Canine Communication

This intensive eight Module course is designed to give you a good basic knowledge about how dogs communicate and help you put that knowledge into practice so you can become a more effective trainer, owner, or other dog professional – dog sitter, dog walker, or groomer.

The course provides detailed and comprehensive insights into what dogs are saying to us – all the time, how they are masters of effective non-verbal communication and why being able to “speak dog” will give you the confidence to manage and train dogs in a way they’ll fully understand.

The course includes plenty of photos, videos and audio clips, to help you learn what dogs are telling you, how they respond and react to different situations, how they demonstrate fear and stress and why they might feel forced to snap and bite.

The better you learn to ‘read’ what dogs are communicating, the better you can help your dog cope in difficult situations and the more you can prevent their behaviour escalating.

The Modules include:

Module 1: Canine Communication Development: looks at how dogs develop and practice their communication skills through puppyhood and adolescence and identifies the key critical periods

Module 2: The Face: explores facial expressions by looking at each part of the face in turn, what’s good and what isn’t and how to notice and interpret the changes you see

Module 3: The Tail and Body: explores what the height, stance, weight distribution and use of the tail, body and paw movements can mean and how to interpret them

Module 4: Sounds: looks (listens!) at all the different vocalisations dogs can produce and what they mean

Module 5: Play (part 1): looks at the various movements dogs make in good, positive play and what they mean

Module 6: Play (part 2): looks at what’s not so good, what is bad or ugly in play and explores some doggy dilemmas

Module 7: Fear and stress: looks at how dogs show us they feel stressed and what strategies dogs may use when they feel frightened or threatened. Also includes the signs of chronic stress and its effects.

Module 8: Snaps and bites: explores how dogs respond to threat, what signs they might show and examines the top “red end” behaviours of snapping and biting.

If you would like to know more about how to attend this Course live and about becoming an Academy Pro, please see the Membership page for details.