Dog Behaviourist & Trainer
Dog Behaviourist or Trainer? Why not have both! Many people often ask me what the difference is between the two. The way I see it, a behaviourist is someone who looks to understand the reasoning behind a dog's responses and actions through observation and interaction. Using this knowledge the behaviour can be altered by us changing how we are and giving the dog a new option. I work with both people and dogs to help the dog understand it has a choice and encourage it to make the right one! Behaviourist work is usually centred around reducing/removing unwanted actions from the dog. A trainer is someone who doesn't necessarily look to the past of the dog, or try to understand the dog's history. A trainer is usually there to teach the dog new behaviour's and actions, not to remove old ones! This is usually why new puppy's go to training classes not behaviour classes! Many professionals are one or the other. I believe the best approach is to be a combination of the two. If I can observe and interact with your dog and understand why it is behaving in such a way, I can help alter these responses. In addition I can assist owners in understanding how to then train new, desirable actions successfully because we have a good understanding of the dog. I believe the two go hand in hand and pride myself on my unique combining of the two professions.