a lot of universities in recent years. For this purpose, I have been training my stallion to demonstrate techniques and teach animal scientists, veterinarians, and riders.
This course would be a game changer for me as a professional, most of what I learned came from studying intensely books, scientific articles, and any free and reliable content on the internet, this would be my first chance to complete a whole course about Animal Training.
I’m sure this would be huge for me and my community and their animals, as access to this content is really scarce for us, and the value of our currency makes it difficult to purchase courses in other countries.
Thank you so much for every opportunity! Hope I’ll be able to keep learning from you!
Many animals will benefit from me taking this course including my pets (10), my friends and family’s pets, the animals I rescue, and more. Currently these animals are a mixture of dogs, cats, and rabbits, but I hope to expand to other species too.
Currently I do not do any animal teaching, however, it is my dream to do so. I am very passionate about animal behavior and nutrition, and I hope to be able to combine my two passions to educate others about how R+ training and diet can improve physical, mental and emotional wellbeing, and behavior.
3 ways this will help my community are:
Offering free services to low-income individuals/communities to help them train their pets when they otherwise might not be able to afford to and would be faced with other options such as turning pets into shelters or rehoming.
Working directly with shelter staff to provide more enriching environments for shelter animals and keep animals with behavioral issues from being euthanized.
Rehabilitating the animals that I rescue and providing their new owners with the tools to continue their training and keep building those positive, trusting relationships.
I love to learn and am always seeking ways to deepen my knowledge so it would be an absolute blessing to take this course in order to grow and to share my knowledge and resources with others. Thank you for this opportunity and your consideration.
1. I work as a horse rider, so my everyday task is to teach and train horses. Right away directly would benefit around 15 horses, in addition to my own personal horse and my dog, but I would like to think of all the future horses who are brought to our stable as well. Indirectly I hope I could inspire other people around me to follow science-based methods with their horses.
2. No, not right now but it is something I aspire to do.
3. Horse industry in general is very stuck with outdated methods and likes to do things rather traditionally than to learn from scientific research, especially when it comes to competition horses. I myself discovered positive reinforcement training and started becoming a true behavior-nerd quite late considering I’ve been riding since I was 10 years old. My dream is to support the shift in the industry towards science-based methods, so everyone involved with horses would at least know the basics of learning theory and would rather choose R+ over punishment. I would like to start guiding the community around me by training my horses fairly and move forward from here. I am also learning about horse biomechanics at the moment, so together with behavioral knowledge I could offer the full package for training a happy and motivated equine athlete.
My own dog, I also teach in a dog club. It is training for dog owners for everyday use, not competition. I will be able to help ordinary dog owners who, in my opinion, will be able to benefit a lot from my new knowledge.
I also teach in a hunting club, I hope I with the new knowledge and tools I get will succeed in impressing them a little, the way I believe dog training should be like, it will definitely be a plus.
It is my conviction that these are the places that could best benefit from my new knowledge from this class. The very ordinary dog owners who do not have experience with the focused training required to have competition dogs.
I am a single kitty mom with 11 cats. I am an advanced feline Behaviourist, Reiki practitioner and Animal communicator. I feel my clients will benefit from me having this additional knowledge. I have been wanting to do another course but financial worried have gotten in the way. In South Africa our money is worth nothing anymore. I am a paramedic and freelance to survive. Would love to do my feline behaviour full time.
1. All the dogs I have as clients at the moment and future clients (working one on one, groups) and social media sharing. Monthly that would mean around 30-50 dogs (depending on the groups and new clients) and social media >1700.
2. Yes! I’m a certified dogtrainer, and more than halfway through the course of becoming a dog behavior consultant in the beginning of next year. Mostly 1 on 1 online.
3. I think it would help me to understand the processes behind what is happening more. And understanding it more means I can work with it / see it from different angles so I can adjust it to the dog in front of me. It would mean that I can help dogs even better if I have more tools and more insights in how things work. And if I could help them better that would be very awesome
1. My own two dogs, all the dogs that come into the centre where I am apprenticing, all of my dog sitting clients (currently 4 regulars), all the dogs who’s people see my advice and encouragement on social media. Hopefully one day I will foster again and give of my time to shelters and rescues; the amount of dogs is limitless!
2. I am an approved Trainer for a large dog training & behaviour advice group on Facebook and am also apprenticing at a growing dog training facility locally assisting and teaching in group classes. I do some teaching and supporting my dog sitting clients. I also have four children that I am teaching about animals, their behaviour and training.
3. As an ADHD (possibly Autistic) Woman with a limited amount of funds I am trying my best to become a competent and educated dog training professional. In turn, I want to dedicate some of my time and skills to helping rescue dogs get adopted by providing low/no cost training to local shelters/rescues as well as opening up a foster spot in my home. I feel that this course would build my confidence and provide me with the support and encouragement I need to keep going when it all seems daunting.
Greetings, and thank you for the opportunity to improve myself, so I may help improve the lives of others!
1) This training will immediately benefit my rising 2 year old Morgan gelding, Willie. I started his journey at 6 months using R+, and am looking to continue guiding him to be the best equine citizen he can be! The training will also directly benefit all other horses I work with, present and future. Indirectly, this training will spread far beyond my personal sphere via Willie’s social media page, where I demonstrate how to work in-harmony with horses.
2) Not formally. I do as much research as possible, am currently working with a coach who specializes in equine behavior, and follow several behaviourists online to continue my self-taught education.
3) I have a mission to share the most up-to-date behavioural science so that humans will better understand the needs of thier equines. Many vices can be solved by allowing horses to enjoy a fulfilling and natural-as-possible life. I am passionate about teaching the horses themselves to successfully navigate our human world via emotional and intellectual self-regulation. I share this message in an effort to eradicate the force that is all too often resorted to in human-horse interactions, while promoting the gift of enhanced self-awareness these relationships bless us with. As a non-professional equestrian, I feel uniquely poised to get the message out that everyone can learn how to improve thier relationship with, and understanding of thier horse.
1. This will directly benefit my 2 dogs, 6 cats, and 4 horses
2. I used to teach pet dog classes and help horses through osteopathic alignment and acupuncture, but have had to stop due to health issues
3. Last year you made mine and my animals world better, by granting me a scolarship to the Resolving Challenging Behaviour course. I can’t explain how big of a difference that course has made in all of our lives. It’s just amazing!
And I still have hopes and dreams of making some sort of easy-to-follow training aid to help others who also suffer from health problems, especially where fatigue and brainfog makes everything so difficult. I believe this course will help me further in that regard.
I have allready given pointers and tips to others with my disease, who also have animals with big feelings. And would love to be able to help even more with what this course has to offer
I am a certified behavior consultant (IAABC) with a large shelter in California. I have had my eye on this course for some time, and I am grateful to be able to participate in this offer. Our particular shelter is very fortunate to have resources to aid animals needing treatment for medical and behavioral problems. We are an open-admission shelter, meaning we take in animals for any reason. Many of these animals have behavioral issues that make finding homes challenging. I am a lead trainer of a positive reinforcement team. My job involves teaching dog training classes to the community, writing the curriculum for those classes, providing behavior consultations and modification training to private clients, consulting and prescribing behavior modification on shelter dog behavior, and training and mentoring trainers at our facility. In a year, I have training contact with at least a hundred or more dogs and hundreds of clients. My classes always teach husbandry and handling for any age dog, but the shelter dogs and private clients require more advanced skills. The behavior we see in the shelter is resource guarding, arousal, aggression, and fear, and with my private clients, I work with anxiety, fear, aggression, and reactivity. Using the more advanced and refined skills I would acquire in this class, I would be able to transfer this knowledge to those I mentor, affect the lives and adoptability of our most challenging dogs, and help many, many dogs stay in their homes.
I currently have 3 horses, 2 donkeys and 4 dogs who would benefit from the course. My Instagram is growing and I try to share what I learn. I reach 4.6k a month which is growing. I also volunteer helping people with their animals in the local area.
I have taken on a youngster and a ottb. Who I’m training and sharing my journey. I’m also doing free teaching in my local area. When I’ve learnt more I hope to help more.
This course would help me gain confidence in what I already know. It would also help me learn the why, not only the how. I’m sure it would help me become a more rounded person meaning I can do better for my animals. I would also understand more so can share to others more effectively.
Hi Karolina
I am really grateful to have the opportunity to apply for a scholarship.
1) Directly: aprox 60 per year. I teach small classes (4 dogs) that run 2-3 months. I also do 1:1. I feel that this way I learn more about what each dog owner struggles with in regards of communication with their dog. For me it´s more about quality than quantity. Indirectly: many more, since I have daily contact to a vet clinic. I believe that when we work together, vets and trainers, we can educate dog (animal) owners to communicate better with their animal, and thereby improve quality of life for everybody.
2+3) I teach dog owners how dogs communicate with us, and how we best communicate back. When we understand eachother, all training, and behavior therapy, become much more fluent and fun. I am a bit of a brain nerd, so I try to combine neuroscience with dog training, but in a way that´s easy to understand.
To be granted a scholarship would help me so much! I could save for a year (until April 2024) but I SO need new inspiration now :-). My great passion is working with dogs. I get up at 4:15 AM, walk my dogs, go to my cleaning job 6-11AM, just to pay the bills, so that I can spend the day with my passion and the only place it makes sense for me to be: Working with dogs.
Best regards
Tina
I am a registered veterinary technician of 36 years and LOVE to learn! It has always been about the animals for me, making their appointments/hospitalization athe best experience it could be!!!
I work with animals every day and we so many behavioural issues all the time especially with covid puppies!
R+ behavioural education is so needed right now. Everyone is looking for quick fixes with e collars, prong collars, etc causing further damage to their pet. It’s a terrible thing to deal with!
I would love to be able to help individual people and their dogs! This is something I gave wanted to do for a very long time!! Give back! To help a community in need, that maybe do not have the funds!
There is the same need for cats and kittens. More and more behavioural issues are seen with cats. If I can help them any way I can, that would be perfect! They break my heart at work as they are such home bodies that hate change!
I help teach younger technicians in my place of work all the time. To help people better understand that fear/aggression come from the same place often could help co workers take a better stance!
This would be an incredible opportunity for me which I would cherish!
My name is Gen Husak and I’m a positive reinforcement trainer and grad student in clinical mental health counseling. My ultimate goal upon graduating with my master’s in 2025 is to practice equine assisted therapy utilizing principles of positive reinforcement. Too often, equine assisted therapy programs require or expect human clients to treat the horses with unscientific, punishment-based methods. I have personally been a client, volunteer, or employee in several of those programs. This obviously has significant negative impacts on horse welfare, and is also harmful to many of the human clients, especially those seeking mental health counseling due to abuse or trauma and finding themselves asked to reenact violent dynamics with horses as a part of the therapy. I want to bring a more educated and ethical perspective to an industry in which professionals often lack formal education in animal behavior. I also work as a positive reinforcement trainer and have a full training horse client, whose training and care I handle fully. Because my grad school tuition is so high (approx $60,000 USD per year), I have to take out a lot of loans and can’t afford to pay full price for most behavior and training courses. I really appreciate the opportunity to apply for this scholarship!
Natalie Keegan here – Founder and Director of Operations at Kids-4-K9s, Inc.; Owner/Lead Trainer at My Creative K9, LLC. I have been an animal trainer for seventeen years. My unofficial introductory mentor is Karen Pryor, but I have been fortunate to have many other opportunities to learn from experts over the years (including Bob Bailey, Ken Ramirez, Susan Friedman, Kathy Sdao, and Turid Rugaas). And I have been following https://www.facebook.com/illis.se for a bit now and participated in the Master Class virtually). I believe we should always look to increase our knowledge and skills. I also teach people how to help and manage their animals using science-based strategies as a humane educator in schools/communities and as a positive trainer and new trainer mentor. I work with a variety of animals each year in my role as trainer/behavior consultant. I offer workshops to shelter staff and volunteers, community centers, and schools about science-based methods, and often offer these services to underserved populations for a reduced rate or free, because I also don’t want financial constraints to limit access to this information. My guiding principles include creating opportunities for families to learn about and advocate for the ethical treatment of animals and to promote compassion in everyday interactions. I would love the opportunity to participate in your Advanced Animal Training Course to continue my learning journey – both as an instructor and a trainer. Thank you for taking the time to read this and considering my request.
HI. My name is Sivan and I thank you for this opportunity. I have worked with horses, dogs, goats, and different animals for 20 years. Ten years ago I crossed over to Force free training methods. For the past seven years I founded and professionally directed a horse assisted therapy center for people with complex disabilities. I also co-founded a business called Dialog with Horses which aims to spread knowledge about FF training and relationships based on dialog. I also teach dog therapy to “Marker training” students that want to help kids and adults through dog therapy.
In the past two years I have started a non-profit organization with the goal of being a rehabilitation center for abused animals and a therapy and educational center for humans. This center will be located in southern Israel. When the center will open there will be 6 horses, 6 donkeys, 10 goats, 10 sheep and other animals (cats, dogs and chickens) that will directly benefit from me taking your course. Hopefully all the participants and visitors will go home as ambassadors for this new language with animals so I believe that many more animals will be influenced.
In the past few years I viewed many of your teachings and videos online. I have learned so much from you and you have greatly influenced me and my work. I would love to continue learning from you.
Over time hundreds of dogs would benefit from me taking your course.
I’ve completed KPACTP and LLA with Susan Friedman. LLA with Susan was a lightbulb moment in my training. I’m an Agility Instructor. I concentrate on introducing people to the sport. I work with pet owners with little or no experience in dog training. They come to me wanting to strengthen their relationship, spend more time with or use up their dogs energy..or because they watched Crufts. I try to always be inclusive. I take all dogs and people regardless of age or mobility. I want there to be as little barrier to entry as possible. I don’t charge the earth and I won’t discriminate due to breed of dog either; whether that’s chowchow or borzoi. Everyone is welcome.
I do, however think that my partnerships would benefit hugely from me knowing more than I do. Sometimes people think their dogs are bored. They’re yawning out of context. They’re confused, unsure of what’s expected of them. Its my job to help the owner understand; adjust the environment or training accordingly. Agility isn’t easy if its trained properly but because lots of dogs come to me with little of no training they rely on me being able to see ‘things’ so I can really help them to get the most out of the class as they can. I think your class would be exactly what I need to take my role as an instructor to the next level.
1. To give you a number at how many animals would be helped is quite the feet! However in my area where I live, so many people were brought up with harsher discipline and have a mentality that their dogs are their property and a good dog must obey. The trainers in my area cater to this belief system and offer quick fixes. I have been a professional trainer in my area now for 1 year, focusing on adding joy, clarity, and connection for owners and their dogs.
2. I have not started official teaching yet for animal behavior however I have many people tell me they would come learn from me because they have never experienced their dog in a way I describe and they want me to help them understand a different way and understand their dog and what they’re telling their owners.
3. Like I mentioned, I want to help my community see their dogs in a different light. Not as property but as sentient beings seeking joy, safety, and love. Having a more solid understanding of the many concepts this training offers would help assure my community that I know what I’m doing and talking about. I see many clients with dysfunctional family units that spills over in many ways than just their relationship with their dog, but also with each other. Changing the way we see our dogs is just the start of changing the way we see our family, our community, and ourselves.
1. Ca 100 hundar och hundägare per år.
2. Jag är hundtränare och brinner för att få nya hundägare att förstå deras hundar bättre för hundarnas skull.
3. Det är stor skillnad på aversiv hundträning som folk ser på tv, youtube och andra sociala medier och den träning jag vill bedriva. Att ta hänsyn till djurens känslor och att ge dem kontroll ökar välbefinnandet enormt hos djuren och det är det jag vill få fler hundägare att förstå, istället för att kuva hundar till lydnad. Vi vet ju att det går att få lyckliga lydiga hundar utan att vara en diktator.
Jag köpte kursen förra året, men pga ohälsa har jag inte hunnit slutföra den tyvärr.
My name is Leigh and I work in animal rescue and volunteer my time to help at the only Cat Rescue in my area. I also help with so-called aggressive dogs at the local shelter and to find homes for dogs in need. I currently have one a puppy at my home that has survived Parvo, that I will eventually adopt out when he gets ready. Taking this course would help me to advance my skills and be able to help more animals and to give better advice to the people that care for these animals. I get asked often to help people with their dog’s training and I would like to advance my knowledge. I currently own several dogs, all of which are trained and can go off leash with me on my property.
I do not do any animal related teaching currently but I would love to start educating people more on understanding how these animals communicate.
If this course landed in my lap it would help to advance my knowledge and understanding of these animals so that I would be better prepared to communicate with them and to help instruct the people who care for them better. Just being able to give people a better understanding of their animals and better information would make a difference. If I could take this course, I would definitely use what I learned to give today’s society a better understanding of how to communicate with animals.
I have 2 goats, 2 cats and 3 Doberman dogs. I have passed a Canine psychology paper at University here in New Zealand but now wish to interact with my animals especially my dogs on a deeper, more personal level so that they will become well trained companions. I am interested in agility work to keep them physically fit and mentally alert. I love my animals and would be so grateful if you would be able to financially assist me to achieve the training goals you set in your amazing course. very many thanks for the opportunity!
Hi
Thank you for offering this amazing opportunity .
I am a dog trainer who loves to learn as I believe we never stop learning . This would help me to expand my knowledge with more skills I can bring to my clients and the rescues where I volunteer .
My own approach to training has always been a holistic approach , where the relationship and bonds are the first approach to being able to then move onto training with behaviour that both souls understand , helping guardians and potential guardians to understand how we can form relationship based on trust and love is so rewarding being able to offer more tools to them to add in their toolkit by tools I like to add is understanding how a dog thinks and why they may react in happiness, sadness or just are unsure when a guardian is in tune with the feelings and emotions they are able to make better choices and help their dogs .
So for me it would be adding the tools from this course and passing onto others to share the knowledge forward , which is the most amazing gift to give due to your course.
Thank you for this opputunity. I think its beautifull that you wish for this importent knowledge and wisdom to be spread. In my current situation at this moment about 30 animals will benifith directly from your wisdom. But indirect a lot more. I have a big community and love to share new insights and are really nerdy. I also have a horse instructor/person community were we love to play together and share knowledge. And I have been doing a lot of teaching in the last 20 years. And im really bit by the training bug. I love to train, share life with, understand, search knowledge, read about, talk about and learn from animals. Right now i’m finding my place in life again, after having cancer. One step at a time, Animals made this journey so much easier. In fact animals made my whole life so much richer. My greatest wish is to give back what they have given me. The support, make life better, share importent wisdom. Talk about both the inside and the outside. I’m also a therapist so the inside and the feelings are of great interest for me. Talk about the whole animal.
1. I want to help as many cat owners and cats as possible. I want to help cats by helping their owners to understand the feline world. I focus on rescue cats and my motto is My favorite breed is rescued.
2. Yes, I am starting a small business of my own. In March 2023 I ran a free beta round on my online course about feline behavior. The feedback was positive and it motivated me to study more so that I can teach and help more cat owners. Unfortunately some people seem to think that a cat is an easy pet but in fact every cat needs a lot of enrichment and playtime. It is important that cat owners know how to meet the needs of their cat and how their cat experiences the world. I am a cat owner and all of my cats are rescue cats who were shy and scared in the beginning.
3. Every cat deserves a loving and caring home. I want to help rescue cats to be more confident and cat owners to understand a cat’s needs, behavior and gestures. I want to help cat owners to be more confident and to overcome any fear they might have when it comes to handling a rescue cat, i.e. cutting nails, putting a cat in a carrier box etc. My goal is: Help felines. Support and advise cat owners by finding solutions in a positive way.
I am university Equine Science student. I also just applied to the IAABC and submitted my exam to be a Certified Equine Behaviour Consultant. If I achieve this, in Canada, I will be the only Certified Equine Behaviour Consultant between Quebec and British Columbia! The equestrian world has a long way to go but we are evolving slowly. One of the things I personally struggle with the most is taking all the knowledge in my head and explaining it in small digestible chunks to my human learners as we do with our animal learners. There is always just so much I want to share! I think this course would be invaluable not only to my own learning but in helping me evolve as a human teacher. I have completed the Getting Behaviour course a few years ago and I loved it and I loved you as a teacher. Thus, I am hoping to not only gain knowledge but to also leave with a few golden nuggets on how I might go about teaching these very important concepts! Currently, I offer my services pro bono for cases of severe equine abuse and to a few equine rescue charities. With the equestrian world slowly embracing change I hope the information I would leave with in this course would be part of a whole equid welfare revolution world wide!!! Too much to ask for??? Hopefully in my lifetime I can at least inspire others to make some much needed change.
Hi
Thank you for this opportunity I am so passionate about increasing my knowledge on dog behaviour.
1 have a small training business and a passion for helping owners understand and relate to their dogs with compassion and knowledge. To this end I am planning free half day seminars in my city with local councils also on board. This could affect hundreds of dogs.
2 Currently I teach puppy classes one on one consults and volunteer as assessor/trainer for Outreach Therapy Pets and Dog Safety in schools.
3 I believe this training would be so beneficial in helping me deepen my knowledge and therefore my community of dog owners to better understand how dogs learn and how to help owners teach thier dogs to navigate in a safe and more compassionate way in our human world. I learnt so much from the free videos and the information in this course is exactly what I need to better serve my community and the dogs we care for.
I’m trainer, educate new trainers and am a dog behavior consultant – all of it for free. I have 5 dogs myself and are to breed puppies in late summer.
Every year: i train 20-35 dogs, I educate about 45-60 dogtrainers and I help about 20-30 dogowners with problems.
I’m a public pensioner
I’m Rani Demeestere, a 21 year old Belgian student. I have a chronic painsyndrome in my leg which causes me to use crutches for many things, but thanks to R+ I found a way to keep training animals.
I live with my dog, 2 ponies, 2 goats and 3 guinea pigs and all of them get trained with R+. Together with my ponies and goats I teach kids. I wanted to become a public school teacher, but they stopped my studies midway due to schools not accepting my painsyndrome. So now I’m taking a course to focus on teaching together with my animals.
Aside from my animals, the animals of my students will also benefit from me taking the course. One of my students for example lives next to his grandpa’s farm and wishes to take over the farm once he’s older.
Due to being a student and disabled I’m sadly not in a position to pay for the course. Since not many workplaces accept disabled people I’m looking to make a living for myself. And as previously stated my passion really lies with animaltraining and teaching. So I want to teach kids/teens how to be around animals and train animals in a kind way. One where the welfare of the animal is equal to ours. If we teach the next generation that the welfare of animals is important, and doesn’t help only them but us too, hopefully they will help us create a world where animalwelfare is priority.
Hi! First I thought that its to much to ask for… but then I realised that not asking for something that you really really would love is stupid, so here I am again. The financial situation is not better but to have access to your course would make my life better even so. That I know from experience.
1. At this stage 4 would directly benefit from me doing this course.
2. I don’t do any animal teaching other than my own animals at this point.
3.i very much believe in R+ training and my horse,who is not rideable at this stage,would greatly benefit from fun activities to keep his mind active. As for my cats, I would love to understand their behavior better. It would make a difference to them as my interactions with them will come from a better place of understanding
I run an all breed dog rescue in Arizona. We’ve saved over 2,000 dogs from being euthanized over the years. And annually rescue between 100-250 dogs(a couple of cats too) The pandemic slowed us down a bit but, we are still working to save lives, everyday.
I teach positive reinforcement dog training to the adopters of my dogs so, they will have the necessary skills to be successful and keep my rescue dog happy & healthy. It’s part of the adoption package.
This opportunity to broaden my training knowledge/skills, will enable me to help even more families successfully navigate pet ownership, in a positive way. And help dogs stay out of the shelter system due to trainable behavioral issues.
I work with around 40 dogs a week and also have a large following on Instagram where I hope to share knowledge to help dog owners. Anything I’ve shared in relation to co-operative care before has always drawn a lot of interest – even if it is just planting a seed in someone’s head that there is an alternative, kinder force-free way to do things that give their much loved pets a choice!
I teach both in person and online sessions. At the moment it’s mainly trick based but I incorporate elements of co-operative care and try to encourage people to really ‘listen’ to their dogs and adapt their training to suit each individual dogs needs, then apply what they have learnt to real life situations, such as the vets.
I find it very rewarding helping to shift owners mindsets from ‘my dog is being stubborn’ to ‘my dog is having a hard time – how can I help them?’
I’m always looking to increase my knowledge – a lot of what I do I developed when my own dog became seriously ill and became extremely fearful of the world following his recovery. We started trying things at home together to help him cope and make him happy again. This experience has definitely sparked a desire to learn more and a passion to help dogs that struggle to cope with everyday life!
I don’t feel that I’ve even scratched the surface yet of what there is to learn!
1. I work in the behavior department of a high intake animal shelter. We do behavior assessments, we design and implement behavior modification plans and I do behavior consultations with fosters, adopters and clients. Every year, we work with an average of 25% of the animals that come to the shelter, meaning around 4.500 dogs, cats and critters will benefit from me taking this course.
2. I am responsible for teaching animal behavior, animal handling and behavior modification to our new staff. I want my team to have excellent knowledge on ethology, learning theory and the principles of positive training. I love science and I want to transmit this passion to my team and help them be better professionals. I will be creating a presentation on applied learning theory at the end of the year and this course will be extremely valuable to do so.
3. My team and I would be better able to assist animals with behavior challenges in a science based, low stress, fear free and positive way. Thousands of animals in my community would find homes faster, which would allow us to care for more animals; we would be able to better help adopted animals successfully remain in their homes; and we would be able to reduce the euthanasia rate for behavior reasons.
1. I have a small team of twelve education ambassador birds (raptors and corvids) that I work with directly who benefit from my further education and skill building to give them the best welfare and lives possible. I also help to train our staff and volunteers that work with many other birds (and mammals and reptiles) at other facilities that would benefit.
2. Yes, I train trainers and education staff handling and caring for our birds as well as volunteers that work for other wildlife education facilities who take the knowledge and experience they get here with them.
3. I have taken the Animal Emotions course (twice now) and found it has helped me a lot by adding another piece to the puzzle of my holistic understanding of animal training and welfare for captive wildlife. As a wildlife rehabilitator & educator caring for ambassador birds and training new trainers it would give me the opportunity to level up my own skills and pass this knowledge. This opportunity would make a difference and benefit both my own birds and those in the care of others who come to learn at our facility. We are a small non-profit with a very small budget for this sort of training and have paid for previous of your classes which have been a big help and would love the chance to learn from this one as well.
1. I would love to touch the lives of as many animals and their families as I can. Specifically I want to sign up with my local animal shelters to help rescue pups and their new families build strong foundations and unbreakable bonds. Many times families can become overwhelmed as dogs are still adjusting and having help could greatly reduce the number of dogs returned to the shelter.
2. Working Dogs for Vets placed a Service Dog In Training named Alf with me, and over the past 3 months I’ve learned more than I can imagine. My entire perspective has changed. I went from expecting a perfect working robot to accepting his feelings, his fears, and learning how to be his best friend and protector, instead of his boss. We’ve come so far, and have so far to go. Because of him I’ve found a new passion and love in understanding animals, how they learn, and how they feel. I want to be the best me for him.
3. Being a Veteran, and understanding how having a companion can drastically change quality of life, I want to work with Working Dogs For Vets to help other Veterans rescue shelter dogs and change not just their lives, but the lives of their families as well. Most of all, I want an amazing life with Alf. He saved my life. I want him to be happy, confident, and healthy. This course can help me accomplish that and more.
1. While my client base is currently small, I also work at my local animal shelter and see dozens of different animals every week, from large dogs to small rodents. I am always looking to bring new behavior knowledge to our facility, so that we can make their stay as positive as possible, and set them up for success in their new homes.
2. Yes! I run a small dog training business. I currently teach puppy classes, where we work on some of the basic obedience that people expect like sit and down, but, our main focus is on social skills, reading body language, how to introduce dogs to new experiences safely, and the baby basics of cooperative care. I’m hoping to expand my services to cats in a few years’ time, as I am currently doing a virtual behavior mentorship with a feline behavior consultant across the country.
3. For me it would expand the opportunity to share my knowledge in different spheres. The community I live in now is lucky to have many science-based R+ trainers. However, my hometown is still stuck in outdated methods. I would love to be able to bring my knowledge back there and run clinics/seminars on positive reinforcement training, and how it isn’t just limited to tricks, but can also be used for behavior consulting! I would also love to bring more information into the shelter, as our behavior policies still haven’t quite caught up to the rest of the world.