Learn to decode animal behaviour and improve your animal management skills!
How do horses show fear? What’s the difference in horse perception and dog perception? Why are some animals so keyed to changes in smell?
In this 20-hour course, you’ll study the biological foundations of how animals think and act. Learning the differences between innate, native, and conditioned behaviours, you’ll build a solid understanding of how to work with your animals rather than against them. Understanding animal communication — and the differences between communication and language — will also help you interpret emotional responses, needs, and more. Excellent for wildlife workers and rehabilitators, trainers, agriculturalists, vet assistants, pet care workers, and more.
Course Content
This course has eight lessons. Each lesson has a corresponding online self-assessment test.
Lesson 1: Introduction to Animal Behaviour
- Interpreting Animal Behaviour
- Descriptions of Animal Behaviour
- Factors that Influence Behaviour
- Additional Reading (Goats, Cats, Dogs)
Lesson 2: Animal Perception and Cognition
- Introduction
- Perception
- Sight
- Hearing
- Smell
- Taste
- Touch
- Dexterity
- Cognition
- Additional Reading (Animal Perception, Types of Stimuli)
Lesson 3: Innate or Native Behaviours
- Innate Behaviours
- Instincts
- Fixed Action Patterns
- Innate Releasing Mechanisms
- Ritualised Behaviours
- Maturation
- Feeding Behaviour
- Other Eating and Drinking Adaptations
- Orientation
- Locomotion
- Biological Rhythms
- Sexual Behaviour
- Reproduction
- Additional Reading (Feeding Cats, Dog and Cat Obesity, Sexual Behaviour, What Animals Eat)
Lesson 4: How Animals Learn
- What is the Point of Learning?
- Types of Animal Learning
- Environment and Learning
- How Instincts and Learnt
- How Behaviours are Related
- Animal Attachments
- Animal Parenting
- Additional Reading (Why Animals Learn, Equine Behaviour, Conditioning)
Lesson 5: Specific Types of Animal Behaviour
- Mating
- Social Behaviour
- Dominance
- Territoriality
- Aggression
- Additional Reading (Social Behaviours, Horse Temperament, Aggression in Dogs)
Lesson 6 How Animals Communicate
- Introduction
- What is Communication?
- Types of Animal Communication
- Do Animals Understand Human Language?
- How Animals Communicate
- Additional Reading (Communication in Dogs, Understanding Cat Behaviour)
Lesson 7 Animal Mentality
- Animal Intelligence
- Animal Emotion
- Animal Psychopathology
- Additional Reading (Dog Depression, Bird Behaviour Problems, Five Ways to Ensure a Happy Pet)
Lesson 8 Managing Animal Behaviour
- Our Need to Manage Animal Behaviour
- Why Do We Domesticate Animals?
- Canines – Managing their Behaviour
- Felines – Domestic and Wild Cats
- Equines – Training Horses
- Cattle Training
- Wild Animals in Captive Environments
- Additional Reading (Equine Therapy and Rehabilitation, Dog Problems)
