PROGRESSIVE DOG TRAINER DIPLOMA – Level One

Unlock Your Potential with the Progressive Dog Trainer Course!

Are you passionate about working with dogs and ready to take your skills to the next level? Our flagship Progressive Dog Trainer course at Pet Sense College is designed for aspiring instructors like you, who are eager to make a difference in the world of dog training.

Course Highlights:

  • Comprehensive Training: Learn to train dogs and puppies to a basic standard of obedience and run effective, professional classes.

  • Career Opportunities: Equip yourself to offer puppy socialisation classes, open a dog school, provide private training lessons, and manage basic behaviour problems.

  • Empowerment: Educate dog owners and ensure dogs stay in their forever homes.

Course Structure:

  • Duration: 3 months

  • Format: 1-on-1 online live classes with subject-specialists, combined with practical in-person classes (optional).

  • Focus: Behaviour and training, giving you valuable insights to understand each dog and maximise training effectiveness.

Requirements:

  • Practical Sessions: Bring your own dog, or have access to one for training sessions. If not, we will provide a suitable dog. Not available for Cape Town.

  • Virtual Option: Available for those unable to attend in-person classes. Practical exams via video submissions, and you must have your own dog to work with.

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Some practical experience with dogs.

  • Commitment to sessions over 3 months (see dates and times below)

  • Time to read subject-specific literature and prepare assignments.

  • A dog to work with on practical assignments at home.

  • Technology Requirements: Windows 7-10 or Mac OS X, Internet connection (broadband or wireless 3G/4G/LTE), speakers and microphone, webcam or built-in camera.

Why Choose Us? At Pet Sense College, we support positive reinforcement methods and provide a supportive, engaging learning environment. Our expert instructors are dedicated to helping you achieve your goals and make a lasting impact in the dog training world.

Enroll Today and Start Your Journey Towards Becoming a Professional Dog Trainer!

Course Modules

  •  Introduction to developmental psychology
  • The newborn puppy
  • Associative learning in the newborn puppy
  • Reflex actions
  • Initial development in the newborn puppy
  • The puppy’s vision
  • The puppy’s hearing
  • Lapping behaviour
  • Early experiences with semi-solid foods
  • The Nature/Nurture debate
  • The behaviour of the mother
  • Natural selection
  • Elimination behaviour in the newborn puppy
  • The behaviour of the father
  • The importance of play in the newborn puppy
  • Why do puppies play
  • The play bow
  • The role of hormones
  • Social development
  • Canine senses
  • Artificial selection
  • What is an adult dog?
  • Sexual maturity
  • Physical maturity
  • Psychological maturity
  • The dog as a predator
  • Instincts
  • Types of aggressive behaviour
  • The dog as a social animal
  • The structure of a pack
  • Personality expression
  • Vocalisation
  • Posture
  • Scent marking
  • Burying food
  • The elderly dog

  • What is meant by body language?
  • Personal space
  • Various types of body language
  • Faces and their expressions
  • What the mouth can convey
  • Staring
  • Yawning
  • Body postures
  • The confident dog
  • The shy dog
  • Distraction signals
  • The stress signal
  • Play
  • The play bow and play dance
  • The older dog and play
  • Tail language
  • Positions of the tail
  • Wagging

  • Charles Darwin’s biological adaptations
  • The nature verses nurture debate of learning
  • Environmental influences on behaviour
  • Canine learning
  • The parental influences on learning
  • Critical and sensitive periods of the puppy’s development
  • Classical conditioning
  • Chaining
  • Instrumental or operant conditioning
  • Reward and punishment in learning
  • Reinforcers and punishment in learning
  • Primary and secondary reinforcers
  • Reinforcement schedules
  • Shaping behaviour
  • Sensitisation
  • Cultural transmission
  • The importance of play
  • Insight learning
  • Habituation

  • Why train dogs?
  • The senses and training
  • Schedules of reinforcement
  • Primary and secondary reinforcers revisited
  • Choice of primary reinforce
  • Benefits of using positive reinforcement
  • Putting the theory into practice
  • Basic training of house training, the recall, the sit, sit/stand, down, watch and progressing
    to heel with problems and solutions. Impulse
    control, prevention of aggression over food and
    toys, leash management. Leave-it, take-it, give-it.
  • Puppy socialisation
  • Running classes
  • The advantages and disadvantages of using Clicker Training
  • Summary of training principles
  • Trainer skills

  • Understanding what form and function are
  • Canine sight
  • Canine hearing
  • Canine olfaction
  • Canine taste
  • Canine touch
  • How different breeds originated
  • The difference between natural selection and artificial selection
  • Hound Group
  • Terrier Group
  • Gundog Group
  • Utility Group
  • Toy Group
  • Working Group
  • Pastoral Group

  • The thinking behind this module is to equip
    students with the ability to provide dogs with
    the required social environment to avoid common

  • Introduction to canine aggression
  • Defining aggression in human terms
  • Social communication
  • Can aggression be thought of as a natural and/or beneficial behaviour?
  • Selective breeding and its influence on behaviour
  • Nature /Nurture Debate
  • Group dynamics
  • Social behaviour
  • The dog’s expressive body language
  • The need for understanding body language
  • Stress levels contributing to aggression
  • Calming signals and displacement behaviour
  • Are there any circumstances where aggression is appropriate?
Course Details:
Venue: Dates: Times: Address:
  Cape Town

Feb: 8,15 and 22

March: 8,15, 22 and 29

April: 12 and 26

May 10

 

Saturday
2pm – 5pm (all classes)
Combination of live webinar classes and practical lessons at
Vista Nova Highschool, Loerie Ave, Pinelands, Cape Town, 7405
  Johannesburg 

Feb: 1,8,15

March: 1,8,15 and 29

April: 5 and 12

Saturday
1pm-4pm (online classes)

8:30am-11am (practical classes)

Combination of live webinar classes and practical lessons at Mutt Club, 5 Bloemfontein street, Founders Hill, Modderfontein, Edenvale,1645

  Virtual –

Online Only

Feb: 8,15 and 22

March: 8,15, 22 and 29

April: 12

Saturday

9am-11am March 8, 15 and 22

Rest of the classes are at 2pm

 

 

 Live On-line Classes only

8-Module Course – Intensive Study Over 3 Months

Course Structure:

  • Assessment: Students will be evaluated through weekly assignments, 2 projects, and a practical obedience exam at the end of the course.

  • Completion Criteria: Every module and the practical exam must be passed to earn the diploma. Strict attendance is required for qualification.

  • Commitment: Students should allocate 4-6 hours per week for assignments and projects.

Fees:

  • Practical Course: R9660

  • Virtual Course: R8970

Payment Options:

  • Upfront Payment: Pay for the entire course upfront (includes booking fee).

  • Installment Option (Practical Course):

    • R1000 non-refundable booking fee required upfront to confirm registration.

    • R2887 due by 31 JAN 2025

    • R2887 due by 28 FEB 2025

    • R2886 due by 31 MAR 2025

  • Installment Option (Virtual Course):

    • R1000 non-refundable booking fee required upfront to confirm registration.

    • R2657 due by 31 JAN 2025

    • R2657 due by 28 FEB 2025

    • R2656 due by 31 MAR 2025

Download course info.

To register for this course, please send an email cbti@petsensecollege.co.za to receive the applicable registration document. 

 

Some comments from our students.

Casey was a great teacher! She was, patient and corrected students in a very kind manner, never saying they did anything wrong but rather what they could rather do and why! Thank you Casey for sharing your knowledge and stories to help us better understand the content! July 24

J Cleenverck

I really enjoyed this course. I learned A LOT that I didn’t know before. Through practical classes & the internship, I’ve learned how to apply the knowledge gained to everyday life with mine & my clients dogs’. Being a pet sitter & working with dogs every day, the knowledge gained through the PDT course as well as the additional knowledge gained through the internship was absolutely essential for me. Celia is very patient & sincerely understanding as well as insightful & the lessons were informative as well as fun. Thank you. 🙂 Nov 2019

Adrian K

I am very glad I signed up for this course.  I now understand how important it is to understand dog body language and their psychology to run my dog school.  I learned how to do the exercises so that mistakes aren’t made and I don’t think one realises how important it is to make sure you are perfect in your training skills to ensure the dog and the owner learns the best way.  Thank you for running this amazing course. March 2021

Terry C

It was truly enriching and insightful.  I learned alot about Canine behaviour and gained valuable insight for managing various behaviours in a dog school environment.  The facilitator was exceptional; her explanations were succint yet comprehensive, both in theory and during in-person classes.  She always made time to delve into certain topics, which enhanced my understanding significantly.  Moreover, I found the content to be sufficient and well-structed, facilitating a smooth flow of learning throughout the course. Overall it was a fantastic experience and I’m grateful for the opportunity to have been part of it. April 2024

Blaise M

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