Competency Assessment Programme (CAP)

Criteria

FOUNDATION LEVEL 1 

This level is assessing the basic skills of handling the rewards, clicker, lure and target stick/hand. The trainer's ability to communicate with the dog without coercion, their observation and decision making skills. Trainers would be expected to be able to add cues to behaviours, have trained a target and have shaped and lured simple behaviours.
The assessment criteria are:

The trainer demonstrating that they can:

1. Handle food rewards safely and efficiently.
2. Deliver food rewards from hand or pocket.
3. Deliver from a reserve kept off the handler.
4. Operate the clicker in either hand with a non-visual movement.
5. Give reasons for their choice of reward.
6. Use a verbal cue to a behaviour without supporting body language.
7. Give a cue without excessive body language or unnecessary repetition.
8. Have taught the dog to respond to the cue without excessive hesitation.
9. Use a target stick or target hand, clicker and rewards and deliver food effectively.
10. Have taught the dog to focus on the target and respond promptly to the target cue.
11. Give the click appropriately to effectively communicate the rewarded behaviour.
12. Withhold the click to gradually extend the duration of a behaviour.
13. Deliver the reward with fluency and good timing to encourage further learning
14. Free shape a behaviour that is interaction with a new object without giving the dog assistance from verbal or visual cues.

The demonstration is the evidence provided by the trainer of their competency in the criteria. Evidence must be sufficient and leave the Assessor in no doubt of the competency of the trainer. The demonstration should take no longer than 20 minutes.

NOVICE LEVEL 2

This level is assessing the trainer's ability to secure a solid foundation in achieving a consistent quality and reliability to cue and develop more complex behaviours in free shaping.

The assessment criteria are:

The trainer has demonstrated that they:
1. Have taught a behaviour through targeting where the target has been faded.
2. Have transferred a targeted behaviour to a new target or cue.
3. Have achieved and maintained fluency in at least 3 behaviours
4. Have achieved and maintained a consistent quality in at least 3 behaviours
5. Have maintained a consistent standard of 3 behaviours in different locations
6. Have maintained a consistent standard of 3 behaviours with distractions
7. Can attach a verbal cue to a behaviour where the body language is variable
8. Can attach a visual cue to a behaviour where the body language is variable
9. Can change the cue attached to a behaviour.
10. Can demonstrate the behaviour does not happen unless cued.
11. Can use a different reward.
12. Can shape a new behaviour that is a physical movement without luring or targeting
13. Can free shape a behaviour that is interaction with a new object without giving the dog assistance from verbal or visual cues.
14. Can continue with the free shaping by adding a physical movement to the interaction with the without giving the dog assistance from verbal or visual cues.

The demonstration is the evidence provided by the trainer of their competency in the criteria. Evidence must be sufficient and leave the Assessor in no doubt of the competency of the trainer. The demonstration should take no longer than 30 minutes.

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL 3 

The assessor will be looking for different collections of compound behaviours, advanced shaping and evidence of data collection and analysis.

The assessment criteria are:

The trainer has demonstrated that they can:
1. Use a single cue to chain at least 3 individual behaviours where a reward is only given on completion of the chain.
2. Maintain the quality of each behaviour within the chain (above).
3. Chain at least 6 individual behaviours where each individual behaviour is cued and reward is only given on completion of the chain.
4. Maintain the quality of each behaviour within a chain (above).
5. Merge at least 3 behaviours that occur simultaneously into one new behaviour.
6. Collect data demonstrating progression of learning and analyse the results.
7. Have free shaped a new complex behaviour without overtly directing the learning. 
The demonstration is the evidence provided by the trainer of their competency in the criteria. Evidence must be sufficient and leave the Assessor in no doubt of the competency of the trainer. The demonstration should take no longer than 30 minutes.

ADVANCED LEVEL 4 

The trainer must demonstrate that they have completed a research project that makes a distinct contribution to clicker training.

The study must:

1. Contain original research with supporting evidence.
This can be contributed from multiple sources, i.e. many dogs or many trainers. Single study subjects may be approved however demonstration of repeatability of study between dogs/handlers is recommended.

2. Include practical application. The published process must contain sufficient detail to be replicated by other trainers.

3. Include a summary of results. Raw data is to be available for examination, and contain video evidence.

4. Contain critical assessment of the results and a clear indication how the study makes a contribution to clicker training

5. Include full bibliography and references.
The outline of the project must be pre-approved and the final presentation can be through written or video presentation and suitable for publishing.