~ It’s a Dog’s Life – the what and who of training and behaviour
Dr Anne McBride
Applied Animal Behaviour Unit
School of Psychology
University of Southampton
Highfield
Southampton
SO17 1BJ
07771 625419
Keywords
Animal Behaviour, Training, Education, Dog Training
Summary
This paper considers the various roles of the trainer and the behaviourist and how these relate to the canine development and the welfare of the dog, owner and society at large.
It then outlines the knowledge base needs for efficacy in the roles, both of theoretical understanding and of practical skills. Finally, consideration is given to the debate of how such knowledge can be / should be acquired, the need for registration and the overarching requirement for any such registration body to be and to be seen to be appropriate, competent and independent.
Paper
Discussing “what is a trainer?”, “what is a behaviourist?”, or worse still, “when does a training problem become a behaviour problem?” is a can of worms. Opening this can has been known to lead to a degree of virtual, and possibly real mud-slinging. Before I get to my considered view of that area, I would like to lay out some basic, hopefully uncontentious principles. I will be sticking to dogs as the species, but the essence of this paper is applicable to all the species we keep in captivity.
However, before that I should briefly explain what qualifications I have to speak on this topic, why me, not you? Well actually nothing in particular... I happen to have gone to university and done a PhD, not with the intention of working in this field at all. I happen to have been interested in animal training when at university and to have applied that interest to zoo and domestic species, and working with the animals’ keepers. I happen to have had opportunities to get involved in behaviour counselling back in the mid 1980s. Life can just be happenstance. However, I was shocked by what I saw and realised that much of this was due to lack of understanding of principles of learning theory, animal behaviour, and people. I thus talked to founder members of the APBC about setting up a course. Initially, I hoped this would be at a veterinary college. But this was not to be, at that time the veterinary profession was not interested in behaviour, and the education of para-professionals in that area. So the University of Southampton became its home, initially in the Adult Education department, now School of Psychology. I have been involved in training those involved in the area since the course started in 1994. Now I am glad to say there are many more opportunities for learning available out there… which leads me nicely back to the can of worms, what do trainers and behaviourists need to know, at what level, and how do clients know if they have been taught appropriately? This paper will draw on my training, clinical and teaching experience, being involved with other accredited and non-accredited courses in the UK and abroad at various levels, and discussions facilitated by CAWC.
If you wish to devise a training plan for an animal, you start with the end product and work back from there. It is the same with training people. In this case the end product is an expert who has the required knowledge and skills to prevent problem behaviour or to manage / reduce problem behaviour in a manner that does not overly compromise the welfare of either humans or animals involved.
In order to do this you need to know the species involved and what is needed when, by whom. Not every dog is destined to become a field champion, dancing queen, TV star or search and rescue hero. Most are destined to lead, like the rest of us, ordinary lives as companions. There is a need to be able to fit into ordinary society and to be able to cope with the changes life brings, to have interests in life – these are the basics for a content and uncomplicated existence based on healthy body and mind.
For this to occur, trained specialists are needed. With respect to the development of the balanced adult human these specialists include play group leaders, primary and secondary school teachers. These are the trainers of our children and they and others work closely with the children’s owners (parents/guardians) to ensure that all are working towards the same goals in the same way, thereby providing consistency to the child and giving it a secure psychological base from which it can develop, explore its world and reach maturity as a confident, balanced, well-integrated member of human society.
When things go wrong in this set up, for whatever reason, other specialists are called in. Those that can help manage / reduce the inappropriate behaviour and help the welfare of the individual child and/or society. The learning differences advisor, child psychologist or, if problems do not appear till maturity, other specialists may be involved, doctors, psychologists, social workers, rehabilitation officers, and so on. Throughout the child / adults life it is a TEAM approach involving different disciplines all of whom are equally respected for their specialist knowledge and skills.
So let us relate this to the dog world. The similarities and differences to me are clear.
- Research into canine development and behaviour problems indicate clearly that the first year and probably beyond to social maturity (18 – 24 months) is crucial to the formation of a balanced adult animal. (Thompson, 2009)
- Research indicates particular formative periods such as the early socialisation period and during adolescence. (Appleby, 2002)
- This research is not applied realistically to the real world....
- There is a perception that anyone can train a puppy…..
- You only need to be a specialist for later periods in the dog’s life… when it has all gone wrong!
Talk about putting the cart before the horse!! This is really due to a non –team approach, lack of understanding and consequent disrespect for the role of others.
To reiterate, there are some unfortunate but widely held attitudes. For example, that anyone can run a puppy party and a dog trainer is somehow less than a behaviourist. At the other end of the scale is the perception that behaviourists do not need to be trainers and veterinary surgeons somehow know all about behaviour simply by dint of being vets. Thankfully there is a noticeable change in these attitudes, though the dispelling of mis-trust and the ‘them and us’ view will take time and only occur as respect for the importance and specialism of each role is publically acknowledged by all organisations and individuals concerned. The mud-slinging of ‘jumped up trainer’ or ‘all you know is theory, but no practical’ have bases in fear and misperceptions of each role and what is required in the training of each. Of course, underlying all is the undeniable fact that there are issues to be addressed in these areas and there were, and are, people who practice beyond the remit of their knowledge or skills in all aspects of behaviour and training. But we are moving forward, and that way lies hope.
So what are these roles?
There is a growing consensus that the Dog Industry can be broadly divided in to three categories with respect to behaviour and training. These are: Dog Trainer; Dog Training Instructor and Animal Behaviour Counsellor (aka Clinical Animal Behaviourist).
The Dog Trainer is a person who works solely with the dog and is that dog’s handler. For example, a dog trainer in an assistance dog organisation is one who trains the basic required canine skills. The person who then matches the dog with disabled owner and trains the handler/dog pair would come under the category of ‘Dog Training Instructor’.
Dog TrainingInstructor is an umbrella term to encompass those who train dogs and their handlers. There are many sub-categories of specialism. These would include the puppy party and puppy class instructor, the instructor who works with military dog handlers, the instructor of gundog, ring craft, agility, pet dog or dog dancing classes. These work in a prophylactic manner, aiming at the prevention of behaviour problems. A further, and equally important sub-category of Dog Training Instructor is the rehabilitation trainer who works with the owner/handler to implement behaviour modification programmes designed to manage/reduce problem behaviour.
Animal Behaviour Counsellors work with the owner/handler to discover the aetiology of the problem behaviour and to work with the owner/handler to devise and implement a behaviour modification programme that is specific to that case. I am not using the term clinical animal behaviourist at present, as I wish it to remain in the forefront of your mind that humans are the main client requiring interaction with the expert, not the animal.
Of course one person could be a specialist in more than one area, and all should be specialists in at least Dog Training including early development and training.
There is a tendency to consider these 3 roles in the form of a hierarchical tree, but a set of overlapping circles of knowledge/skills is a far better representation, and gets away from superiority view of any one category. In this respect it is similar to the specialisms seen in other disciplines, including veterinary surgery and veterinary nursing. In these latter cases, all have to have the fundamental knowledge of being a trained veterinary surgeon/ veterinary nurse before adding specialist fields of knowledge and skill to their portfolio.
Where levels come into the situation is with respect to the depth of knowledge required of any particular area. For example whilst it might be agreed that all 3 role categories require understanding of the relationship between health and behaviour, the level that that is required by the dog trainer or dog training instructor is perhaps less than for the behaviour counsellor. To take this example further, it may be agreed that everyone needs knowledge of the relationship between nutrition and behaviour, of pain and behaviour and how to recognise pain. However, it might be considered that further understanding of the relationship between particular health issues, such as hypothyroidism, or medication regimes is imperative to the role of the Animal Behaviour Counsellor.
Once this relationship between area and level of knowledge is understood, it becomes clear that, whilst there maybe different routes by which people enter the field, there is no short cut. All must have acquired the relevant depth of knowledge and skill for the role they are undertaking. So the veterinary surgeon who wishes to work as an animal behaviour counsellor is equal at the outset to someone from a different background, such as psychology or animal welfare. Both must acquire the specialist knowledge and skills required to perform the role and both must be independently judged as fit to practice. Likewise, the person who has been brought up ‘around dogs all my life’ has no more claim to expertise than someone who has never had a dog. Rather both individuals need to demonstrate that they have the knowledge and skills required to perform the role and must therefore also be judged as fit to practice. Just because my father was in the building trade, and I have been around timber and bricks all my life, does not recommend me to you to rebuild your home…..believe me it does not!
So there are now three things to consider
Areas of required knowledge / skills
Level of required knowledge / skills
Appropriate, realistic and independent methods of assessing knowledge and skills at different levels.
The industry is best placed to inform on the areas of knowledge and skills required and can and should reach a consensus in agreement. To date progress has been made, initially through the CAWC facilitated meetings and now through the VETNET LLN working party. Currently there is general agreement regarding what common areas of knowledge are required by each of the three role categories. As stated earlier, it is clear that specific roles, such as puppy party, puppy class, pet dog, agility training instructor or rehabilitation training instructor will require not only those areas of knowledge common to the role of Dog Training Instructor, but will also have further relevant knowledge requirements. These have yet to be considered and agreed.
The issue of practical skills relating to both the animal and the human have yet to be clarified, both in terms of common skills relating to each category and specific skills relating to the specialist sub-categories. Discussion of this is also progressing. Common skills regarding dogs will no doubt include handling and teaching (training) basic cues, with reference to a range of breeds and dogs of differing temperament. More particular skills will be needed for specialist roles such as agility and rehabilitation instructors. The latter role, for example, would require skills in working with dogs showing aggressive behaviour and working with stooge animals and people.
With regard to the human, both the Instructor roles and Behaviour counsellor role need a range of skills. There is a need to recognise the importance of coaching and training skills, how to help the client overcome blocks to learning and performance as well as other skills relating to written and oral communication. I would also suggest that all these roles require counselling / history taking skills to enable them to elucidate what is going on and thus decide what steps to take, be that with respect to prophylactic training, resolving training problems, rehabilitation training or behaviour counselling. For the instructor and counsellor roles the human is the focus, and the conduit of communication with the animal. There is a fundamental need to expend as much energy on understanding our own species as on understanding the dog.
So, it is the industry’s task to define knowledge and skill requirement. However, after this, further development requires a multidisciplinary approach between the industry and educators and assessment bodies. This collaboration is needed to develop a comprehensive framework of industry requirements and education provision. It is only in this way that the dog industry can provide a properly trained, ethical and efficacious workforce to serve the welfare needs of dogs and their owners/handlers.. From the outset there needs to be clear understanding of what is required by all three, and how their expertise will contribute to the meeting of this aim.
It is not appropriate to ask the industry to consider what level of knowledge / skills are required without prior induction into what is meant by levels, what is involved in learning at different levels and what sort of assessments are considered by education experts to assess these different levels. For example, would it be appropriate to test knowledge and understanding via multiple-choice at the level of behaviourist. Perhaps not, as multiple-choice can only assess surface understanding. While this may be appropriate in some areas it is not addressing deeper knowledge and understanding, synthesis of information nor critical application skills. Thus I would argue that multiple-choice would be a woefully inadequate means of assessing knowledge / skills needed for history taking or designing training / behaviour modification programmes at Dog Instructor or Animal Behaviour Counsellor level. However, it may be an absolutely appropriate method for addressing knowledge of basic anatomy or some aspects of basic learning theory. Only by understanding these issues can the industry make sensible, informed contributions to the debate of what learning outcomes are required and how much time is likely to be needed to ensure learning outcomes can be reached at each level, whether there is need for pre-cursor knowledge etcetera.
Only by working with those in the education system, at all levels of post-compulsory, post 16, education will the industry be able develop realistic progression routes for individuals, from any background. Such progression routes must be inclusive, enabling individuals to progress to their level of ability or desire. In this way individuals will want to become, and can become, an accredited specialist member of a multi-disciplinary team that works together to maintain well-being and welfare of dogs and the people they live with. This route planning needs to be done in a considered manner that is not rushed, with each step rationalised along the way. Only by clearly stating the reasons for each decision can the process be justified in the eyes of all.
The ultimate outcome will be viable guidelines for education providers which, if accredited by suitable independent bodies, will be recognised both in the UK and abroad. If this exercise is approached with care and rigour, it has the potential to help set international industry standards, thereby benefitting dog and human welfare beyond the confines of this little island nation.
Of course industry standards have to be maintained. This is the role of an overarching body, which must be independent and representatative of the component parts of the industry. That is it must represent the dog trainers, dog training instructors and behaviourists; and have appropriate input from particular specialisms such as those dealing with puppies, pet dogs and rehabilitation. Associated professional industries and organisations will also need to be included such as the veterinary profession, the psychology profession, those responsible for national educational standards, education providers and legislative bodies for example DEFRA for the UK. The issue of whether there should legal requirements for recognised accreditation in order to practice in any role is for later debate. It may well be that that the industry can keep its own house in order through voluntary codes of practice regarding commitment to the industry standards. However, from where we are now, even reaching that point is a way in the future, though we are taking steps in the right direction.
This is not going to be a rapid process, it will take several years, but it is a process that has begun. It needs all of us to be involved in an objective and inclusive manner. The field of dog training and behaviour has grown organically and the imposition of an agreed fair and appropriate structure will take time. There will be the need for compromises, whilst aiming for the best possible outcome. We must put away unhelpful subjective views, replacing them with ones of respect and value for each role and, thereby, learn from each other. We need to acknowledge our similarities and commonality of the goal we wish to attain of improving dog and human welfare, and work objectively together as a professional team.
References
Appleby, D.L. (2002) Relationship between aggressive and avoidance behaviour by dogs and their experience in the first six months of life. Vet.Rec. 150, 434-438.
Thompson, K.F.; McBride, E.A.; Redhead, E (2009) Training engagement and the development of behaviour problems in the dog: A longitudinal study. Proceedings of the 7th International Veterinary Behaviour Meeting, pp 77- 84 pub ESCVE isbn 978-0-9545923-4-9
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