Pet Matters - Animal Behaviour and Training
Kirsty holds a Diploma in Companion Animal Behaviour and Training. She also holds an advanced diploma specifically in dog behaviour. She is a COAPE Association Behaviour Practitioner, one of the first to achieve this and one of only four in the west country. She is also a Tutor with COAPE. Visit www.coape.org for more information on COAPE and the courses Kirsty now tutors. COAPE is the largest group of qualified referral companion animal behaviourists in the UK.
Pet Matters has expanded greatly over the last few months. Joining as a Behaviourist and Trainer is Chrissy Beckhurst. We also have an administrator to help organise the paper work for the training as well as 3 Assistants involved in the dog training and socialising side of our work.
All behaviour work is carried out on veterinary referral only. Our
behaviour practice works alongside many veterinary practices in the
south of Devon. Veterinary Surgeons are delighted to be able to include
this service within their practice. They, like Doctors, are now
restricted to the amount of time for each consultation. For
psychological problems it is a real plus to be able to refer them
confidently to a Behaviour and Training Practice such as Pet Matters.
Kirsty and Chrissy are qualified in pharmacology and this enables them
to discuss with consulting vets the need, if appropriate, of medication
to help with a behavioural problem.
We currently run Puppy Socialisation Classes for five veterinary practices. We base these classes at Bovey Tracey Town Hall and hold them on a Wednesday afternoon. Classes are for puppies from 8 weeks of age to 20 weeks of age. These are very rewarding. They run for a period of 6 weeks with one meeting of three quarters of an hour each week. Here the ground rules are laid down on how the puppy and their owner are going to get on for the rest of their lives together. Not only do the puppies learn to interact with other dogs but the owners learn how to understand what their dog is doing - in other words they start to Think Dog! Here the puppies learn the basics of bite inhibition, to sit, to stand and lie down on command. How to walk to heel and how to play appropriately with each other and humans. It is very rewarding to watch how the puppies gain confidence in a secure and controlled environment. All this training is done on a reward basis. There are no choke chains, no raised voices, no punishment. We always welcome new veterinary practices to join this scheme. We offer these classes free to practices and their clients. Veterinary practices wishing to join this must contact us. They then should hold a list of their clients and their puppies. We contact each practice well in advance of the classes for client details.
Kirsty and Chrissy also run Pet Dog Training Classes in the evening
based at Bovey Tracey Town Hall. Clients have the option of taking
their Kennel Club Good Dog Citizen Scheme at Puppy, Bronze, Silver and
Gold levels. We have passes at all levels. The classes are geared for
puppies, beginners, intermediate and advanced. We are not training
competition level obedience but how to have a well behaved dog when out
and about in the modern world.
Classes are run using positive methods and we introduce owners and their dogs to the benefits of clicker training. We leave it up to the owners as to whether or not they use this system.
For dates of new terms please check with the diary page and download the application form and submit this to the address detailed on it.
It is very satisfying to run these classes as they act as a balance to the behavioural cases seen by Kirsty and Chrissy. Some of which are very sad but most have a happy ending. They enjoy running these classes and watching dogs and their owners learn to live as a partnership and not a mastership. The behavioural cases are a challenge but it is very rewarding watching both animal (be it dog, cat, horse, rabbit, guinea pig, parrot) and owner start to enjoy being together.
Cases vary, here is one example:
Jess was of mixed parentage but possibly Labrador x Terrier. She had been obtained from Animals in Distress. She was an ideal pet around the house but couldn't cope being left. The family coped with this for several years before Jess finally ruined one settee too many. They consulted their vet and were referred. Jess was a very active dog, rushing around. The problem was that Jess's family were either at school, full time and part time work which meant that for part of the day she was left alone. We had the summer holidays to work with Jess to teach her a new behaviour. Her diet was changed to boost the endorphins in her brain to encourage her to feel more content when left. She was introduced to a signal that meant that she was going to be left but, more importantly, someone would be back. As long as she had that signal she had to learn that meant she had not been abandoned. As she had a very strong learned behaviour this new behaviour had to be introduced very slowly and gently. If Jess didn't click with this then there would be a problem. It took several weeks, a couple of set backs when things were moved on too quickly but now Jess can be confidently left for a whole morning in the house without doing any damage. A lot of credit for this success must go to the total commitment of the whole family (including grandparents) to teach Jess.
Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme
Kirsty is a Kennel Club approved Examiner at Bronze and Silver level of the KC GCDS. This means that although she cannot test her own groups she can test others but also knows what Examiners are looking for when her group is being tested. See the diary for dates for the KC GCDS.
