The Truth About Cats and Dogs
What is your cat revealing to you when she purrs? What is your dog expressing when he yawns or wags his tail? Understanding your cat and dog’s behaviour and the way they communicate with you, will enable you to better understand their needs and strengthen your relationship with them.This MOOC is divided into five topics, the appliance of science; behaviour and body language, senses and perception; challenges for the human-animal relationship, including pet problem behaviour; and how to improve the quality of life for cats and dogs in our care.
At the start of the course we ask you to consider what you feel is important to your cat/dog and what your cat/dog means to you? We explore the world of cats and dogs and how our relationships with them vary around the world and have changed over time. We ask if we can really know what our animals are thinking or trying to communicate through their facial expressions and behaviours.
From our beloved pets to street dogs, shelter dogs/cats and welfare challenges, we explore the world from their perspective and examine how their genetic make-up may influence their behavioural responses and choices. We dispel common behavioural myths by looking through a scientific lens, asking questions about the function and development of their behaviour.. We explore how their senses help them to interact with their world and how they communicate with each other and us!
Finally, we ask whether we impose unrealistic expectations on our cats and dogs and how this affects their ability to live alongside us. We ask, what can we do to be more responsible pet owners and to ensure the welfare of all cats and dogs in society? This MOOC explores different scientifically validated methods that can help you to better understand your pet, to enrich their lives and help you to be a more educated and confident pet owner.
We hope you enjoy the course!
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Syllabus
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week 1
The Appliance of Science
Week 2
Ethology
Week 3
Sense and Sensibility
Week 4
Living with humans
Week 5
Can We Do Better? Improving Pet Quality of Life
FAQ
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
Reviews
I LOVED IT SOO MUCH. I HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH ABOUT MY DOGS AND ABOUT CATS ALSO. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN REALLY GREAT IF YOU HAVE MADE THE COURSE A LITTLE MORE INTERESTING. ANYWAYS I HAD A GREAT TIME.
I am enjoying this course and am learning quite a bit. Behavior is one of my main interests as a trainer as I think understanding it helps to design training and living programs for the animal.
This was a very informative course and had a lot of ways to destress pets but it can get repetitive after a few videos. All things considered, I did enjoy taking this course and what I learned.
Thank you! I do enjoyed this course. I got a lot of new information about cats stress, dogs and cats welfare. I will use this knowledge with my pets and in my dogtraining practice.
