Unlocking Resilience:
Understand Stress.
Build Resilience.
Strengthen Your Behavior Work.
A 16-week deep dive into the science of stress, emotion, cognition, welfare, and resilience — designed for behavior professionals who want to understand complex behavior more deeply and apply that understanding in thoughtful, practical ways.
Full student and auditor options available.
Unlocking Resilience:
Understand Stress.
Build Resilience.
Strengthen Your Behavior Work.
A 16-week deep dive into the science of stress, emotion, cognition, welfare, and resilience — designed for behavior professionals who want to understand complex behavior more deeply and apply that understanding in thoughtful, practical ways.
Full student and auditor options available.
Are you a trainer or behavior professional who:
Wants to understand stress and resilience beyond simple explanations
Works with animals whose behavior is affected by fear, frustration, stress, pain, aging, trauma, or overwhelm
Wants a stronger scientific foundation for case assessment and intervention
Cares deeply about welfare, emotional well-being, and humane behavior change
Wants to make better decisions in complex cases, not just collect more information
Is ready to go deeper than tips, protocols, and surface-level explanations
Complex behavior rarely has one simple cause.
Stress, emotion, cognition, development, genetics, learning history, health, environment, and social relationships can all influence how an animal responds to the world. When we understand those interacting systems more clearly, we are better equipped to support animals in ways that are effective, ethical, and grounded in the science of behavior.
That’s where Unlocking Resilience comes in.
Choose the learning experience that works for you
Full Student For structure, discussion, feedback, and guided practice applying the material. $1,260 or six payments of $210
Auditor A flexible option for those with time or scheduling limitations—or who are not yet ready for the full course experience. $780 or six payments of $130
In Unlocking Resilience, we explore:
What animals need in order to cope, adapt, and thrive
How stress affects the brain, body, behavior, learning, memory, and health
Why emotional regulation, executive function, and cognitive flexibility matter in behavior work
How development, aging, pain, trauma, and individual differences can shape stress resilience
How welfare, agency, predictability, control, social support, enrichment, and appropriate challenge influence behavior
How to use this information to make more thoughtful decisions in real-world cases
You get depth without losing the thread.
Science without overwhelm.
And a structured way to understand complex behavior that strengthens your professional judgment over time.
In Unlocking Resilience, we explore:
What animals need in order to cope, adapt, and thrive
How stress affects the brain, body, behavior, learning, memory, and health
Why emotional regulation, executive function, and cognitive flexibility matter in behavior work
How development, aging, pain, trauma, and individual differences can shape stress resilience
How welfare, agency, predictability, control, social support, enrichment, and appropriate challenge influence behavior
How to use this information to make more thoughtful decisions in real-world cases
You get depth without losing the thread.
Science without overwhelm.
And a structured way to understand complex behavior that strengthens your professional judgment over time.
As a student in Unlocking Resilience, you receive:
Weekly live lectures with Dr. Kristina Spaulding
Replay access to recorded lectures
A structured 16-week curriculum
CEUs from CCPDT and IAABC
Course access for 18 months
Current content (updated twice a year)
Full students also receive:
Weekly live discussion sessions
Applied homework assignments
Instructor feedback
Opportunities to apply course concepts to real-world behavior questions
A certificate of completion
A website logo for marketing after successful course completion
Whether you enroll as a full student or auditor, you’ll build a more integrated understanding of stress, resilience, and behavior — one concept at a time.
What makes Unlocking Resilience different?
Go deeper
Unlocking Resilience goes beyond simple explanations of behavior. You’ll explore the biological, emotional, cognitive, and environmental systems that shape how animals respond to stress — and how those systems can be supported through thoughtful intervention.
Connect science to practice
This course is designed to help you translate research into better decision-making. We do not stop at “what the science says.” We ask what it means, where the limits are, and how it can inform real-world behavior work.
Learn directly from Dr. Spaulding
You’ll learn from Kristina Spaulding, PhD, CAAB, whose background in biopsychology, animal behavior, teaching, and applied behavior consulting allows her to bridge research and practice in a way that is clear, nuanced, and practical.
Build a framework you can keep using
The goal is not to give you a single protocol or checklist. The goal is to help you build a flexible, science-based framework for understanding behavior, assessing cases, and supporting resilience across a wide range of animals and situations.
Don't miss out!
Course starts Monday, August 10th
What others are saying
Get a taste of what you’ll explore inside Unlocking Resilience.
“Big Feelings, Real Behavior”
Course Details
Next cohort begins: Monday, August 10th
Live lectures: Mondays at 12 pm ET
Discussion sessions for full students: Wednesdays at 12 pm ET
No class the weeks of September 7th and October 5th
Course length:
16 weeks
Course access:
18 months
Lectures are recorded for students who cannot attend live.
Discussion sessions are for full students only and are not recorded.
Full students should expect to spend approximately 3–5 hours per week on the course, including lecture, discussion, and assignments.
CEUs are available through CCPDT and IAABC.
Choose the right option for you
Full Student
Best for those who want structure, discussion, feedback, and support applying the material to real-world cases.
Live lectures and recordings, weekly discussion sessions, applied assignments, instructor feedback, CEUs, certificate of completion, and 18-month access.
Auditor
A flexible option for those who want to build their knowledge but have time or scheduling limitations—or who are not yet ready to commit to the full course experience.
Live lectures and recordings, CEUs, and 18-month access.
Dr. Kristina Spaulding
Dr. Kristina Spaulding has been in the dog training and behavior profession for over 20 years. She has a PhD in biopsychology — the study of the biological basis of behavior — and is a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist.
She is the founder of Science Matters Academy of Animal Behavior and teaches behavior professionals about stress, neurobiology, cognition, emotion, resilience, welfare, and the science of behavior change.
Dr. Spaulding’s work focuses on helping professionals move beyond simple explanations of behavior and develop a more integrated, science-based understanding of animals as whole individuals living within complex systems.
She has taught university courses in learning, neuroscience, and behavior; regularly presents at conferences and professional events; and is known for translating complex research into clear, practical frameworks for behavior professionals.
Pricing options
Choose the full student option if you want more structure, accountability, discussion, feedback, and support applying the material.
Choose the auditor option if you primarily want to learn through the lectures and recordings at your own pace.
Both options give you access to the core course content. The full student option adds interaction, application, feedback, and the opportunity to earn a certificate.
What makes Science Matters Courses different?
Go deep
Unlocking Resilience goes beyond simple explanations of behavior. You’ll explore the biological, emotional, cognitive, and environmental systems that shape how animals respond to stress — and how those systems can be supported through thoughtful intervention.
Direct interaction
You'll interact directly with Dr. Spaulding. All students have access to live lectures and the opportunity to ask the Dr. Spaulding questions during the lecture. Full students attend weekly discussions sessions led by Dr. Spaulding. (Lectures are also recorded for those who cannot attend live).
Apply what you learn
Students are given the opportunity to apply what they learn during class. This is done with interactive activities during lecture and applied problem-solving challenges during discussion sessions. Learn how to make the connection between the science of behavior and working directly with animals.
Topics covered
Key concepts and building blocks
What animals need
Welfare vs. well-being
Attachment
Stress coping
Flexible problem-solving
The Biology of Behavior
Evolution and natural selection
Neurobiology and the brain
Genetics/epigenetics
Stress
Basics
Impacts of stress
During development
Seniors
Learning/memory
Health
Aggression
Sex differences
Specific populations
Stress and the brain
Emotion
Basics
Theories of emotion
Emotion in dogs
Consciousness and self-awareness
Emotion and pain
Emotional regulation and reactivity
Individual differences in emotion
Emotion and motivation
Cognition
Basics
Goal-directed behavior
Executive function
Decision-making
Individual differences in stress resiliency
Promoting well-being
Assessing welfare/well-being
Preventing and mitigating stress
Development
Predictability/control
Training methods
Building resilience and stress coping
Learned industriousness
Social support
Enrichment and exercise
Appropriate challenge
Emotional health and mental health (behavior issues)
Mental health
in non-human animals
Emotional/mental health and stress
Emotional/mental health and the brain
Labels
Trauma
Impulsivity and hyperactivity
Depression, fear, anxiety
Aggression
Effective behavior modification plans
Applications for all of the topics above will be discussed throughout the course
Course details
Live lectures and discussion sections. Lectures are also recorded for those who cannot attend live. Discussions are NOT recorded.
Next course begins on August 10th, 2026.
Live lectures are Mondays at 12 pm ET. A recorded version of each lecture will also be posted for those who cannot attend live.
Discussion sessions (full students only) are on Wednesdays at 12 pm ET. Attendance is required for full students. Discussions are not recorded.
Runs for sixteen weeks, ending on December 9th. (No class the weeks of September 7th or October 5th)
Full students will have homework assignments. Expect to spend 3 - 5 hours a week on the course (including lecture and discussion)
Auditors: 16 CEUs from CCPDT and IAABC.
Full students: 32 CEUs from CCPDT and 40 CEUs from IAABC.
Full students earn a certificate of completion and a website logo for marketing.
Course access for 18 months.
Content updated twice a year with the latest research.
Get a taste of what you’ll explore
inside Unlocking Resilience.
Your instructor
Kristina Spaulding, PhD, CAAB
Dr. Kristina Spaulding has been in the dog training and behavior profession for over 20 years. She owns Science Matters Academy of Animal Behavior LLC. She has a PhD in biopsychology—the study of the biological basis of behavior—and is a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist. She also has a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. As part of her graduate training, Dr. Spaulding instructed university courses on learning, neuroscience, and behavior and was formally trained in effective teaching techniques. In graduate school, she received an award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student.
She is particularly interested in stress, neurobiology, cognition, emotion, and well-being and how to apply these concepts to the prevention, early intervention, and treatment of behavior problems in dogs. She currently teaches a variety of online courses and webinars on the science of behavior through her website, www.sciencemattersllc.com. She also regularly presents on canine behavior science at conferences and other events.
In 2019, Dr. Spaulding received the Association of Professional Dog Trainer’s (APDT’s) Member of the Year Award. She currently serves on the IAABC Foundation Board and the Fear Free Advisory group.
Choose the right option for you
All students gain access to the live lecture. Full students also gain access to a one hour live discussion each week. Lectures are also recorded for those who cannot attend live.
