Animal cognition Animal cognition Animal cognition describes the mental capacities of non-human animals and the study of those capacities. The field developed from comparative psychology, including the study of animal conditioning and learning. It has also been strongly influenced by research in ethology, behavioral ecology, and evolutionary psychology, and hence the alternative name cognitive ethology is sometimes used. Many behaviors associated with the term "animal intelligence" are also subsumed within animal cognition. Researchers have examined animal cognition in mammals (especially primates, cetaceans, elephants, dogs, cats, pigs, horses, cattle, raccoons and rodents), birds (including parrots, fowl, corvids and pigeons), reptiles (lizards and snakes),
Animal behavior consultant colleges; online courses through professional and technical schools; or in-person classes through humane societies and other animal education organizations. There is no single course of study that will fully equip an aspiring animal behavior consultant for the job. As animal behavior consulting requires the practitioner to be highly skilled in the mechanics of training animals—for example, in the timing of markers and delivery of reinforcers—aspiring consultants often undertake practical training. This can be in the form of a mentorship under a more experienced animal trainer or behavior consultant, classes as part of advanced training for volunteers at animal shelters and