Credentials


To train as a behaviour therapist, you have to go beyond “I have been working with dogs for twenty years”. It takes street smarts, but it also takes a lot of old fashion book research and studying.

In my view, you need to grasp:

  • formal dog learning (behaviourism) and behaviour knowledge (ethology).
  • background knowledge about dogs, like the basics of their genetics, physiology and evolutionary history.
  • the scientific method.
  • the latest training and behaviour change techniques
  • the fundamentals of ethics, person coaching, and project management.

Staying on top of that body of knowledge is a constant endeavour, but learning is my passion, and I do it with the greatest pleasure.

Academic qualifications

BSc Zoology, with Honours

(with the University of Newcastle).

Covered relevant topics like:

  • Ethology (animal behaviour),
  • Evolution, cladistics, and population genetics,
  • Genetics,
  • Ecology,
  • Biochemistry,
  • Molecular biology,
  • Cytology,
  • Introduction to psychology,
  • Parasitology,
  • Physiology,
  • Scientific project management,
  • Statistics (using SPSS), and
  • Research methods.

My research paper focused on neuroendocrinology (hormones and neurology).

This allows me to approach dog behaviour cases from a multi-disciplinary, scientific standpoint, as my assessment is enriched by my knowledge of population genetics, evolution, physiology, etc.

MSc Information Systems

(with University-College Chester, a college of the University of Liverpool)

Topics that are relevant to my work were:

  • Project management,
  • Risk management,
  • Statistics (using SPSS)
  • Budget management,
  • Project planning,
  • Human management,
  • Strategic planning, and
  • Research methods.

My research paper was in epistemology (focusing on quantitative methods for knowledge re-use).

The above topis are surprisingly relevant to my behaviour modification work, as I approach each case as a project to be tracked and controlled.

Specialist and professional certifications

I have also completed a flurry of specialist qualifications on the following topics:

Canine ethology

(with Quiebus)

  • Early canine development,
  • Breed differences,
  • Normal canine behaviour,
  • Learning styles,
  • Learning theory,
  • Canine body language and
  • (Human) coaching techniques.

Applied cynological training instructor

(With O&O, the Netherland’s most reputable dog training qualification)

  • Coaching techniques,
  • Canine body language,
  • Group class presentation,
  • Learning theory,
  • Training class lesson planning, and
  • Training stages.

Applied Dog Ethology

(with DogVision, the Netherland’s leading behaviour therapy certification institute)

  • History and principles of ethology,
  • Scientific position on dominance and social hierarchies,
  • Canine development phases,
  • History of dog domestication,
  • Sensory world of the dog,
  • Normal canine behaviour,
  • Training class lesson planning,
  • Canine body language and
  • (Human) coaching techniques.

Writing in the Sciences – certified with distinction

(with Stanford University School of Medicine, US, through Coursera)
  • Clutter edition techniques
  • Effective verbs
  • Better sentence and paragraph balance
  • Streamlining the writing process
  • Organisation and writing
  • Format of original manuscripts
  • Writing reviews, commentaries and opinion pieces
  • The publication process
  • Issues in scientific writing (plagiarism, authorship, ghost-writing, reproducible research)
  • Communicating with the lay public
  • Peer-reviewing

Advanced Placement Statistics and Probability

(through Stat Trek, including mock exercises)

  • data visualisation
  • study design, including survey design
  • probability
  • sampling distributions
  • confidence intervals
  • estimation problems (proportions, regression, difference between means, etc.)
  • hypothesis testing (independence, goodness of fit, etc.)

Canine nutrition

(ongoing, with Compass, UK. First of two modules completed with top grade.)

  • Nutrients
  • Dog digestive system, including dentition
  • Alternative diets
  • Dog nutritional requirements
  • Influence of diet on behaviour

Introductory dog psychology

(ongoing, with the Animal Care College, UK)

  • Dog-human interaction
  • Current positions on the pack theory
  • Training methods and schools of thought
  • Learning theory

Canine first aid

(With e-Training for dogs, US)

Including intervention protocol for:
  • Poisoning
  • Burning
  • Medicating
  • Bandaging
  • Heimlich techniques (large, small, medium dogs)
  • CPR
  • Artificial respiration
  • First aid kit composition
  • Crisis plan
  • Prevention
  • Fractures
  • Hypo/perthermia
  • Extracting foreign object
  • Deep cuts and lacerations

Fundamentals of pharmacology – certificate of achievement

(With University of Pennsylvania, through Coursera)

Exam-based course given by Penn’s Professor Doctor Emma Meagher, Associate Professor of Medicine.

Learnt the principles of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokynetics, including:

  • Receptors types, subtypes, and their mechanisms,
  • Pharmacokynetic profiles: administration – distribution – absorption - metabolism – elimination
  • Dose response principles
  • Stages and regulations of drug development
  • Agonism and antagonism, and different types thereof
This course is extremely relevant in cases where the veterinarian deems medication necessary. This enables me to be an intelligent and knowledgeable conversation partner with the prescribing veterinarian.

Self-study

I also do A LOT of independent reading. I  like to review the material in great details to keep track of what I’ve read.

Last updated April 2012