The Truth About Cats and Dogs

I went into this course feeling like I was already quite experienced with living with cats and looking after them, and something of a novice regarding dogs and their needs. I expected to learn a lot about dogs, and hoped to learn some new things about cats.

The course lived up to those expectations. I've picked up a few new nuggets of information about cats, which I've immediately been able to apply to life with my cat. My already-spoilt kitty is hopefully even happier in his little kitty life.

I also learned a fair bit about dogs, which will be a decent basis to start from should I ever decide to take the plunge and get a canine companion.

This MOOC wasn't perfect, though. My first problem with it was that some of the quiz questions seemed a bit irrelevant. The ones that stick in my mind were about identifying breeds of dogs and cats, which hadn't really been covered in the videos beyond a few specific breed examples — which didn't relate to these quiz questions. These seemed a bit pointless as quiz questions; they didn't seem to have any deeper connotation, such as "and what does that mean for X breed's potential health conditions or lifestyle needs?" I think other quiz questions may have felt a bit off too, and there sometimes seemed to be a bit more of a focus on dogs than cats. I wouldn't mind that, but I expected a roughly 50/50 split on focus between dogs and cats given how the course was presented in the title and in early course videos.

The only other big problem I had with the course was the final week's material seemed both a bit rushed and decidedly skewed towards dogs. It was interesting to learn about dogs, but again: I was expecting more of a 50/50 split on focus. Also, the material in the final week didn't really feel "new" or like it particularly built on previous weeks.

All that said, I did enjoy the course, and I'm glad I took it and learned some things to help give my cat a better life. I also liked the video about dogs on the street, which seemed like a bit of a different idea compared to most MOOCs, and added an extra layer to the course.

This is the second course I took inside Class Central's Study Group with other teammates. We learned knowledge from this course and shared interesting experiences about our pets within the group while learning. In the final study meeting, one of our teammates shared his amazing experiences as a volunteer at a not-for-profit organization with assisting animals.

Cats and dogs are/were my family members right now and in the last decades. Although we have lived together for such a long time and even built close friendship with each other, I think I don't understand them scientifically.

This course is a great chance to help you learn more about cats and dogs if you plan to have a pet and bring more wellness to your cute and furry friend. It covers a wide range of concepts including ethology, domestication, breeds, genetics, senses and communication, socialisation, training, and more importantly, health and welfare, etc.

The "Five Welfare Needs" has left me with a deep impression. It gives me a framework of how to provide our pets with a good quality of life. These five needs include diet, environment, behaviour, health, and companionship.

I would like to learn deeper about the socialisation and communicate of cats and dogs while the course is friendly for beginners but limited in depth. As we "speak" different "languages", it could help me a lot if I can understand the meaning of their behaviors. I would like to thank the course team for sharing the truth about cats and dogs with us and I'm really looking forward to have another course specifical in socialisation and communicate of cats and dogs.

This is the second course that I did as part of the internal study group initiative at Class Central. I could have never even though of doing this course without study group.
This four weeks course gave me an in-depth knowledge about cats and dogs. How they communicate their feeling, what are their needs and what issues they face in society.
At the end of week there is a video "Lecture: Ask the experts - video response" which answers to the questions asked by students. Most of the questions which came to my mind during the week was already asked by some student hence answered in the video.
I found this course to be easy to do and I was able to do this course easily using Coursera mobile application (Except for exams).

If you have a pet, or are considering one, this is the course for you! As well as describing natural characteristics and behaviors (and in what ways dogs and cats differ), we are taught how to effectively meet both their physical and mental needs. The 5 welfare needs of pets are discussed in detail in various sections of the course.
1. Need for a suitable environment
2. Need for a suitable diet
3. Need to be able to exhibit normal behavior patterns
4. Need to be housed with, or apart from, other animals
5. Need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury, and disease.
Useful suggestions for training pets are also provided: how to discourage bad conduct while promoting good behavior.
Other aspects of pets are discussed including choosing the right pet for your situation, managing pets and children, and trips to the vet.

I took this course as part of a study group at Class Central. Maybe I wouldn't have been motivated to take the course on my own since I thought that I had a lot of experience with pets, especially with dogs. But there was still a lot to learn and to understand the reasons behind.

I enjoyed the course a lot. It takes a closer look at a divers number of aspects of the lives of cats and dogs and our interactions with them. I valued the combination of scientific investigations and practical recommendations in the course. It was interesting to learn about the life of street dogs. Thank you for including this lecture. Also, I found the Ask the expert section every week very interesting. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge through the course.