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Learner Reviews & Feedback for The Truth About Cats and Dogs by The University of Edinburgh

4.8
stars
2,263 ratings

About the Course

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!...

Top reviews

AA

Jun 23, 2021

It gives you the basics about owning a pet and what you need to know for their welfare.

I don't see a need for certification for this course.

Recommended for general knowledge and resources

LR

Mar 26, 2020

I learned so much about how to decrease stress for my pets and increase their happiness. I also learned how to better communicate with them. Thank you for helping improve my pets quality of life!

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101 - 125 of 636 Reviews for The Truth About Cats and Dogs

By Ida M

Jun 18, 2017

I have owned cats my entire life, but I learned so much from this course! For example, I had no idea how much cats hunt in the wild. This course has already changed how I manage my animals, and it has far surpassed my expectations

By Vanille

Apr 24, 2020

Amazing course, and I absolutely love the teachers! Thank you so much for all the useful information, I knew a lot but definitely learnt much more! =) Highly recommend it to all cat & dog parents, and to anybody who loves animals!

By Megan A C

Nov 11, 2020

I am very much enlightened about what I have learned in this course! The things that are essential if you have a cat or dog especially as pets this is very helpful. It is also helpful if you plan on taking a veterinary course.

By Samantha N

Sep 28, 2019

I very much enjoyed this course! It was very organized and easy to follow! I would recommend it to anyone wanting to know more about dog and cat behavior, socialization, and more interesting lessons about your furry friend(s)!

By Magdalena R

Jul 28, 2020

Wow, as a dog walker, cat socializer at a rescue and a pet owner - this course opened my mind to so much more information that now I will be eager and excited to share with pet owners and my local animal community. Thank you!

By Fiona B

Feb 20, 2018

This was a very good course for finding out about behaviours and the reason for different signals. They don’t always mean what we think they do and this course gives us a clearer idea of what we should be paying attention to.

By Adriana T L

Nov 30, 2020

Me encantó todo el contenido, información super confiable concisa y fácil de digerir. Ame la forma en que nos brindaba la información fue muy dinámico, en ningún momento me aburrí. Espero poder aplicar ya estos conocimientos

By Zhang R

Nov 11, 2020

I love this course because it is very relevant to me as a dog owner. Whatever that is taught in the course, especially the discussion forum where we get to ask the experts are very useful and applicable in real life.

By Aggie H

Apr 21, 2020

I learned a lot from the course and I am more confident to help my cat and I am more resourceful in terms of providing information to my friends because of the resources shared through this course. Thank you so much!

By NIKOLETA K

Jan 3, 2021

Με βοήθησε αρκετά ώστε να κατανοώ τα κατοικίδια μου καλυτέρα. Κάποια πράγματα τα ήξερα αλλά σίγουρα έμαθα και πολλά νέα. Σας ευχαριστούμε πολύ που μας βοηθάτε να κάνουμε την ζωή των μικρών μας φίλων μας πιο όμορφη!

By Donald T

Jul 29, 2020

I enjoyed the course vary much. I am trying to learn how to purr, but not vary easy. Sounds more like a growl. Do you have an email so that I can contact you with any question concerning the course? Thank you Don

By David S R P

Aug 19, 2017

Excellent course, highly recommend. You gonna learn a lot of worth info about the life od your cat and dog. If you are interesed in pet wellfare and how to apply in your daily life, this a perfect point to start.

By Saira T

Nov 26, 2017

Excellent course to understand how dogs and cats are communicating with us. Whether it is your own pets or one's you may meet in your life, strays, owned, in rescues or shelters they all need some understanding.

By Brandi G

Oct 16, 2022

Excellent course on pet behaviour and how to improve the quality of life for ur 4 legged friends. Lots of information on how to read the body language and how we can understand the point of view of the pet.

By mercy0408

Jul 27, 2020

Thanks to this great course, I really learned a lot about how to treat my pets better ,how to improve my house for better environment for them,and what their reactions mean.

Thank you for this amazing course.

By Doreen L M

Mar 3, 2021

I thoroughly enjoyed the course and found out that I did not know as much about my pets over the years as I had thought. All pet owners with common sense and love of animals should be taking this course.

By Shira B S

Sep 11, 2017

I liked it and did learn from it. I hope to have now a better relationship and understanding of my pets (especially the cats that I am less involved with.. it is my husband who is being their main parent)

By Silvia A

May 24, 2020

A very interesting and accesible course for all people interested in pets. It helps to be more aware of our obligations and give us resources and keys to try to know our friends and their needs better.

By Bettina S

Jul 30, 2019

Thanks a lot for that interesting course! As a cat owner I knew quite a lot already, but there were some very interesting insights and findings. Learning more about dog behaviour was also very helpful.

By Ulf K

Apr 26, 2020

Very useful,many new insights about cats and allowing me to get rid of many wrong and overcome ideas about dogs! Interesting and gripping, almost effortless for me because of the fun I had! Thanks!

By Mary B

Dec 7, 2019

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.

By Tanushree T

Dec 27, 2020

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.

By Ashley S

Jun 23, 2020

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.

By Kimberly S

Apr 8, 2020

The course was very informative and taught in a way that those not familiar with cats and/or dogs would understand. They offered real solutions to antiquated ways of addressing behavior issues.

By Cristina N

Mar 4, 2018

This is a very informative, interesting and well prepared on-line course with lots of documentation that one can read later on in order to get more knowledgeable about dogs and cats. Thanks!