CPDT: What & Why

Hello!

If we're friends on social media (or I have your email), you may have seen that I recently obtained my CPDT (yay!)

You might be thinking...what does that even mean? I'm happy to break it down for you and I promise not to deep dive too much.

CPDT-ka: Certified Professional dog trainer knowledge assessed

"This is the most common designation. It indicates that a trainer has demonstrated a broad range of knowledge in areas like ethology, learning theory, and dog training techniques by passing a 200-question multiple-choice exam."

That's me! I also have over 300 (500 last I checked) working hours as a trainer, assistant trainer, in shelter or consulting. The CPDT exam does require you have at least 300 hours as well as letter from a fellow certified trainer in order to take the exam.

What does it mean?

As mentioned, it goes over:

1. Ethology: the scientific study of animal behavior

   1. In dog training, it means understanding a dog's actions through the lens of their evolutionary history and natural instincts

2. Learning Theory: the study of how dogs acquire new behaviors through conditioning, primarily classical and operant conditioning, as well as social learning.

   1. Pavlov, B.F. Skinner and Premack are some names that experimented/shaped behavioral psychology

3. Training techniques: such as the four quadrants of reinforcement/punishment in dog training

   1. You may have heard the phrase "positive reinforcement."

I'll deep dive into the positive reinforcement in another blog post as it is greatly misunderstood to people who may not have dog training knowledge.

That's great...but why?

The dog training industry is vastly unregulated. You can probably think of some trainers that make your stomach upset (I know I do) and, unfortunately, anyone can call themselves a trainer. The CCPDT (Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers) is not perfect but it is one of the few standards in dog training.

Taking the CPDT, for me, shows my dedication to actually learning things outside of my direct scope. More personally, I wanted to learn, show my dedication, mainly to myself but also be able to offer more peace of mind if someone were to hire me. I took the time, failures, real-life experiences and turned it into something I could point to and say "I want to learn. I want to be able to do this right and be an expert in my field."

Since the dog training world is so unregulated, no one actually needs to be certified to be a trainer. This is not to say if someone is not certified then they must not be a good trainer. The test is expensive and if you fail, you don't get your money back.

However, it does show some extensive knowledge on dog training tools, practices and even the psychology behind it.

I can only speak for myself and my experiences with it. All this to say, this was a personal goal of mine to further my education in a way that helps any/all animals I get the pleasure of helping in the future.

This motivates me more and keeps me excited for my future farm!