About Me

 

My path to a career in dog training and companion animal counselling has been somewhat unconventional and back to front.  Although I lived with various pets as a child and enjoyed teaching Trooper, one of the family Collies tricks and fun games to play, I hadn’t considered a career with canines.

In 1992 I completed a BSc Hons in Psychology and decided to take time out and travel for a few years hoping to decide which career direction I should pursue.

While in Spain I fell in to doing volunteering work at a rescue centre after a stray dog took up residence outside my home.  I ended up staying for 7 years! What started as a voluntary role progressed to permanent employment. I worked alongside an experienced canine behaviourist and was involved on a daily basis with the assessment of stray, relinquished, or abandoned dogs.

Along the way I somehow acquired 5 senior Weimaraners.  Lola, Rio, and Homer were brought in by an English couple who were moving to Australia, at the time the couple simply couldn’t afford the substantial costs of travelling with three large dogs. I happily agreed to take them in to my care until the couple could raise the necessary funds. 3 years on they were still with me!

Bebe and Flori were brought in after their owner died and I instantly fell for them and thought well two more would not make much difference! I actually felt quite honoured to be living with such wise, graceful dogs.

It was at this time that my interest in clicker training really came to fruition, I started to apply reward based operant conditioning alongside classical conditioning for all training and behaviour modification, both at the centre, and with my 5 canine companions. Flori and Rio in particular came with a little excess baggage.

In 2000 only Flori remained, the rest of the weims had passed away. I decided it would be a good opportunity to return to the UK to do more relevant studies.

In 2003 I completed a MSc in Companion Animal Behaviour Counselling (CABC).  While studying I met a (Cypriot) student who was a very keen gundog trainer. He shared many horror stories on the plight of gundogs in Cyprus. We discussed setting up a positive reinforcement gundog training school in Cyprus. Although this wasn’t strictly the direction I saw myself taking, I knew it was for a good cause, would be a challenge, and a learning experience.  Flori had passed away, so I embarked on a fresh start, and moved to Cyprus.

In general the situation in Cyprus for dogs is not good, they lack socialisation, adequate exercise, and training, in particular gundogs do not fair well as owners tend to think that a gundog will instinctively take to hunting with no or very little training. If these dog do not perform then their lifespan is cut very short.

My mission was to head up a project for educating owners on the importance of early socialisation; exposing puppies to many new people, animals, stimuli, and environments. In addition I created handouts on guidelines for nutrition, house training, exercise, and enrichment.

I held gundog clicker classes for puppies of 3 months plus, the program was fun and all learning was done through play, albeit play with self control. I also worked with older dogs with little or no prior training, and started from the basics using reward based operant conditioning, and classical conditioning where necessary.

In 2007 I made the decision to own another Weimaraner, just the 1, and along came Harley. I feel very blessed as Harley is a sensible, sensitive, and very patient dog. He does have a few minor issues but these are mainly down to his age and I feel confident that by the time he reaches 3/4 years of age, he will have settled in to himself. In the meantime I seek out every training opportunity.

In 2008 due to family committments I started spending more time in the UK.  I finally took the plunge and started my own business fun4fido.  This has enabled me to continue feeding my passion for helping people to own happy, socialable and well-behaved dogs.  Many people experience problems with dogs and I think that a lot of these issues can be prevented by people opening their minds to their responsibilities as dog owners and to their dogs needs.

Qualifications:

BSc Hons - Psychology

PG Dip - Companion Animal Behaviour Counselling

MSc - Companion Animal Behaviour Counselling

Selected Reading:

The APBC Book of Companion Animal Behaviour

Behaviour Problems in Small Animals - Sarah Heath & Jon Bowen

“Stop!” How To Control Predatory Chasing in Dogs - David Ryan

The Domestic Dog - Its Evolution, Behaviour and Interactions With People - James Serpell

Can’t Pull, Won’t Pull - Alison Rowbotham

Bones Would Rain From The Sky - Suzanne Clothier

Canine Neuropsychology - James O’Heare

Aggressive Behavior In Dogs - James O’Heare

Separation Distress And Dogs - James O’Heare

My Dog Pulls. What Do I Do - Turid Rugaas

On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals - Turid Rugaas

Barking: The Sound Of A Language - Turid Rugaas

Help For Your Fearful Dog - Nicole Wilde

Getting A Grip On Aggression Cases: Practical Considerations For Dog Trainers - Nicole Wilde

Focus Not Fear: Training Insights From A Reactive Dog Class - Ali Brown

Scaredy Dog: Understanding And Rehabilitating Your Reactive Dog - Ali Brown

Helping Fearful Dogs - David Appleby

Feisty Fido: Help For The Leash Reactive Dog - Patricia McConnell and Karen London

Cautious Canine: How To Help Dogs Conquer Their Fears - Patricia McConnell

I’ll Be Home Soon: How To Prevent And Treat Separation Anxiety - Patricia McConnell

Kids And Dogs: A Professional’s Guide To Helping Families - Colleen Pelar

When Pigs Fly: Training Success With Impossible Dogs - Jane Killion

Power Of Positive Dog Training - Pat Miller

Play With Your Dog - Pat Miller

How To Behave So Your Dog Behaves - Sophia Yin

Don’t Shoot The Dog - Karen Pryor

Culture Clash - Jean Donaldson

Mine! A Guide To Resource Guarding In Dogs - Jean Donaldson

Fight! A Practical Guide To The Treatment Of Dog-Dog Aggression - Jean Donaldson

Oh Behave! Dogs From Pavlov To Premack To Pinker

Canine Body Language - Brenda Aloff

Get Connected With Your Dog - Brenda Aloff

Aggression in Dogs: Practical Management, Prevention & Behaviour Modification - Brenda Aloff

Handbook Of Applied Dog Behaviour And Training (Vol. 1, 2 & 3) - Steven Lindsay

How To Right A Dog Gone Wrong: A Roadmap For Rehabilitating Agressive Dogs - Pamela Dennison

Dogs A New Understanding Of Canine Origin, Behaviour, And Evolution - Raymond & Lorna Coppinger

Evolution Of Canine Social Behaviour - Roger Abrantes

Click To Calm: Healing The Aggressive Dog - Emma Parsons

Click for Life: Clicker Training for The Shelter Environment - Karen Pryor, Emma Parsons, Dee Ganley, Nancy Lyon

How Dogs Learn - Mary Burch & Jon Bailey

Behavior Problems In Dogs - William Campbell

Excel-Erated Learning - Pamela Reid

Clicker Foundation Training - Kay Laurence

Clicker Intermediate Training - Kay Laurence

Learning Games: Learning About Dogs - Kay Laurence

Click For Joy - Melissa Alexander

Clicker Training For Obedience - Morgan Spector

Positive Gundogs: Clicker Training For Sporting Breeds - Jim Barry, Mary Emmen, Susan Smith

Clicker Gundog - Helen Phillips

Seminars:

Practical Application Of Theory - Ian Dunbar

Give Them A Scalpel And They Will Dissect A Kiss: Dog Training Past Present & Future - Ian Dunbar

Desenitizing Fear & Building Confidence - Ian Dunbar

Hyperactivity, Reactivity & Lack Of Attention - Ian Dunbar

Improve Your I-Cue: Learn The Science Of Signals - Kathy Sdao

Does The Name Pavlov Ring A Bell? - Kathy Sdao

Get Smart About Training - Kathy Sdao

Know Way, Know How: The Science And Art Of Clicker Training - Kathy Sdao

Advanced Clicker Training - Kathy Sdao