Applied Behavior Analysis

Transform your professional services with the most effective and humane ways to work with fear-based behavior challenges.

If you live or work with a dog or other animal struggling with fearful, shy, reactive, or aggressive behaviors, you have come to the right place for a course to help you become more effective in the rehabilitation and training of this vulnerable population. 

Since the start of the pandemic there has been a notable increase in dogs and other animals experiencing fearful, shy, reactive, or aggressive behaviors. As a result, it is crucial for professionals to develop more effective methods for rehabilitating and training this at-risk population.

This course will help you transform your professional services with the most effective and humane ways to work with fear-based behavior challenges, along with any behavior issue that threatens the quality of life and welfare of pets and their owners. 

Bring your love and compassion for animals to the data-driven and evidence-based practice of training. By the end of this course you will be more confident in your ability to work with animals struggling to feel safe in their world. 

“I’m blown away by the depth of this course.”

Lisa Skavienski, CTC, CSAT, FFCP, Owner of Dog Educated

"Debbie, I remain so excited about this project. I think it's really important. So many thing to like: Your talking about mindfulness and attention in training is excellent and people will like it."

Sara Matters, MA Animal Behavior, Owner & Founder Lemon's Hope Sanctuary & Training Matters



Professionals who can Benefit

The basics of Applied Behavior Analysis can be used in many settings to assess and create training plans and interventions for animals struggling with fear, reactivity & aggression and other challenging behaviors. Join the ranks of trainers and animal welfare professionals who recognize the value of evidence-based management and teaching.

  • Dog Trainers: Deepen your expertise by learning how to craft tailored training plans for animals with problem behaviors, expanding your ability to help dogs and their owners.

  • Rescue Organizations: Gain valuable insights to inform foster care strategies and improve the well-being of animals in your care.

  • Shelters: Enhance the management of animals with behavioral challenges to increase their chances of finding forever homes.

  • Foster Care Givers: Equip yourself with effective training techniques to provide the best possible care and rehabilitation for animals with fear, reactivity, anxiety, and aggression issues.

  • Vet Technicians: Understand behavior basics and learn how to approach and handle animals with fear-based behaviors, ensuring their safety, and your own, during veterinary procedures.

  • Animal Behaviorists: Broaden your knowledge base and refine your skills in working with fear, reactivity, anxiety, and aggression, enabling you to develop comprehensive behavior modification plans.

  • Animal Welfare Professionals: Enhance your understanding of behavior challenges and gain practical tools to support animals in need, both within rescue organizations and in the community.

  • Pet Owners: Discover effective methods to address common behavioral challenges in your pets, enabling you to create a harmonious and loving environment for your furry companions.

Course curriculum

    1. The Braid

      FREE PREVIEW
    2. How We Train

    3. Quiz-How We Train

    4. The Basics

    5. Quiz-The Basics

    6. Quiz- Reinforcement Schedule

    7. Links to Pat Friman Videos

    8. Stimulus Control

    9. Excerpt of 'Patient Like the Chipmunks'

    10. Shaping Operant Behavior & Reinforcement Schedules

    11. Generalization, Discrimination & Motivation

    12. Working With Fearful Animals

    13. Why Behavior Changes

    14. Premack, Hi P Low P & Behavioral Momentum

    15. Premack Principle

    16. What Is Behavioral Momentum?

    17. Why Evidence-based Training is Important

    18. Getting into the Data Habit

    19. How To Teach Animals by B.F. Skinner

    20. The Problem of Privacy and the Evolution of Emotion and Emotional Behavior T. V. Joe Layng, Ph.D.

    21. Non-Linear Contingencies

    22. Private Events

    23. Learned Helplessness

    24. Learned Helplessness

    1. What A Behavior Analyst Has To Say

    2. Bringing Joy To Learning

    3. Introduction to ABA for Animal Trainers

    4. Some History of Operant Conditioning & Animal Training

      FREE PREVIEW
    5. Happy, Relaxed (or excited but not upset) & Engaged

    6. Today's ABA

    7. Understanding What You're Seeing

    8. Distinguishing Between Discriminative And Motivational Functions Of Stimuli

    9. The Matching Law & Relative And Absolute Strength Of Response As A Function of Reinforcement

    10. Walking In The Woods With Dogs: Science & Human Behavior by B. F. Skinner

    1. Functions of Behavior

    2. Quiz-Functions of Behavior

    3. Functional Analysis of Problem Behavior: A Review

    4. Motivating Operations

    5. Learning: Schedules of Reinforcement

    6. Simple Reinforcement Schedules

    7. Make It Worth Doing

    8. Using Variable Schedules

    9. Electronic Collars: What You Need To Know

    10. Contingencies of Reinforcement

    1. Fear of Novelty

    2. Aversive Control

    3. Viewing Behavior Through a Trauma Informed Lens

    4. Link to Video: New Science on How Human Genes Shape Behavior

    5. Behavior Reduction Strategies To Be Able To Identify

    6. Alternatives To Aversives

    7. Quiz- Problem Behavior

    8. AVSAB Position Statement The Use of Punishment for Behavior Modification in Animals

    9. Scared Dog Body Language

    10. Sound Phobia Body Language

    11. Practice Observing Body Language

    12. Working With Animals in Transition

    13. Coercion and It's Fallout

    1. The Smallest Unit Of Behavior

    2. Learning

    3. Behavior A(ttention)

    4. Pairing aka Building Rapport aka Trust

    5. Fading in Demands

    6. Classical Conditioning

    7. Quiz-Conditioning

    8. Capturing Behavior With A Shy Dog

    9. Training Recalls & Check-ins

    10. Independent Variables

    11. Practice Following A Training Plan

    12. Free Shaping

    13. Getting Behavior

    14. Using Targeting to Shape A Behavior

    15. Practical Skill Building

    16. Using Prompts

    17. What's The Cue? What Do You Want It To Be?

    18. Matching Law Quiz

About this course

  • 89 lessons

Debbie Jacobs, RBT, CPDT-KA

"I’ve been implementing so much of what I learned at your training lately and am feeling continuously inspired"

Debbie Jacobs is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer and Registered Behavior Technician. She is the author of A Guide To Living With and Training A Fearful Dog, and Does My Dog Need Prozac? She has provided evidence-based information for owners, trainers, and veterinarians since 2007 and this website is recommended as a resource by veterinary behaviorists. She is recognized internationally for her commitment to helping animals struggling with fear-based behavior challenges, and educating on best practices in training.
Debbie Jacobs CPDT-KA  Fearfuldogs.com

Start supporting the vulnerable & at risk population of pets, their owners & caregivers now

Trauma Informed Care Plans. Know better. Do better.

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