Sneak Peek
This course will help you learn the essentials of animal behaviour.
Why do baboons stick their tongues out? Why are flamingos pink? What's a ruminant anyway?
Learn about animal behaviours and their biological drivers with this 20-hour course. Covering everything from known senses and cognition to psychopathology and domestication, Animal Behaviour and Psychology provides a solid foundation in the workings of the animal brain. Excellent for 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 Behaviour 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)
How does this course work?
You can enrol at any time.
Once you have paid for the course, you will be able to start straight away.
Study when and where you like. Work through at your own pace.
You can download your study-guide to your smart phone, tablet or laptop to read offline.
There are automated self-assessment tests you can complete at the end
of each lesson. You can attempt these as many times as you wish and
each time, upon completion, you can see your results. You will need
internet access to complete the self assessment tests.
At the end of the course, you are presented with a large assessment
which can be attempted online, anywhere, anytime. If you achieve a 60%
pass in the exam; you immediately receive a downloadable certificate of
completion with your name on it.