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How can we set and maintain standards for dog training and animal behaviour? Zazie and Kristi are joined by Fiona Cooke, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Animal Behaviour and Training Council to learn all about their important work in the UK, and what anyone can do if they want to make a difference.
We talked about:
- What the ABTC does
- Why it's so important to follow a compassionate, non-punitive approach in training and animal behaviour
- The wide range of organizations who are part of the ABTC (and how they represent people who work with dogs, cats, horses, and exotics)
- The benefits of being on the ABTC register for practitioners in the UK, and how the public can use it to find a good trainer or behaviourist
- We get a sneak peek of what the ABTC is working on right now
- The importance of collaboration and how people can increase awareness of the ABTC and support their work
- We get Fiona's tips on what people can do to make a difference
- And finally we find out what Fiona's been reading, which turns out to include an instruction booklet for building a wardrobe!
The books Fiona recommends are The Secret Hour by Mick Herron and also his Slough House series, of which the first is Slow Horses.
The Animal Behaviour and Training Council sets and maintains standards of knowledge and practical skills needed to be an animal trainer, training instructor or animal behaviour therapist and maintains the national Register of appropriately assessed practitioners.
ABTC members include major animal welfare charities, organisations concerned with human-animal interactions, educational institutions and membership organisations for practitioners. The Council represents the training and behaviour sector to the public and to governments.
Visit the ABTC website: https://abtc.org.uk/
Sponsor the ABTC: https://abtc.org.uk/sponsors/
ABTC merch: https://shop.abtc.org.uk/
Fiona Cooke is Chair of the ABTC Board of Trustees. She is Head of Specialist Services (vet, behaviour, training and research) at Woodgreen Pets Charity. Her PhD focused on the role of local government in the implementation and enforcement of animal welfare legislation. She is a lecturer in law and runs an animal behaviour company working with complex behavioural issues of dogs and cats. Fiona is a full member of the APBC and FABC as well as an ABTC registered CAB.
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About the co-hosts:
Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of, and now on staff with, the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers and has her PCBC-A from the Pet Professional Accreditation Board. She lives in beautiful northern British Columbia, where she helps dog guardians through online classes. She is also a northern anthropologist.
Kristi Benson's website Facebook
Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog, Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy and Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy. She is the creator of the popular blog, Companion Animal Psychology, and has a column at Psychology Today. She lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, a dog and a cat.
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