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 four 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 22nd at midnight PDT, 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 might not become visible immediately – you might just be brought to the top of the page. No worries, the comment is in limbo waiting for approval, which should occur within 12 hours. If it’s been more than 15 hours and you still don’t see it, let me know!
31 replies on “Advanced Animal Training Scholarships”
I live in Denmark. In a city called Horsens.
I have one dog myself. In my sphere I have weekly contact to approx 10 dogs. Plus different friends and puppy owners.
I train as a student on 2 different teams.
One course is for beginners in rally. I am a co instructor, due to self taught experience and self studies.
Team two is for me to be better where I participate with 5 other people with ambitions like me.
I do a lot of selftraining to where I help friends and puppy owners.
I would be alle to give more knowledge baseret guidance to the People I help and encounter with. I Would be æble to give answers, see solutions from what I observe, and teach people why things are the way they are.
My community would benefit by having an instruktør that can help them in the correct way based on facts and knowledge. I an be the anchor for a lot of inexperienced dog owners in a area where instruktor are hard to find
I am fluid in english despite the bad writing. My Ipad does not have the english spelling package.
I dont have a job anymore so that is why I am applying for the scolarship
I live in North Yorkshire, England. Approximately 500+ dogs each year could benefit from the knowledge this course would provide me with, along with a smaller number of cats who reside alongside them.
I currently teach as part of a team supporting an online community of reactive dog owners, delivering live webinars and online courses. I also serve as a trustee and volunteer for a dog rescue charity, where I educate our foster carers on training, behaviour, and how best to support the welfare of the dogs in their care.
If I were given the opportunity to take part in this course, it would not only strengthen my own knowledge of advanced training concepts and their practical application, but also allow me to give back even more to the dog-owning community. I’ve been involved in the rescue sector for the past eight years and have seen first-hand how behavioural issues—often made worse by a lack of understanding or poor advice—can leave owners feeling overwhelmed and unable to cope.
With the confidence and skills gained from this course, I would love to expand my behaviour sessions to the wider public. Through the rescue’s local reach, I hope to implement my learning by continuing to support dogs in need, while also opening up free online webinars and providing low-cost support to the community. My goal is to help prevent relinquishments and keep more dogs in loving homes, while supporting the wellbeing of both dogs and their people every step of the way.
Recently, I validated a degree in Applied Animal Management (Lincoln College, UK; Lincoln = my hometown) where students learn about domestic, farm, exotic, and wild animals in various contexts. A dominant theme through the course is animal behaviour and training, where we look into co-operative care within animal husbandry, alongside specialist training for working roles within society. To deliver this, I teach on modules across all three years of our honours degree, and we integrate frequent practical days within industry; our main partners being newly established small scale zoos. So, we are all in our infancy in our animal training journey. Previously my focus was on the physiological aspects of animal training for fitness purposes, but with a career change my interests are diversifying. Recent student projects have involved crate training of ring-tailed lemurs and station training of wallabies. So far, this has been an amazing transition, and through seeing my recent graduates flourish whilst working with big cats, bears, donkeys etc. I am driven to enhance the course further. A place on your course would be an incredible opportunity for me to enrich my skills and lecture material further so that I can share high quality and current knowledge with my students (present and graduates), as well as our zookeepers. Ensuring that training protocols are explained, designed and performed with full understanding to enhance the care and welfare of approximately 30 animals directly and 60+ indirectly, per year, initially. The taster sessions were amazing! Thank you so much.
At the moment I live in Espoo Finland. I really would need to take this course, to help, apart from my own three dogs, as many client dogs as possible. As a dog trainer, I work with clients with different issues with their dogs, for example separation anxiety or fear of handling. I love the nerdy side of all training related, and want to understand more to better help clients and other dog-owners. As I am not a well known trainer, it is hard to get people to participate in lectures and other means of sharing important information, so the course would give me accreditation for my learning and a means to share these important topics more largely. Also, one can never learn enough, so I feel with this course I would get more “meat on the bone” for some of the things I feel I know, but do not have the necessary knowledge or reference for why it is so. In Finland many trainers are very behaviorists, forgetting the larger picture with learning, emotions, environment and conditioning, so I feel a broader understanding in our dogtraining-world is needed. I wish to make animals more understood and give the owners an understanding of the animal as it is, not what society thinks it should be.
I live in Athens, Greece with my two doggies. I am a dog trainer, offering voluntary services to shelters and rescue organizations — providing daily walks, emotional release, socialization, and resolving behavioral challenges that may hinder adoption. I also foster “difficult cases,” offering them a safe home for as long as they need. Additionally, I visit schools to teach children to approach animals with respect and empathy.
I am also a biologist specializing in behavioral neuroscience, currently completing my PhD on how early life experiences shape development and behavior.
Welfare is not optional. A stressed animal cannot reveal its true nature — and true knowledge cannot emerge from suffering. Training is not about commands; it’s about connection. There are no quick fixes. Every challenge is multifactorial, requiring a holistic approach: physical exercise, mental stimulation (sniffing, puzzles, games), emotional understanding, proper nutrition, patience, and empathy.
We barely scratch the surface of animal behavior. For instance, neutering male animals doesn’t always suppress mating-related behaviors, especially in the presence of females in heat — suggesting testosterone isn’t produced exclusively in the testes. Yet research often looks elsewhere, driven by other priorities.
How can we assess an animal’s behavior if it lives under chronic stress? How differently would the same animal behave toward a human it truly trusts?
Dog training is not about control; it’s about building a relationship, guided by science, shaped by empathy, and fueled by trust.
1) Hi my name is Tom, I live in Greece, Athens. I’m finishing soon my classes for dog training and i’m interested in learning as much as possible from reputable reliable sources.
2) Aside my four pets (1 dog, 3 cats) i’m volunteering in a well known non profit greek organisation for rescued animals (all sorts) and training them to bring out their best potentional, either for finding their home or becoming therapy animals if they are fit and happy to do so.
3) Not yet
4) I want to learn as much as possible to have the proper tools to help as many animals i can. It’s hard to find reputable sources that make you feel that the knowledge you’re taking is centered around the wellfare of the animal. What i hope to gain from this course is deep understanding of animal training in a way that’s based on communication and connection with the animal being the beneficiary.
I live in North Queensland Australia. I am one person with one dog. I don’t teach. I am a lone advocate in my community for force-free training, to anyone who will listen. I am a drop in the ocean, but every drop has a ripple effect and who knows where and how far it will go.
I was surrounded by horses and dogs as a child and worked with horses into early adulthood. I taught at our local pony club as well as a few private clients. Life circumstances took me away from animals for some years. Until now. I share my life with one special dog who has been the catalyst into my journey of ‘can I do better?’
Looking back, I’m not proud of my ignorance and the unrealistic expectations I had of my animals as a child. Undoubtedly I did love them. I could have listened to them more.
My journey has begun. I am hooked and down the burrow. Every new learning is like a gift to my dog and I have absolute joy in seeing her blossom and live a better life as a result.
Your teaching resonates so strongly with me, it’s the gap between training and really connecting, the two way dance, as you say. The opportunity to delve even deeper is elusive, but whatever happens, thank you for being the large part of my journey that you already have been.
1. Near Plattsburgh, NY, USA.
2. My own horses, dogs & cats, plus currently 6-8 client horses. I hope to continue expanding my knowledge and work with many more horses in the future. My partner works with dogs, her clients benefit from this education as well.
3. Yes, I have been teaching several people in my barn how to begin implementing positive reinforcement with their horses, and would like to do more. My goal is to spread knowledge regarding force free training to as many people as possible.
4. This course sounds like exactly what’s been missing in my education. I’ve been working with horses my entire life, but have only truly learned to implement full R+ training in the last few years. While it’s completely transformed my approach to training, much of the courses accessible to me are very basic and lacking in nuance. I have a solid understanding of the science behind operant and classical conditioning, and practical experience training horses and dogs with R+. I find myself hitting blocks with more advanced concepts, and unable to find answers in the resources I can afford. I’m particularly interested in learning more advanced approaches to cooperative care. I work with a few animals whom have some severe veterinary related trauma, for whom the basics are just not cutting it. This course could allow me to completely change their experience, make veterinary care cooperative & pleasant, as well as show the power of positive reinforcement training to the owners.
I live in northern Minnesota, USA, where I run a thriving in-person dog training business. Each week, I work with approximately 50 dogs and their people through group classes and private sessions. I also teach online through the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, where I reach hundreds of students around the world. My teaching spans all life stages and skill levels—from puppy socialization and basic manners to advanced dog sports like rally, obedience, and agility. I’m passionate about making positive reinforcement training accessible and practical so that dogs and people can thrive together.
Through both platforms, I help teams build strong, respectful relationships using science-based, reward-based methods. I’m committed to lifelong learning so I can continue offering effective, compassionate support. Every time I grow as a trainer, it directly benefits the animals and humans I work with.
In addition to dogs, I’ve trained horses, chickens, and even a chinchilla. I’m especially interested in expanding the use of positive reinforcement in horse training, where it’s still gaining traction—particularly in my area.
Admission to the Advanced Animal Training course would deepen my knowledge, sharpen my skills, and inspire new ideas I can bring to both my local community and global students. The impact would be far-reaching—from improving the daily lives of animals in my care to empowering their humans with better tools and understanding. This opportunity would elevate not just my work, but the experience of every learner and animal I support.
Hi, My name is Rebecca and I live in Scotland, UK. I previously started my own business as a certified dog trainer and since then I have progressed to working as an animal keeper in a safari park. I take part in multiple daily training sessions with California Sea Lions (6) and humboldt penguins (17).
I started my animal training journey 9 years ago working in an animal rescue working with dogs with different behavioural problems in which we trained in order to successfully rehome. I then took on my own dogs with reactivity issues and decided to study and take training to the next level by certifying as a dog trainer and helping others with similar behavioural problems, until I had the opportunity to work with and train California sea lions! I have found there is so much more in depth knowledge to learn by going from mainly dogs to animals training as a whole. I am such an animal training geek and just want to absorb as much as I can, especially in my early days of animal training. After watching the 3 videos you offered for free, I’m obsessed and this is exactly what I’m needing to progress in my career, help my colleagues more, as well as ensure I’m having a positive and enriching impact on the animals lives that I currently work with. I have officially been bitten by the training bug!
Thank you for taking the time to consider me!
Hi! I’m Eveliina, a real animal trainer geek, and I live in Oulu, Finland. I’m a professional animal trainer and i work with cats. I have 2-10 customers per week and i do also lectures about cats well-being, behavior and training for cat assosiations in Finland.
I’ve been studying a lot but that mini course gave me still so so many new ideas! I love the way you make even the most difficult things sound easy (giving me many “aaaa now i really know what that means and i could actually use it also like this!”-moments) and when getting the deeper understanding it gives many new tools for training! There is so much interesting things in this course, and i would get a lot of this deeper understanding – i use and think about these things in my work everyday. Myös clients are usually cats who have problematic behavior (such as difficult treatments, stress, learned helplessness etc) and I’d just LOVE to hear your lessons about control, motivations, behavioral analysis, negative reinforcements etc – you can never have too many tools and informations about training. I wanna be the best trainer for my clients so that i can help the cats and get more happy cats (and also happy cat owners) in the world and let people know that cat oriented life and training makes happy and confident cats – this course would help me to do this better!
As a certified dog trainer and behavior therapist based in Amstelveen, The Netherlands, I teach group classes, offer private training and support behavioral cases. While I specialize in issues like separation anxiety and reactivity, my main focus is helping dogs and their people succeed through structured, practical training based on positive reinforcement, never fear or force. With five years of experience, I’ve come to understand that real progress happens when we recognize the dog not just as a learner, but as an emotional and cognitive being.
Each year, I support around 2000 dogs and their families. In my free time, I volunteer my time for families facing hardship, because I believe every dog deserves the chance to thrive, and every person deserves guidance they can trust. Additionally, I contribute to a community of 8,000 Rhodesian Ridgeback owners on Facebook, offering advice and guidance to prevent unnecessary rehoming of this beloved but often challenging breed.
This application offers a rare chance to deepen my scientific understanding and sharpen my teaching. I’m especially excited to explore concept- and loopy training, as well as other tools mentioned. Tools that promote clarity and cooperation in learning. It would allow me to translate cutting edge science into hands on practice, elevating the quality of the training and support I offer. With better tools, I can help even more dogs succeed and more families find confidence and connection. Ultimately, this course isn’t just about what I’ll learn, it’s about what I’ll be able to give back.
Hopefully you will have no trouble posting it, thanks again for helping me.
Hello.
1.I live in Croatia,Rijeka.
2. It would benefit my own two dogs and four cats. Also it would benefit 5 horses where I volunteer and a lot of dogs that come to me from shelter as I volunteer as a pet sitter until they found forever home.
3. Not professionaly,but almost every day there is some sort of teaching with my owns and rescue(whith them is lot of teaching,training and making connection and trust.)
I am working with lots of different individuals characteristics.
4. It would help me to be better,to understand every animal around me better and help them. It would help my animals and every single one that I know through volunteering and ones that will come to me. Also people around me who ask me for advice and looking support,new family which decided to adopt. It would make difference as I would get knowledge that I could spread.
“Do the best you can, until you know better”
Animals are my world and I am happy that I found my purpose,making safer and better world for them and giving them the best that I can.
I love learning and I am always looking with joy to learn and upgrade my knowledge.
I live in Skåne, south of Sweden, and am
presently working with dogs at a big boarding house. It’s a center with dog day care and rehabilitation too. I’m a Dog psycholgist and have been teaching a number of different courses over the years. I thrive in dog behaviours and how they learn and is a total geek. There is not many things in life that’s more fullfilling than a new aha-moment, when I learn something new concearning this topic and implementing this new knowledge with the dogs I’m meeting at work and my own at home (now one, but soon two). I actively train dog sports with my own dogs. With more knowledge I hope to become a better person and trainer for the dogs I’m meeting/owning. If I’m better I can also imply more clarity for them in our communication and they will feel better. Dogs have saved my life and now I want to do my best to understand them and be the best I can for them.
I live in Italy, where I’m building a career in dog behavior, training, and osteopathy.
Dozens of animals already benefit directly from my work at a local shelter and with private clients. Indirectly, many more will benefit as I continue expanding my practice, collaborate with other professionals, and share what I learn with the community.
I support pet owners by teaching them how to understand and manage their dog’s behavior. While this is mostly informal now, I aim to develop it into structured educational opportunities.
This course would significantly enhance my knowledge and skills, especially in working with dogs that have behavioral challenges. It would allow me to be more effective in my volunteer work, improve the lives of the animals I care for, and offer more informed support to owners. It would also strengthen the link between physical and behavioral health—key to my vision of holistic animal care—and help me become a resource for my community.
1)I live in Alberta, Canada.
2) In my work in the Behaviour Department at a Humane Society, I Interact with 100s of different dogs each year. I have worked in animal shelters for the last 10 years.
2) Yes, I teach classes twice weekly at the Humane Society and see dogs in their homes privately on a part time basis. Puppy classes, reactive dog classes, and everyday manners classes. I am lucky to be able to share my time and expertise with lots of dog owners and adopters.
3) If this course landed in my lap, it would take my training to the next level. The knowledge would empower me with new perspectives and skills which I can apply to my work, not only as a behaviour team member at a Humane Society, and as a trainer working with dogs and their people, but in my own life. In my interactions with my own animals, and with the people in my life. With more tools in the tool box, more perspectives to consider, and a deep dive into the behaviour, this course would really elevate my training skills which would help so many dogs and their people in our community.
1. Köln, Germany
2. I am not sure, but I think something about 40-60 animals a year.
3. Yes, I have just received my approval from the Vet Office of Köln to work as a dog trainer.
4. Getting into the Advanced Animal Training course would mean everything to me. This isn’t just a step in my career—it’s something that could change everything. I work with dogs struggling with deep fears like separation anxiety and noise phobia, and while I’ve already helped many, I know I could do so much more with the right guidance. My own dog, Wurst, led me down this path, and helping him completely changed our lives. I moved across the world for his well-being, and now I want to give that same hope to other families. This course would give me the tools, confidence, and knowledge to truly make a difference—for every anxious dog and every loving person who feels stuck and overwhelmed.
I want to become the person people turn to when they’ve lost hope. With this training, I could offer smarter, more effective support, backed by science and experience. It would help me build a business that’s not only kind and ethical but actually life-changing. I know in my heart that I’m meant to do this work, and this course is the missing piece.
1. Stockholm, Sweden
2. In private, we have 13 animals (Horses and cats), but as a veterinarian, I work with many different animals (mostly horses) every day.
3. I usually instruct owners on how to train their pets so that their next vet visit is hopefully less stressful for the animal.
4. It would help me greatly in my profession and handling the animals, who each have their own fears and discomforts that need to be addressed when working with them in all different aspects of care. I’ve worked a lot with the “Press and release” technique to be able to handle and/or examine/treat many of my patients and found that it is working wonders with some and not that great with others. Training the animals during stationary care, acute or plane visits is of course not the best setting, but I hope that with this course, I will gain valuable knowledge as well as learn how to use different techniques to try to make the vet experience for them as good as possible. As well as providing a safe work environment for myself and my assistants. In private I would love to be able to reach my traumatized horse and show her that we will not harm her, just help her. But she is currently hard to reach (and handle) because of her stress levels – and Press/release is not cutting it.
Hello.
I live Close to Oslo, Norway. The initial impact would be my two own dogs, but in extent it would also help friends, Family and Clients. I teach some classes, mostly Control unleashed, scent work and rally obedience. I hope I can guide and help People to have better understanding of their animals, but also understand better actions and causes.
We have a very good trend atm With positive training, but I see so many using punishment and extinction without thinking about it. I find it upsetting and not fitting into the R+ way, so many People just tell me to fix the symptoms of a high drive dog instead of working With the emotions and fixing them, that is why I would like to take this course. I believe we can help the dog to control and let out its emotions in better ways than throwing a ball for 20 minutes so your dog is drained enough to withstand being in a training facility with other dogs.
I wish to deepen my understandings and broaden the mind.
1. I live in Ontario, Canada.
2. In addition to my own menagerie of animals that include 2 dogs, a cat and a bird, I believe many of my clients and their pets will also benefit greatly.
3. My day job is as a canine hydrotherapist, I also teach both group and private dog training lessons and am on the behaviour team of a local bully breed rescue. My life has always been focused around animals and improving their quality of life; Whether it be from a physio aspect, or an emotional and behavioural one.
4. If this course landed in my lap, it would be such an amazing opportunity to grow my skill set to be able to help even more animals and their people. The animal emotions course was fantastic. A trainer friend of mine has taken the Advanced Animal Behaviour course and highly recommends it!
1. I live in St-Denis, a small village in Bas St Laurent, Qc, Canada.
2. For the moment, beside my 2 personal horses, I would say that about 20-30 horses and their owners in my community would benefit from me taking the course. This course would definitely help me deepen my knowledge and have a direct impact in my teaching by giving correct explanations for training steps and making useful links with the emotions and reactions that can be generated. This course will also be a huge plus for me to reach new potential student and work differently with the horses I train or new horses that come into my training program.
3. Yes, I do horse training and teaching. I’m a licenced Competition coach from Equestrian Canada (National equestrian federation in Canada). I strongly believe in continuous education and in the past years, my pet peeve is learning theories and understanding animals emotions, mostly from other animal training to improve my toolbox as a horse trainer.
4. I would definitely implement the concepts and assessments seen in the course to educate my students and other owners who are open to deepen their knowledge and develop a better understanding of learning and training concepts in horses. Let’s face it, horse training is actually based mostly on R- and barely considering the horses emotions. But I see a change from many owners who want to undersand the animal better and develop a stronger relation other than solely based on riding.
1. Eastern Cape, South Africa
2. Many! Attending this course would benefit my own animals, my clients animals, local village dogs, and shelter animals.
3. I currently run puppy classes at the local vet clinic and offer animal behaviour consultations in our area. I also work with animals in local shelters. In the future, I hope to become more involved in community animal welfare and education programmes.
4. There are very few reward-based trainers in my area, so I feel a lot of pressure to get things right 100% of the time. Attending this course would strengthen my ability to support the animals in my care, the people in my community, and my professional development by deepening my knowledge. While I feel fairly confident in my understanding of behaviour and training, I believe ongoing education is essential, especially in a field where new research is always emerging and misinformation remains common. In a small town like mine, where outdated methods and misconceptions still persist, gaining a stronger foundation in science-based techniques would help me gently (but confidently) challenge these views. The knowledge and skills from this course would allow me to better educate others and advocate for more humane, effective approaches to working with animals and their people. Ultimately, this opportunity would allow me to help improve the lives of the animals I work with and the people who care for them, encouraging stronger, more understanding and respectful relationships all round.
1.I live in the Netherlands and work as military k9 handler
2. First of all my own four dogs. Secondly my whole unit. Within next year I will be applying for a job as dog trainer within my own unit and I’m convinced this course will help me a great deal
3. Yes I do. I already help some of my colleagues with their training, especially within the obedience
4.Current training is old skool. We need more positive training skills and mindset
Dr Westlund,
I am an accredited dog trainer with the IAABC, and I hope to become a certified behavior consultant. I live in Nashville, Tn. USA., which is inundated with “balanced” trainers who use pain, intimidation, and “dominance” theory to force animals to “obey” commands. In middle Tennessee there are only a handful of trainers and behavior coaches who suscribe to the idea of building trusting relationships, helping animals feel safer, and recognizing that behind every unwanted behavior is an unmet need. Clients buy into their methods because the U.S. has a punitive culture, and citizens including myself, have been raised with various modalities of punishment. These people pass this mentality onto their dog training. I want to continuously improve my knowledge and skills so that I can be part of the change to a more human/pet cooperative mentality. Countless pets and humans will benefit from my continued education.
I have taken your free modules in the past and find them intriguing. I sign up for free seminars, but find that they just skim the surface of behavior. Your explanations are detailed, yet accessable, and make me use my brain. I currently work for a dog training company and make little money. It is a labor of love:)
I would love to be considered for a sholarship.
Hi Ginny, you didn’t leave an email unfortunately. If you answer this message with your email address (or contact me directly) I can let you know whether you received the scholarship! 🙂
Where do you live?
I live in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
How many animals would directly or indirectly benefit from your taking the course? I am in the process of completing an animal behaviour diploma with COAPE International, which I hope to finish towards the end of this year.
Do you do any animal-related teaching? I do offer some one – one lessons to individuals in this town, and I am assistant puppy school coach at a local animal clinic. I have been training my own dogs since about 2005.
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? I would like to educate more people about how to care better for the pets in their homes and lives. I would like to see more of the pets that are adopted from shelters, stay in the homes of the people who have adopted them. This might involve providing a care package information to the people who adopt pets from the local shelters, and hopefully I can get sponsorship for the printing and awareness campaign.
What difference would it make to you and the animals and people around you? I hope to be able to guide people to having better, compassionate relationships with the animals in their lives.
Lake Oswego, Oregon, US.
My own cats and aquarium pets + my clients & cats would benefit most directly. People who watch my YouTube videos would benefit indirectly. Growing my skills as a trainer could impact over 100 cats this year. The ripple effect could make a difference for years to come!
I have been teaching for 25+ years. I’m passionate about helping people have better relationships with other animals.
As a cat behavior consultant, I help clients better understand their cats’ needs. I create educational videos and write articles. Eventually, I hope to give presentations.
I used to teach an online cat training course for my local Parks & Rec. I’m currently developing an online cat training course that will include live meetings.
This course would give me an opportunity to experience the joy of learning, and to take my training to the next level! As my skills grow, I can create a more errorless experience for my clients and the cats that I work with. That means they will experience less frustration and fear. The course offers the opportunity to be part of a learning community. Our learning is greater through human connection.
There is a lot of “cultural fog” surrounding cats, but the tide is turning. The conversation has yet to extend to aquarium and terrarium pets – to consider their welfare and how it might improve through training. When we have a better understanding, we can make the world a kinder place for all creatures.
I live in South Carolina, USA.
How many animals would directly or indirectly benefit from my taking the class is hard to say. I am retired and work part time for a youth education non profit that provides speakers and therapy dogs to K-8 classrooms discussing the joys of pet companionship and the animal’s needs. Each child takes home a packet that includes a coloring book and some basic resources about giving our animal choices, equipment, etc. Our organization is looking to start to expand our reach and work directly with animals. If we include that information in the student packets, currently we serve around 2000 students a year. If even a small portion of those families reached out for direction in helping them with their relationship with their pet that would help keep a number of those animals in homes and out of shelters. I have taught youth camps that train shelter dogs, but this new outreach would be aimed at adults and more challenging cases. If admitted, this class would help me in helping others make science informed observations and teaching those reaching out for our knowledge and guidance. We are striving to create a lifesaving community for pets and people. Your consideration is greatly appreciated.
I live in Vilnius, Lithuania. I’m a physicist by training, but it was my first dog who truly changed my life. Through him, I discovered the world of animal training — not as a series of commands, but as a language of connection. That experience shaped my mission: to help others build stronger, more meaningful bonds with their animals through sport and active training.
Each year, over 200 dogs benefit directly or indirectly from my work. I run behavior consultations, lead group and individual sport classes, and prepare dogs and their owners for competitions. My focus is not on medals — it’s on helping owners understand their animals, communicate clearly, and grow together as a team.
My work is with everyday dog owners who want to bring more joy, structure, and mutual respect into their lives with their dogs.
Admission to the Advanced Animal Training course would be a life-changing opportunity. It would deepen my knowledge, improve my techniques, and give me new tools to support the animals and people I work with every day. With this course, I could create even more impact — not just by improving performance, but by helping build trust, confidence, and real partnership between species.
This is more than a course to me — it’s a chance to grow into the trainer and guide I know I can be.
Where do you live?
I live in Rosetta a small town in KZN South Africa but I work thoughout KZN.
How many animals would directly or indirectly benefit from your taking the course?
I am a qualified as a companion animal behaviourist with COAPE in 2022 and I run a dog training and behavioural business in KZN. I do a lot of pro bono work with rescue and rehabilitation centres including the SPCA so in addition to all the normal dogs I work with I can help all these animals that are under stress or have experienced trauma.
Do you do any animal-related teaching? Yes as stated above.
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? It would make a huge difference as I feel I need more understanding of how to activate the SEEKING and PLAY systems in the distressed dogs I work with, I learnt a huge amount from my previous course with you Animal Emotions but now I need to learn how to better apply all that I have learnt to be able to reach and help animals and their owners too.
Lodo Joshua Kojo
Growing up in Southern Ghana, surrounded by dogs, cats, monkeys, and sheep at home, sparked my lifelong passion for animals. My traditional Christian upbringing deepened my love for all creatures. I’m not a certified trainer, but I’ve unique, traditional animal communication skills passed down from my father.
This knowledge allows me to tame wild animals, fostering friendliness and emotional connection. I’ve successfully trained dogs, cats, and monkeys to live harmoniously, play together, and even adopt vegetarian diets. It’s a common sight at my home to see these animals enjoying fruits, snacks, drinks and roasted groundnuts together, abstaining from meat and fish. People and community children come to my house just to witness my trained vegetarian animals.
While I lack formal training, a childhood book on pet ownership ignited my interest. This Advanced Animal Training course is the key to bringing science-based training to my community. So many owners would gain from understanding behavior modification and animal emotions. My aim is to instill in children the importance of animals, their benefits, and the need to protect their rights, fostering strong bonds.
This course represents a pivotal opportunity, empowering me to mentor others in my community, Ghana, and West Africa. This scholarship would significantly impact my ability to transform how people relate to their dogs. Understanding our dogs’ feelings animals is crucial to better care. I’m eager to expand my knowledge and support others. Thank you for considering my application. I’m available via email for additional details and references.