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IAABC Foundation

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Canine Impulsivity, Reactivity, & Fear Mentorship

Sessions

2025-05

 

 

Course Dates:

May 15, 2025 - Jul 10, 2025

Instructor(s):
Dr. Kristina Spaulding PhD, CAAB

Dr. Kristina Spaulding PhD, CAAB

Dr. Kristina Spaulding has been in the dog training and behavior profession since 1999. She earned her undergraduate degree in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While in college, she worked for the Dane County Humane Society and volunteered as an assistant trainer at Dog’s Best Friend, then owned by Dr. Patricia McConnell. She runs Science Matters Academy of Animal Behavior LLC. She completed her PhD in biopsychology—the study of the biological basis of behavior—in 2016. In 2017, Dr. Spaulding became a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist. She is particularly interested in stress, neurobiology, cognition, emotion, and wellbeing and how to apply these concepts to the prevention and early intervention of behavior problems in dogs. Dr. Spaulding has a passion for teaching and offers a variety of online courses and webinars on the science of behavior. During graduate school she taught undergraduate courses for several years. She was trained in innovative and effective teaching skills through the Institute for Teaching, Learning, and Academic Leadership and the University at Albany. In 2012, Dr. Spaulding received the Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student Award through the local chapter of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology. In 2019, Dr. Spaulding received the Association of Professional Dog Trainer’s (APDT’s) Member of the Year Award. In addition to teaching other professionals, she regularly presents on canine behavior science at conferences and other events. She also continues to work with private training clients where she specializes in fear, reactivity, and hyperactivity/impulsivity. She currently serves on the IAABC Foundation Board and the Fear Free Advisory group.

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Pricing:

Full Students

$600.00

Online Meetings:

Thursdays at 6:00pm (EDT), beginning May 22nd
Register

Closes May 21, 2025

Would you like to improve your effectiveness and success rate with impulsivity/hyperactivity, reactivity, and fear clients, or are you looking to get started with these types of behavior issues?

 

This 8-week Mentorship will focus on canine impulsivity/hyperactivity, reactivity, and fear, and will discuss:

  • the current scientific understanding
  • history taking, assessment, and client communication
  • development and implementation of behavior modification specific to these issues

 

By the end of this course, students should know how to:

  • Define and correctly identify hyperactivity/impulsivity, reactivity and fear and explain what leads to the behavior
  • Develop effective, comprehensive behavior plans for these issues
  • Track progress and make adjustments as needed
  • Communicate effectively with clients

 

The course is ideal for:

  • Dog trainers, behavior consultants, and shelter volunteers or staff
  • Veterinarians and veterinary staff
  • Dog walkers and dog day care staff
  • Pet owners may also benefit from taking the course, although they would be best served if done in conjunction with one-on-one work with a certified behavior consultant

 

This 8-week mentorship provides mentees with ongoing video lectures, documentation, online chat, and scheduled weekly live/online meetings.

 

Relative to the course topics, mentees can discuss their own cases or any others, ask questions about application and theory, ask for tips and advice on overcoming specific challenges, and be guided toward even higher levels of professionalism and effectiveness. The mentors are there for the mentees, and offer all help and discussion that each mentee finds useful.

 

Auditors may observe and learn about topics under discussion between the mentor and full mentees. Auditors do not attend the weekly live chats and may not introduce their own cases or ask for specific input on their own work.


** IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT ONLINE WEEKLY MEETINGS **

  • Meetings are not recorded
  • Meetings begin 1 week after course opens
  • Meetings are 1 hour in duration
  • There are 8 meetings for this course

CEUs:
 

Full Students

  

CCPDT

21.00 (CBCC-KA and CPDT-KA)

  

IAABC

24.00

  

KPA

24.0

  
Speaker(s)
Dr. Kristina Spaulding PhD, CAAB

Dr. Kristina Spaulding PhD, CAAB

Dr. Kristina Spaulding has been in the dog training and behavior profession since 1999. She earned her undergraduate degree in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While in college, she worked for the Dane County Humane Society and volunteered as an assistant trainer at Dog’s Best Friend, then owned by Dr. Patricia McConnell. She runs Science Matters Academy of Animal Behavior LLC. She completed her PhD in biopsychology—the study of the biological basis of behavior—in 2016. In 2017, Dr. Spaulding became a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist. She is particularly interested in stress, neurobiology, cognition, emotion, and wellbeing and how to apply these concepts to the prevention and early intervention of behavior problems in dogs. Dr. Spaulding has a passion for teaching and offers a variety of online courses and webinars on the science of behavior. During graduate school she taught undergraduate courses for several years. She was trained in innovative and effective teaching skills through the Institute for Teaching, Learning, and Academic Leadership and the University at Albany. In 2012, Dr. Spaulding received the Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student Award through the local chapter of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology. In 2019, Dr. Spaulding received the Association of Professional Dog Trainer’s (APDT’s) Member of the Year Award. In addition to teaching other professionals, she regularly presents on canine behavior science at conferences and other events. She also continues to work with private training clients where she specializes in fear, reactivity, and hyperactivity/impulsivity. She currently serves on the IAABC Foundation Board and the Fear Free Advisory group.

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