Association of Animal Behavior Professionals

AABP Approves the following education providers as credible educators in their specific AABP Professional Membership category, toward demonstrating competency in specific core areas of competence for AABP Professional Membership Criteria.

AABP Criteria for Approval of Education Providers

The AABP will review publicly available materials and accept for evaluation any further materials including curriculum, syllabi, course outlines, reference materials, course notes or other materials as needed to evaluate whether the courses or programs of study meet the minimum criteria outlined below and it is the responsibility of the candidate educational provider to provide such materials. The AABP Advisory Board may take into consideration any other variables or facts they deem relevant to determine the appropriateness of the approval in question. Education providers are subject to random reviews and to reviews when and if it comes to the attention of the AABP that relevant standards have changed or may not in fact maintained. Approval will be by majority vote among the AABP Advisory Board members (Director vote breaks ties).

In applying for AABP Approved Education Provider status, educational provider must contact the AABP, demonstrating that they meet the criteria below:

• Instruction in each Core Area must be at or above the standard 3-credit undergraduate university course level in depth of coverage, and the principles, techniques and concepts must be accurate and current.
• Requires formal and credible testing of knowledge, whereby mastery of the material is determined through some evaluation process and only students demonstrating mastery pass and receive credit.
• Coursework is science-based, accurate and current, focusing on behavior (as opposed to proprietary training systems or medical model-based) and should be behavior analytic in nature.
  
• Instructs in methods consistent with the AABP Methodological Stance and Professional Practice Guidelines.
• Instructed by competent professionals (Certified by approved certifying bodies or otherwise determined to be competent by AABP) in the topic being instructed.
• Programs of study are ongoing or help regularly (as opposed to single or limited time presentations, seminars or workshops).

The candidate education provider should contact us for a checklist they can use to help ensure they provide us with the necessary information. The applicant must identify which core areas are believed to meet the criteria (special allowances may be made for specialized courses or programs that meet only component topics within a core area). The applicant should demonstrate meeting the criteria as concisely but completely as possible. 

The AABP reserves the right to decline any request for approval at its sole discretion.

AABP Approved Education Providers

The following institutions are AABP Approved Education Providers toward demonstrating competence in the AABP published Core Areas of Competence. Education providers are Approved based on the AABP criteria for approval of education providers. Approval is general but applicable to particular Professional Membership categories and applicable for particular Core Areas of Competence.

Professional Dog Trainer Membership

• Any legal university (excluding “life-experience” credit or purchased degree credit.) (Core Areas to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis for core area of competence coverage.)
• Companion Animal Sciences Institute (All core areas of competence.)
• Delta Society Australia (All core areas of competence.)
• Academy for Dog Trainers (SF-SPCA) (All core areas of competence.)
• Karen Pryor Academy (Counts toward “Training Technology” core area of competence)
• Dee Ganley’s Internship program (All core areas of competence.)
  
• Peaceable Paws Internship (Pat Miller) (All core areas of competence.)
  
• Living and Learning with Animals; Living and Learning with Parrots (Susan G. Friedman) (Counts toward "Principles of Learning" core areas of competence.)
  
• CAP 3 certification through (Kay Laurence) (Counts toward “Training Technology” core area of competence)

The AABP is associated with some other organizations, including Approved Education Providers in various ways. Some AABP Advisory Board members or other volunteers are, or have been, Board Members, Directors or otherwise affiliated with other organizations including AABP Approved Education Provider. James O'Heare, the founder of AABP was also co-founder and Board of Directors member of the IAABC and is the owner of CASI. AABP and CASI share some Board members. Susan G. Friedman instructs Living and Learning with Animals and Living and Learning with Parrots, and is a university professor, all of which are AABP Approved. Debra Millikan is associated with the Delta Society Australia and with CASI, which is an AABP Approved Education Provider. The professional community is small and the interrelated affiliations are an indication of AABP's extensive interaction / participation in the professional community. Where any possible conflicts of interests may arise, AABP will work to avoid or address them carefully. Each of these AABP Approved Education Providers meet the stated criteria outlined on the web site and Approval is open to any schools that meets the stated, transparent criteria.