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COAPE Courses

CDP DipCABT ADVANCED DIPLOMA
Diploma (Advanced Certificate) in the practical aspects of companion animal behaviour and training.

Written and tutored by Robert Falconer-Taylor, Peter Neville and Val Strong.

OCN Accreditation - Advanced Certificate 39 Credits. Click Here for details of accreditation.

The advanced diploma in the practical aspects of companion animal behaviour and training is a residential course taught in four two-day units over one year.

This constantly updated course leads to the qualification of a Diploma in Practical Aspects of Companion Animal Behaviour and Training (DipCABT).

The focus of this course is canine and feline behaviour.

To qualify for entry onto this course each student must have passed either the dedicated CO7 CDP Qualifying Entry Course to the Diploma, or CO1 Introduction to Ethology, CO2 Introduction to Psychology, CO3 Think Cat, CO4 Dog Training or CO6 Introduction to Wolf Behaviour and Ecology Correspondence Courses, or show evidence of learning to an approved equivalent standard or beyond.

Each student must also submit a short summary of their previous knowledge and experience in this field.

Each student must attend all four stages of the course in sequence and complete the written course work that accompanies each stage to the required standard in order to be awarded the Diploma at the end of the course.

After gaining their diploma, students are automatically enrolled as affiliate members of the COAPE Association of Behaviour Practitioners and Affiliates and qualify to have their names and details included in the international membership list. See the 'Find a Behaviourist' link at the top of this page.

For those wishing to pursue a career in companion animal behaviour and training affiliates can be further assessed by COAPE and, if successful, gain practitioner status.

Although the course requires hard work and commitment, there is also time to relax and get to know your fellow students and tutors.

• Domestication of cats and dogs and social evolution.
• Type variations in canine behaviour.
• Developmental biology of cats and dogs, breed and type variations in emotional development.
• Dominance Reconsidered - challenging old ideas.
• Aims and practicalities of running puppy classes.
• Aims and objectives of running kitten classes.

Module 2
2008 - 2009:
31 Jan - 01 Feb 2009

2009 - 2010:
30 - 31 Jan 2010

• Survival strategies.
• Introduction to neurophysiology.
• Techniques of signaling reward, non-reward and aversion.
• The impact of punishment on behaviour and learning.
• Human psychology.
• Training and assessing adult dogs.
• Canine case histories.

Module 3
2008 - 2009:
18 - 19 April 2009

2008 - 2010:
17 - 18 April 2010

• Physiology of emotions.
• Assessing feline and canine emotions prior to treatment.
• The 'EMRA' system of approaching behaviour problems.
• Anxiety and phobias.
• Sex and hormones and their effects on animal behaviour.
• Diet and behaviour, therapeutic diet manipulation.
• Indoor marking problems and house training in cats.
• Basic counseling skills.

Module 4
2008 - 2009:
18 - 19 July 2009

2008 - 2010:
10 - 11 July 2010

• In practice: setting up, running and promoting your behaviour practice/behavioural training/puppy class centre/ running a business successfully.
• Common problems and their treatment in cats and dogs.
• Aggression problems in cats and dogs.
• Complex case histories illustrating a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.
• The COAPE Association of Behaviour Practitioners and Affiliates.
• On-going post Diploma support, COAPE website, contact with other Diplomates, CDP meetings.

Course Details

Residential over FOUR weekends

Each Unit comes with a comprehensive set of printed course notes that build into an authoritive reference text. Students also have access to the COAPE Student Resource Centre where additional support and course material are available online.

10 months. Begins: September each year

Course notes, coffee, tea, lunches and one night's dinner and accommodation included at each stage

Course Cost:

OCN registration deposit £150 + Course fee will be £3,995.