Stress and the Animal in Front of You: The Impact of Stress on Behavior

About the Course

This course will help animal behavior consultants understand the impact of stress on animal behavior at each life stage and apply this information to working directly with those animals.

This course will help you:

• Define and recognize indicators of stress
• Identify and distinguish between the different types of stress
• Appreciate the impact of stress on the brain and behavior over the course of an animal’s life
• Describe the basic physiology of stress
• Apply what you learn to your own training and behavior cases

Class Schedule

This is a 4-week instructor-led course. Each week includes a recorded lecture, a scheduled live discussion, recommended readings, and guiding questions. Knowledge of the lecture material will be assessed through participation in course discussions. Students will have access to the course material for 60 days after the course ends.

Course Completion/CEU Requirements

To successfully complete this course:

Auditors must review all course material. This will be verified in the Learning Management System.

Full Students must review all course materials, visit the learning site/discussion forum regularly (at least three days per week), attend the four weekly class meetings, and prepare responses to a set of guiding questions for each weekly class meeting discussion. Students who miss more than one meeting will not receive credit for the course.

Students should expect to spend an average of 2 hours per week on course material and viewing, depending on individual speed of learning and the week’s materials.

Registration Information

*IAABC Members – log into your member account for the discount code
*KPA Members – contact KPA for the discount code

Online Course Cancellation Policy

• Full refunds available more than 30 days before program start.
• 50% refund available 16 – 30 days before program start.
• No refunds available 15 or fewer days before program start.

About the Instructor

Kristina Spaulding, PhD, CAAB has a PhD in biopsychology – the study of the biological basis of behavior – and is a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist through the Animal Behavior Society. She specializes in stress and behavior, social cognition and emotion, positive welfare and the prevention and treatment of behavior problems in dogs. In addition to her academic background, she has been in the dog training and behavior profession since 2000. She currently splits her time between private behavior work and teaching other dog trainers and behavior consultants online and through seminars and conferences.

In addition, Dr. Spaulding is a member of the IAABC Foundation Board. She is also a member of the Fear Free Advisory Group and an authorized Speaker for Fear Free, an organization that advocates for minimizing fear, anxiety and stress for pets at vet clinics, groomers and training facilities. She also chairs two task forces for Meeting of the Minds, a coalition of top dog professionals across the country charged with improving the quality of life for our dogs.

Before opening Smart Dog, Dr. Spaulding earned her B.S. in Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. In college, she volunteered for a year at the local humane society. She was then hired by the same shelter. During her time at the animal shelter, she and a coworker established a training program for shelter dogs and their volunteer walkers to help make the dogs more adoptable. She also served as an assistant trainer at Dog’s Best Friend which was owned at that time by Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist Dr. Patricia McConnell.

If you have questions, email us at courses@iaabc.org.

WEBSITE LINK:  https://m.iaabc.org/courses/impact-stress-behavior/