Animal Behaviour

Animal Behaviour

We’ve all seen on-line petitions calling for individual animal trainers to be prevented from using inhumane practices. Have you wondered why the trainer’s regulatory body hasn’t stepped in? Maybe, you’ve wondered if there is such a thing? Who regulates animal behaviourists and trainers anyway? The answer is, currently, nobody!

There is a body which was set up some 10 years ago which purports to regulate all animal trainers, but actually has no Government authority to do so. For instance, a dog guardian could choose to seek help from a degree qualified, highly ethical, up to date and proficient trainer or could equally choose someone who’s had dogs for years and found success in training them by means of beating them with a stick. This is totally that guardian’s own decision.

Most people new to dog owning simply want a well-trained (or at least well behaved) dog and won’t think too hard about how that goal is achieved. Often, the less ethical trainers are less costly and seem to get the desired result quickly. We can see the attraction. What the new dog owners won’t know is that methods based in inflicting fear and pain ARE quick to get apparently desirable results. However, they also result in often lifelong fears and physical injuries.

How would you know that your chosen professional is up to date and using currently recommended methods? Your first step is to make sure that your chosen trainer is a member of an organisation with a Code of Practice matching your personal ethos. If there is a problem later on, you then have an organisation to go to with your concerns. If your concern is not satisfactorily resolved you then would benefit from an independent assessment of your concerns and the trainer’s justifications.

On the 8^th June 2020, a new initiative was launched. The UK Dog Behaviour and Training Charter is formed as a collaboration between a number of leading professional associations all pulling together to make it crystal clear that methods inducing fear and pain cannot be supported nowadays. This is where you need to go to be confident in the professional you choose. The Charter is a very simple system where the signatory organisations remain entirely autonomous but pull together to make a real difference to dog welfare and customer confidence. Customers can be assured that there IS an independent panel to scrutinise a complaint or advise a member organisation on how to proceed.

Finally, we would suggest that you not only seek help from a member of a Charter signatory organisation, but also that your chosen professional is willing to be proactive in working with your vet and any other therapist you may choose for your pet.