Would you like to become one of the best clicker training instructors in the Nordic region? Canis's 1-year clicker training instructor course was first held in 2003, and it is the course where many of the most well-known dog instructors in the Nordic region began their careers.
Since 2015, the instructor course has been delivered 100% ONLINE. This means it is simple to participate no matter where in the Nordic region you live.
During the course, you will gain a crystal-clear picture of all the specific training skills that good clicker training consists of — and most importantly, how you can communicate these skills most effectively to your course participants.
Teaching takes place (from 18 August 2026 to approximately 1 May 2027) in the form of
- weekly live webinars (Tuesdays 21:00–22:30)
- video lessons
- feedback through the course's closed Facebook group, where participants can submit training videos and questions throughout the year
- practical training with your own dog
- observation exercises (you will become skilled at observation during the year!)
- work on project assignments to be submitted at the end of the course
The course is led by Canis founder Morten Egtvedt. In addition, you will meet several guest lecturers from the very top of the world stage. From guest lecturers on the instructor course currently running, we can mention names such as Cecilie Køste, Dr. Susan Friedman, Michele Pouliot, Dr. Rick Kubina, Dr. Joe Layng and Tobias Gustavsson. Guest lecturers for the 2026/27 course will be finalised during the spring, but will likely include many of the same names — or other top-tier lecturers.
You will quickly discover that this is not a "typical dog course". We don't just want to teach you specific training skills — during the year you will gain a very solid academic foundation that you will benefit from for the rest of your life, regardless of which dog sport you are most interested in. Many participants also report learning things on this course that have been useful to them far beyond dog training...
The course is relatively time-consuming (especially for participants — it is considerably more manageable for observers) and as a participant you must be prepared for effort equivalent to a part-time education or evening school. If you want to invest in your own competence as a dog trainer/instructor and gain skills and knowledge you will benefit from for many years to come, this is definitely the course for you!
If you have limited time available, but still want to take the opportunity to learn as much as possible, we recommend you follow the course as an observer.
Since the teaching is 100% web-based, you can easily follow the course in the evenings or whenever it suits you best, from your own computer, no matter where in the world you live. You save travel expenses compared to how the course was previously delivered. This new course format has made it significantly easier for dog owners across the Nordic region to participate. In recent years we have had participants from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland!
An online course requires some "self-discipline" and determination to persist through the entire course. We have, however, designed the course so that it is fully possible to participate with different levels of ambition and effort — and still learn a lot. It is possible to be very active — but at the same time you can also learn a great deal just by following along with the more active students and learning from the feedback they receive.
Benchmarking for Clicker Training
The core of Canis's clicker training instructor programme is Canis's "Benchmarking System for Clicker Training", which breaks down the entire training process into its individual factors, and describes how all the most important training skills look from beginner to expert level. In many ways we can describe this system as "the foundation skills for the handler".
By working focused with this system, you will already within the first few months of the course develop observation skills that very few other instructors come close to. Once you have completed the course you will notice that it has become much easier to pinpoint the specific parts of training that will have the greatest impact to improve. A dog instructor who has the skill to observe thoroughly and then select 1–3 central points for improvement that will clearly improve the student's training is an exceptionally effective instructor. And of course you will take these skills with you into your own dog training as well.
The Benchmarking System is only available to participants on the clicker training instructor course. The reason is simply that it requires training to use the system as it is intended to be used — and you will learn this thoroughly during the first half of the course.
The instructor programme consists of:
- 30+ weekly live webinars (Tuesdays from 21:00–22:30). In these weekly webinars you meet the lead instructor/lecturer and the other participants "live" in the Zoom classroom. Each week we go through a new and interesting topic. Recordings of the webinars are made available to all participants the next day, so you can catch up on everything even if you cannot attend each webinar live.
- A closed Facebook group where you submit training videos and receive feedback on your training (in addition to learning a lot from feedback given to other participants). The Facebook group is where the day-to-day teaching takes place. It is a very good and safe environment in this closed group, and you can hardly avoid learning a great deal just by being part of this group and "living and breathing clicker training" for a whole year.
- A large number of video lessons, where you learn everything you need to know about clicker training — and how you can most effectively pass these skills on to your course participants. These video lessons are "required reading" for the course and provide you with much of the background knowledge you need to keep up with the teaching.
- You will receive unique study material: Canis's Benchmarking System for Clicker Training. This system serves as the "foundation" of the programme, and will (once you have worked with it for a few months) give you a crystal-clear picture of what makes expert trainers into experts — and what beginners need to learn to get there. Being able to break down "good dog training" into its individual factors will give you a major advantage both as a dog trainer and instructor.
- Each month you will also work with different training assignments with your own dog. You submit video recordings showing the status of your training as often as you wish, and you will receive feedback on your training so you can improve your training skills as you progress. Video analysis allows the lead instructor to give feedback that is much more precise than when "merely" observing training live.
- In addition to the training assignments, you will also learn to perform video analysis on your own — of both your own and other people's training. This will accelerate your observation skills and make you extremely aware of how all the most important clicker training skills should look.
- You will learn how to collect data during training and thus make your training more scientific, so that you can gain more reliable knowledge about how effectively your training is working or not (regardless of which training method is used!)
- We also provide tips on (optional) textbooks for those who want to study further on their own.
- The course concludes with submission of project assignments (by 1 April) that you have worked on throughout the year. The requirement to pass the course is simply that all project assignments are submitted (by the deadline) and approved by the lead instructor. If one or more of the project assignments are not approved or completed by the deadline, it is possible to submit them at a later time.
Opportunity to participate as an observer
It is also possible to participate in the instructor course as an observer. This is a fantastic offer for you if you want to learn "everything" about clicker training, but for various reasons do not want to participate fully with your own dog (for example, if you have a "retired dog" or a very young puppy right now). This is also an excellent offer for you if you feel that you might not be quite ready to take the step up as a clicker training instructor yet, but still want to learn as much as possible about clicker training (and instruction!), and have a goal of becoming an instructor once you have gained a few more years of practical experience with clicker training.
Observers receive access to all video lessons, all study material — and you can participate in webinars on equal terms with other participants (and ask questions during the webinars etc). You also have access to read all feedback posted in the Facebook group.
Observers do NOT submit project assignments/training videos, and will not receive feedback during the course on your own training skills or video analysis. But of course you can do all these assignments on your own for your own training if you wish. In short, as an observer you can learn as much as you want — at your own pace.
Dog instructor as a career (or part-time job)?
Once you have completed and passed this programme (as a participant), you have the opportunity to apply to become an instructor at Canis Hundeskole.
But most of those who participate in this course already run their own dog training schools, are active as instructors in their own dog club — or first and foremost want to develop their own dog training skills.
Canis's aim is to spread the best possible knowledge about clicker training to as many dog owners as possible, and we therefore welcome EVERYONE who is interested in reward-based dog training on this course!
What do you need to participate in the instructor course?
- A computer with webcam
- A video camera (an iPhone or similar works perfectly fine as long as you film at a close enough distance so the sound comes through clearly)
- YouTube account to upload the videos (you may mark the videos as "unlisted" if you don't want others to see them).
- Facebook account (as all course information goes through the closed Facebook group).
- A dog that enjoys clicker training and enjoys training (you do not need a Border Collie for this, but it is an advantage if your dog is not completely unsuited for slightly more advanced training) :-)
(Observers only need access to a PC/Facebook).
Prior knowledge
It is an advantage if you have completed Canis's clicker training handler course or other courses through Canis Hundeskole beforehand if you are to participate as a regular participant (or if you have equivalent experience with clicker training from other good dog training schools).
You should also be familiar with the main principles described in books such as "Klikkertrening for din hund" or "Lydighetstrening i teori og praksis", and have trained according to these principles for a while beforehand (or read up on them in the months before the course begins!).
There are no formal prior knowledge requirements for observers, but you should have reasonable familiarity with clicker training beforehand to get full benefit from the course, as the teaching will sometimes be at a relatively advanced level. Experience from competition-oriented training (obedience, working trials, rally, freestyle, agility etc) is definitely an advantage.
The course is conducted primarily in Norwegian. From experience, Danes and Swedes understand the language quite well within a few weeks. We also have several guest lecturers from the USA, so it is an advantage if you understand English reasonably well.
Course leaders
The instructor course has been designed by Morten Egtvedt and Cecilie Køste. Morten will conduct most of the teaching during the course.
Morten & Cecilie founded Canis in 1998, and have written three books on clicker training that have had a major influence on the Nordic dog community over the past 25 years.
In addition, you will meet several world-class guest lecturers in the second half of the course.
### Enrolment deadline
- 12 August 2026
*NB: We accept enrolments on a first-come, first-served basis. All enrolments are therefore binding. When all places are taken, we close for further enrolments.*
Course fee
- Participant with dog: NOK 29,500
- Observer: NOK 17,500
- *VIP observer: NOK 3,500 (reduced observer price, only for those who have participated as a participant or observer in the period 2015–2025 and want a refresher year — write "previous participant/observer" in the first question on the enrolment form).*
Bring your friends — get a friend discount!
From experience, it is a MAJOR advantage to bring a good training buddy (or more!) to take the course at the same time as you. Then you can support each other along the way, collaborate on assignments, help each other film training videos — and in short keep each other "on track" throughout the year. So get in touch with your best training mates, and enrol on the course together!
- We offer a 10% "friend discount" on the enrolment fee when 2–3 people from the same club/dog school/friend group enrol together.
- If you are 4 or more from the same club/dog school/friend group who enrol together, the discount increases to 20%.
If you belong to a club/organisation/company where more than 8 participants want to take part at the same time (as participants and/or observers), you can contact the lead instructor for a tailored price offer.
*NB: Use discount code VENN10 to get a 10% discount when you and a friend enrol on the course together.*
- The friend discount offer applies to both observers and participants.
- The friend discount offer applies all the way up to the enrolment deadline.
- Multiple discounts (e.g. friend discount and early bird discount) cannot be combined — the highest discount applies.
Payment/invoicing
You can pay for the course by card (on the next page), or choose an invoice from Klarna with a 30-day payment deadline. Part payments are also available through Klarna if you wish.
*NB: Enrolment is binding, and the course fee must be paid in full even if for various reasons you should wish to "drop out" during the course. You should only apply for this course if you are ready to study seriously and commit the effort required throughout the year.*
Start date
The course starts officially with the first webinar on Tuesday 18 August 2026 (21:00). After that, it is full speed ahead until approximately 1 May 2027 (with the exception of a month's Christmas break in December).
The webinars are held (with rare exceptions) Tuesdays 21:00 to approximately 22:30 (I must admit we sometimes go a bit over time). This is from experience a practical time for almost everyone. Video lessons and other course work can be done when it suits you. It is also possible to watch the webinars in recordings if you are busy on a Tuesday evening.
Questions?
If you have questions about the course before you enrol, you are welcome to contact lead instructor Morten Egtvedt. I look forward to seeing you in front of the screen when the course starts in August!