HOW TO BECOME A DOG BEHAVIOURIST – COLIN TENNANT CFBA

[Music] [Applause] welcome to the K9 and Feline Behavior Association my name is Colin tenant the chairman I wish to give you a guide and an overview of what’s involved in being a Kine or feline Behavior practitioner in this organization it is open to all people of all ages but especially those people with good life skills in other words dealing with people it is a rewarding profession in more ways than one offering a fantastic career prospects doubt passion should be the basis for one wanting to enter this new career a professional practitioner needs to understand the specific breed traits of cats and dogs and how these complex animals work in society with their pet owners the feline discipline is mainly psychologically driven having a good understanding of what makes cats tick the feline discipline is primar psychologically driven and such knowledge of the species is essential this is addressed later in this film in contrast to cats dogs are a pack orientated animal hence why they’re so popular in Britain today they love being around people however they too bring with them specific species behavior and as such this in itself can bring problem behaviors when we don’t fully understand what makes dogs tick however for most dog owners they are a joy we all or we should all enjoy dogs dogs also need a formal education and quite a strict education of training they understand through obedience what they can and what they can’t do dogs come under the law the criminal law especially the new dangerous dogs act therefore dogs and you as owners are responsible in public places a dog cannot be allowed just to do as it wants run across roads perhaps cause accidents you need to control a dog therefore obedience training is critical to the dog’s early development understanding this as a practitioner is important although as practitioners we want to teach people to understand the dog’s mind the pack Instinct and how dogs interact with us equally as important is the dog training little sit with we need to understand the inherited drives that dogs bring into your home and separately the different individual breed drives dog breeds of modified how dogs think their mind so a breed like a husky is very different to that of a Basset Hound they are the same species but they act in very different ways due to how they’ve been bred over hundreds of years the practitioner needs to have a level of accredited academic study combined with vocational experience to be proficient and obtain a great knowledge of breed specific behaviors however many applicant bring to the CFA quantitive experience which we call vocational training this too is valued and considered by a new applicant for the cfba whether that be feline Behavior or canine many applicants feel that understanding dog behavior is all all that they need to become a good practitioner that’s simply not enough you have to be competent at training dogs and managing them let me give you an example aggression is the most common problem presented to Canine behaviorists so if you have a dog that’s dog on dog aggression in public places or dog on Person aggression eventually when the modification programs are implemented you will have to take the client in such places the client will look to you for Direction they want you to lead by example the ability to intercede quickly when things are starting to go wrong this is the real world of dog behavior you are in charge and when you lead by example and the client sees you take their dog and control it with strict obedience and bring that dog into order and the dog still has a happy temperament and is learning fast then the client confidence improves they see that you can do it that is not the same as you telling them what to do in a written report that’s the real world linked to dog behavior and psychology experience in learning the handling skills of dogs is vital therefore vocational knowledge is most important only when one is handled and managed the most aggressive dogs with serious behavior problems and in quantity can you gain knowledge which is the foundation of this profession if you cannot train or handle a dog that displays aggression to dogs and or people how can you hope to lead by example in essence the most successful practitioners are the ones that do lead by example the public your clients are always impressed when they see you get results there is a risk in this profession we have strict laws on dog behavior which makes our job more difficult when we’re trying to rehabilitate dogs we have to expose these dogs eventually whatever training and behavior program they’ve been on to the real world if we want these dogs to live in that environment so there is risk the way practitioners work varies a great deal depending on where their practice is located the part of the country practitioners who work in cities will probably have slightly different systems and protocol to those who live in the country pet owners will often contact the veterinarian for a referral to see a cfba full member and this is mandatory for pet insurance cases many owners contact you through recommendation and that is a good sign of your success and professionalism once you’ve received a referral from a Veterinary surgeon the client will normally come to your Center if you have one however some practitioners work from home and only do home visits the client explains the problem that they’re presenting in to you in detail this we term information gathering trying to collate all the facts together of the problem presented to you and once you’ve made the notes and the owner has presented their dog’s problems to you in the way they want they then will ask you to diagnose what you think is wrong with their dog or why their dog is exhibiting the behavior it does now these can be straightforward or very complex the time allowed can vary between 1 and a half and 3 hours the average is about 2 hours do again the client sees you giving them firsthand advice on what equipment to use it may be a head collar it may be other equipment that you’re suggesting they use in the home like an indoor cage whatever equipment you want them to use it is for you to set this down subsequently in a report you may need to also demonstrate how to handle a difficult dog in a difficult situation and when their dog becomes aggressive you will often need stooge dogs to work with so the client can actually see what you’re doing it is virtually impossible for a client to understand what you’re conveying from writing alone in the thousands of con consultations I’ve conducted in each case where I show calming a dog down the dog is aggressive it’s on its back legs it’s barking it’s aggressive this is the norm for this dog with the client if they can see me redu this in 10 or 20 minutes by calmly showing them techniques what to notice when to intervene when not to intervene what equipment to use that gives the clients great comp confidence that they too can achieve what the experts achieving this is how we learn it’s very important once the consultation is concluded it’s for you to explain to the client whether they will need to see you again how that works that they will receive a full written report explaining all that you’ve heard from them and your opinion of how they can solve their dogs problems once you you set down the programs you want the client to follow in your report and from the demonstrations they’ve seen you do need to keep in contact with the client now this can be by email or by phone it’s very important to maintain that contact feline consultations by contrast can be very different most cats do not travel well so feline consultations will generally take place in the pet owner’s home home this is the best place to see a cat however on occasion there may be a reason why you want to see a cat at your Center the Kan Anda feline Behavior Association through its sister organization The canbridge Institute of dog behavior and training and pet Behavior generally in this section you can find out what such a career has to offer plus learning about the roots available to work education and specific training courses that are available through accredited modules in the Cambridge Institute we offer courses in canine behavior and psychology these also have workshops of one two or four days and these are held each year in the United Kingdom many of our courses are distance learning so people could learn at home in their own time and at their own pace we are inclusive we want people to be able to study and in a relaxed way we pride ourselves in having the best tutors in Britain in K9 training behavior and psychology and Feline psychology all our tutors have to have a minimum of between five and 10 years full-time experience in the field go online for study choices and how to apply for a new career in either K9 or feline Behavior the K9 and behavior Association is a fantastic modern Cutting Edge organization if you want to develop a career as a practitioner do look at our website and all our courses I wish you well in all your endeavors whatever you [Music] choose [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] oh oh …

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