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CB Business and Industrial Review of Cynology College
Cynology College

Cynology College review: Fraud 2

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2:45 pm EDT
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I want to let dog trainers, behaviorists and dog owners know that the online Cynology College in Canada is a FRAUDULENT site, it is not a real College and it is run by scammers.

The Cynology College is a "sponsored" company by the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) and the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) and both of those organizations (which pretty much are the same and managed by the same people) are aware that this site is fraudulent, but they have done nothing to solve the problem.

The "president" of the Cynology College, James O'Heare, used to portray himself as an expert in animal behavior with a PhD degree and made people believe that his company is a real college. He is just a con artist that misleads the public, steals money and finds ways of making money out of dog trainers.

Last year I enrolled in one of his "Diploma" programs and paid him almost $1, 300.00 plus the cost of his so-called books. Once enrolled, I discovered that this guy has really basic education in the animal behavior fields. He uses poor language (not that I have the best English, but I'm honest when it comes to my educational background) and after reading a couple of his books (it is mandatory to buy his books in order to graduate from his classes), I found out that the content in each book is a copy or a summary of several books that are out in the market. A real PhD will never do something like that. If you have read Lindsay, Beaver or Overall, you will discover how James is great at copyright infringement. Maybe that is why you cannot buy any of his books at Amazon.com...too risky for him.

Around January last year, I started having doubts about this person and his Cynology College, so I decided to do some research and found out that he "graduated" from two fake online universities based in the US that are NOT accredited (like his college) and according to him, he finished his undergraduate and graduate degrees in only "two years". From what I know, in order to get a graduate degree, it will take you between 6 to 9 years of school attendance. Four years for the bachelors, minimum two for the Masters and another five for the PhD. He did all this in just two, weird, isn't it?

But there is more about the Cynology College: I figured that the "president" is now also a professor at one of the fake universities he graduated from. That University (degree mill) is part of a fake accreditation agency and now the Cynology college is accredited by that organization too: The Central States Consortium of Colleges & Schools (not a real organization).

Well it seems that after a year somebody else found out about his fake degrees because he has finally removed the "PhD" after his name.

He has also created a fake organization: International Institute for Applied Companion Animal Behavior where he is the "director". We are talking about a guy who has no academic background and who is teaching college level classes and pretending to be a scientist.

If you visit the Cynology College site, you will find out that none of the people that are part of the Faculty have a real degree. They are dog trainers just like me. Some of them live here in the United States. One in specific caught my attention because she is the one in charge of the "Nutrition" courses and she also "graduated" from the same fake college as James O'Heare did. How scary is that?, people is learning about animal nutrition from a scammer. The other one is just a dog training author that has no idea about cynology, ethology or behavior. But the most scary one is the fake Australian veterinarian that is teaching Veterinary Psychopharmacology.

I visited the site and I was in shock when I found out that the course I paid for no longer exists. I never got a notice; I never got my money back. This Cynology College is a real scam.

If you are a dog owner, pay attention to the dog trainer's credentials. If the trainer claims to be a student of this place, your dog may not be in good hands!

If you are a dog trainer, don't waste your time and money.

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crystal.s
Livingston, US
May 15, 2012 8:08 am EDT
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I agree with mtfb. I actually enrolled in Cynology College and it was a pretty solid program. Everyone that I dealt with was more than professional and James was always willing to work with me when I needed his assistance. I actually didn't finish the program because the classes were so intense and were absolutely legit. I too am surprised that Cynology College has not gone after "Victor." James O'Heare is a very well-respected professional who has contributed a LOT to the canine world. I found this same complaint on another website about scammers.

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mtfb
Gloucester, US
Mar 22, 2011 11:00 pm EDT

You know, this sounds like major sour grapes to me -- perhaps someone who found the course too difficult or time consuming. In looking into the courses on the website, I can easily see that you do NOT have to buy O'Heare's books -- but there are a number of other books you do need to complete the courses, such as Overall, Lindsay, Beaver, Miklosi, Serpell, Abrantes, Burch&Bailey, Domjan, Chance, Coppinger, and Hetts. Those are some pretty heavy hitters...
The instructors noted on the websites have degrees from brick and mortar colleges, not degree mills. The nutrition teacher graduated from a college that's accredited by the American Nutrition Association... ? The person teaching Veterinary Psychopharmacology seems to be a real vet, the Medical Director at VCA Oldsmar Animal Hospital in Tampa, Florida.
I'm sorry, but I just don't know where you are getting your information here -- when I check out the site, I see very different information. Since when are the following universities fake:
Auburn University, Auburn, AL
Utah State University, Logan, UT
DePaul University, Chicago, IL
Huntington College of Health Sciences, Knoxville, TN
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

I'm really surprised the school hasn't come after you with a lawsuit.

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