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

4.8
stars
2,340 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

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!

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

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551 - 575 of 658 Reviews for The Truth About Cats and Dogs

By Bayvin R

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Jan 15, 2020

Love it

By Jessica B

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Apr 25, 2018

Love it

By Sigrún G L

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Sep 26, 2017

Love it

By l a

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Jun 19, 2021

useful

By Mona A A

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May 26, 2020

ممتازة

By Mina N

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Mar 11, 2019

Useful

By Florin E S

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Nov 10, 2020

Great

By Chazz L

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Sep 8, 2017

Great

By Jahizah I

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Oct 9, 2024

Good

By MEENU M J

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Feb 4, 2022

Good

By Sriskantharajah V

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Jun 4, 2020

good

By Anuradha Y

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Apr 26, 2020

Nice

By Margit M O

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Jul 8, 2019

good

By Vyacheslav B

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Apr 24, 2019

Good

By diego l a

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Aug 18, 2017

good

By Dekel E

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Jan 17, 2021

yay

By Srigokilamani M

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Jun 22, 2020

Ok

By Peggy F

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Sep 7, 2021

s

By Isabelle V

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Jul 24, 2017

E

By Mary M

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Sep 14, 2018

,Thank you for the useful course. It provided me with valuable information about cat and dog behaviors and practical ideas for catering for my own cats. My experience with dogs is limited so it was a good opportunity to get some education on dogs. The only thing that I would have liked to see more of is a bit more focus on cat outdoor behavior, like how to train cats to take them for walks ( if possible) and whether it is a good idea or not, training cats to be more fearless. I just think that there was more focus on dogs in this area.

Thanks again for the excellent course!

By KANOKLADA K

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Apr 21, 2020

I do study in veterinary medicine school, at first i didn’t expect much about this course but it turn out really good i found what i miss, i think in nowadays most vet do concentrate so much about treating the animal while taking care of it at first start is important too, for the example there a so many people who love to have a pet but did get one that don’t match them cuz they didn’t where else to ask beside the internet that is not better than a vet who more specialize in this kind a thing.

By SREEPARNA ( R

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May 24, 2020

Extremely helpful. Being an animal lover myself, the course helped me delve deep into the psyche of cats and dogs and helped me understand them better.

I have cats at home, and so it was easy for me to relate to the modules based ob cats. The modules on dogs were however new. Nonetheless, it helped me know their behaviour patterns, likes and dislikes and their overall health and wellness requirements.

Overall, a very helpful course. Thank you!

By Shirley G

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May 19, 2020

I feel better in understanding a dog's perspective in training and ownership. I would like to have a review of the different kinds of dogs and their traits since I am looking for a dog that hopefully likes my cats. Adopting a dog would be the only way to obtain one, but I am afraid their past could be a problem if they were mistreated. I course was very interesting and would recommend it to my fellow animal lovers.

Shirley

By Ange R

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Jun 11, 2017

A little stronger slant regarding dogs than cats, but still very educational about both. Great review of the basics as well as lots more details (and amazing resources) to learn a lot more! I'm a little embarrassed that I didn't know nearly as much about my cats as I thought I did when beginning this class. It's a fun and light course that provides solid information on exactly what it says: cats and dogs.

By Sheng-Ting L

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Apr 28, 2020

Fun and informative, though I was hoping to get more in-depth knowledges. This course is more suitable for people who have limited knowledges of cats and dogs and would maybe consider to get a cat/dog. If you have been educating yourself about knowledges and facts about cats and dogs, you may find this course relatively basic. Anyways, I still appreciate the instructors' efforts of forming this course!