Would you like to become one of the Nordic's best clicker training instructors? Canis's 1-year clicker trainer instructor course was first held in 2003, and it is the course where many of the most renowned dog instructors in the Nordic region started their careers.
Since 2015, the instructor course has been run 100% ONLINE. This means it's easy to participate no matter where in the Nordic region you live.
During the course, you will gain a crystal-clear understanding of all the specific training skills that make up good clicker training – and most importantly, how you can communicate this most effectively to your course students.
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 ask questions throughout the year
- practical training with your own dog
- observation exercises (you will become excellent at observation during the year!)
- work on project assignments that are 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 absolute world elite. Among 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 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 trainer skills – during the year you will gain a very solid professional 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 they have found useful 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 an effort equivalent to a part-time course 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 advantage of 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 costs compared to how the course was previously run. 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 that you have some "self-discipline" and stay committed throughout the course. However, we have designed the course so that it is fully possible to participate with different levels of ambition and effort – and still learn a great deal. It is possible to be very active – but at the same time you can also learn a lot by simply following the more active students and learning from the feedback they receive.
Benchmarking for clicker training
The core of Canis's clicker trainer instructor course is Canis's "Benchmarking System for Clicker Training", which breaks down the entire training process into its individual factors, and describes how all the 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 develop observation skills in the first few months of the course that very few other instructors come close to. Once you have completed the course, you will notice that it becomes much easier to point precisely at the parts of training that will have the greatest effect to improve. A dog instructor who has mastered the art of thorough observation and then selecting 1–3 central improvement points that will clearly improve their student's training is an exceptionally effective instructor. And of course you take these skills with you into your own dog training as well.
The Benchmarking System is only available to participants in the clicker trainer 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 course 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 become available to all participants the next day, so you can catch everything even if you can't attend every webinar live.
- A closed Facebook group where you submit training videos and receive feedback on your training (and you will also learn a lot from feedback given to other participants). The Facebook group is where the daily teaching takes place. It's a very good and safe environment in this closed group, and you can hardly avoid learning a lot just by being part of this group 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 teach these skills to your course students. These video lessons are the "curriculum" of the course and give you 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 acts as the "foundation" of the education, and will (once you have worked with it for a few months) give you a crystal-clear picture of what makes expert trainers 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 like, and you will receive feedback on your training so you can improve your training skills as you go. Video analysis allows the course leader to give feedback that is much more accurate than when you "just" observe training live.
- In addition to training assignments, you will also learn to do video analysis on your own – of both your own and others' training. This will accelerate your observation skills and make you extremely aware of how all the important clicker training skills should look.
- You will learn about how you can collect data during training and thus make your training more scientific, so you can gain more reliable knowledge about how effective your training is or isn't (regardless of which training method is used!)
- We also provide tips on (optional) recommended books for those who want to study even more on their own.
- The course ends with the 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 course leader. If one or more of the project assignments is not approved or completed by the deadline, it is possible to submit them at a later date.
Opportunity to participate as an observer
It is also possible to participate in the instructor course as an observer. This is a great offer for you who want to learn "everything" about clicker training, but who 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 who feel that perhaps you are not quite ready to take the step up as a clicker trainer instructor yet, but who still want to learn as much as possible about clicker training (and instruction!), and have a goal of becoming an instructor when you have gained a few years of extra practical experience with clicker training.
Observers get access to all video lessons, all study material – and you can participate in the webinars on equal terms with the 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. As an observer, you can simply 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 education (as a participant) you have the opportunity to apply to become an instructor at Canis Hundeskole.
But most people who participate in this course already run their own dog schools, are active as instructors in their own dog club – or primarily want to develop their own dog training skills.
Canis's goal is to spread the most and best possible knowledge about clicker training to as many dog owners as possible, and we therefore welcome EVERYONE interested in reward-based dog training on this course!
What do you need to participate in the instructor course?
- Computer with webcam
- Video camera (iPhone or equivalent works fine as long as you film from close enough that the sound comes through clearly)
- YouTube account to upload the videos (you might want to mark the videos as "unlisted" if you don't want others to see them).
- Facebook account (as all information during the course goes through the closed Facebook group).
- A clicker-trained dog that enjoys training (you don't need a Border Collie to participate, but it helps if your dog is not completely unsuitable for slightly more advanced training) :-)
(Observers only need access to PC/Facebook).
Prior knowledge
It is an advantage if you have completed Canis's clicker training 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 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 to some extent before (or read up on this in the months before the course begins!).
There are no formal requirements for prior knowledge for observers, but you should have usable knowledge of clicker training beforehand to get full benefit from the course, as the teaching will sometimes be at a relatively high level. Experience from competition-oriented training (obedience, working trials, rally, freestyle, agility etc.) is definitely an advantage.
The course is mainly conducted in Norwegian. In practice, Danes and Swedes understand the language fairly 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 is designed by Morten Egtvedt and Cecilie Køste. Morten will conduct most of the teaching during the course.
Morten & Cecilie started Canis in 1998, and have written three books on clicker training that have had great 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
- 18 August 2026
*NOTE: 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 – type "previous participant/observer" in the first question in the enrolment form).*
Bring your friends – get a friend discount!
It is in practice a MAJOR advantage to bring a good training friend (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 friends and enrol in the course together!
- We give a 10% "friend discount" on the enrolment fee when 2–3 people from the same club/dog school/circle of friends enrol together.
- If you are 4 or more from the same club/dog school/circle of friends who enrol together, the discount increases to 20%.
If you belong to a club/company/organisation where more than 8 participants want to participate simultaneously (as participants and/or observers), you can contact the course leader for a customised price quote.
*NOTE: Use discount code VENN10 to get a 10% discount when you and a friend enrol in the course together.*
- The friend discount offer applies to both observers and participants.
- The friend discount offer applies all the way until 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. Instalments are also available through Klarna if you prefer.
*NOTE: 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 make the effort required throughout the year.*
Start date
The course officially starts with the first webinar on Tuesday 18 August 2026 (21:00). After that it's full speed ahead until approximately 1 May 2027 (with the exception of a month's Christmas holiday in December).
The webinars are run (with few exceptions) Tuesdays from 21:00 to approximately 22:30 (I must admit we sometimes go over time). This is in practice a convenient time for almost everyone. Video lessons and other work related to the course you can do when it suits you. It is also possible to watch the webinars as 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 course leader Morten Egtvedt. I look forward to seeing you in front of your screen when the course starts in August!