LEVEL 3 Calming Signals Approach
Ethical DOG TRAINing
Certificate®

Registration

This is the last level 3 course
before our course restructuring in 2026.

who is it for?

This course is ideal for individuals seeking to take their dog training skills to the next level by learning how to train other people’s dogs. It also opens up the possibility of pursuing a career working with dogs.

This course is open to anyone who has completed level 1 and level 2.

Where?
Online

Main teacher
Lisbeth Borg de Waard

Lectures by:
Julia Robertson
Turid Rugaas
Lisbeth Borg de Waard
Lisa Dickel

Language: English

 

Learning objectives

  • Practical training skills (see PDF file for detailed description)
  • Good understanding of dog language and observation skills
  • Demonstrated ability to notice and understand abnormal behaviour and to refer clients to other professionals such as veterinarian or therapist for further evaluation, and then to decide if it is appropriate to continue attending group lessons or not
  • Good understanding of desensitisation as a training method
  • Show ability to research and understand information from several sources for any dog breed
  • Basic understanding of how adults (humans) learns
  • Planning group classes and individual lessons based on the didactic relations model
  • Be able to understand the individual needs of dog and owner and faciliate training accordingly
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COURSE STRUCTURE AND COURSE PLAN

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how does it work?

10 (+ 4 not mandatory)) online Zoom meetings with practising observation, evaluation and feedback, and Q&A.

All pre-recorded lessons available in the course platform upon the start of the course.

During this 20 week course, you will need to record a total of 9 training sessions with a dog. You can choose whether to use your own dog or someone else’s dog for these tasks. You also have the flexibility to decide the order in which you complete and film the various tasks. All 9 tasks must be completed within the course duration.

We offer two kinds of certificates for level 3:
– Ethical Dog Training Certificate
– Professional Ethical Dog Trainer Certificate
More information in the course structure and course plan PDF.

Dates for fall 2025:

Online Zoom meetings:

Time: Tuesdays 7PM to approx. 9.30PM CET (Central European Time)

9. September
23. September
7. October
19. October (Voluntary Feedback Session)
21. October
4. November
16. November (Voluntary Feedback Session)
18. November
2. December
14. December (Voluntary Feedback Session)
16. December
6. January 2026
18. January (Voluntary Feedback Session)
20. January 2026

Registration

books:

Course litterature

Mandatory reading:

Van-Fleet, R (2013). The human half of dog training. Wenatchee WA:Dogwise.

Robertson, Julia (2022) How to Build a Puppy… Into a Healthy Adult Dog, CRC Press

Rugaas, Turid (2008) Barking – the sound of a language, Dogwise Publishing

Rugaas, Turid (2005) What do I do when my dog pulls, Direct Book Service

Recommended reading:

Rousseau, S. and Rugaas. T. (2022) How to Raise a Puppy: A Dog-centric Apporach, CRC Publishing

Loades, M. (2020) Dogs: Working Origins and Traditional Tasks 

Ryan, T. (2008) Coaching people to train their dogs

Wilde, N. (2023) One on One: A Dog Trainer’s Guide to Private Lessons, 2nd edition. Phantom Publishing

Wilde, N. (2018) So you want to be a dog trainer, 3rd edition. Phantom Publishing

Please note minor changes can be made before the start of the course.