Diploma / MSc Companion Animal Behaviour Counselling :1 Diploma / MSc Companion Animal Behaviour Counselling Dr Anne McBride Course Director amcb@soton.ac.uk


What is Animal Behaviour Counselling? :2 What is Animal Behaviour Counselling? Resolution of behaviour problems Primarily in the field of pet ownership Other applications in e.g. zoological establishments Animal Assisted Therapy Multidisciplinary subject Theoretical and applied


Opportunities :3 Opportunities Self-employment Animal rescue charities Within veterinary groups Human charities – assistance dog training Hospitals and other health providers Services – police, customs, local authority Research – e.g. animals and human health - psychological and physical dogs & epilepsy, dogs and bladder cancer. Animal welfare, animal cognition


Student Base :4 Student Base Mature National and International Variety of backgrounds Psychologists zoologists Vets / vet nurses Police / army / assistance dogs Rescue Trainers / practising counsellors Life - changers


Entrance Requirements :5 Entrance Requirements Degree in relevant subject – e.g. Psychology. Preferably 2:1 or above 2 years relevant animal handling experience Not just your own pets! E.g. stables, kennels / cattery, training classes Livestock farming Zoo / lab animal experience Voluntary or paid Must like people and animals!!


Course structure :6 Course structure Part-time, modular 1 week units 12 units for PG Diploma Plus research project for MSc Can do PG Dip over 3, 4 or 5 years 1 year extra for MSc 20 places per annum to PG Dip. September intake


Course content :7 Course content Ethology and Anthrozoology - natural animal behaviour Anthropological / sociological aspects of the human – animal relationship Human Psychology Human = animal relationships, function of pet ownership, pet loss, counselling skills Companion Animal Law Ethics, relevant UK Law, how to be an expert witness


Course content - 2 :8 Course content - 2 Learning Theory How animals learn Applied Learning Theory Application of theory to behaviour problem, practical training and use of behaviour modification techniques, human learning styles and their application in animal behaviour counselling


Course Content - 3 :9 Course Content - 3 Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology CNS, Hormones and animal behaviour, how different classes of drugs used work Applied Neuropsychology Diet and behaviour, medical causes of problem behaviour, adjunctive drug and complementary therapies e.g. homeopathy, osteopathy. Research Methods


Course Content - 4 :10 Course Content - 4 Animal Welfare What it is, how it is measured, how it is applied in animal behaviour counselling and behaviour modification aids. Case Studies one History taking, report writing, cat behaviour problems


Course Content - 5 :11 Course Content - 5 Case Studies Two Dog behaviour problems Case Studies Three Behaviour problems in other species e.g. rabbits, parrots, horses, small mammals Knowledge is cumulative and successive units built on, synthesise and apply that from previous units.


MSc Projects – range of topicsheld in New College library :12 MSc Projects – range of topicsheld in New College library Perceptions held by pre-adolescents of their relationships with companion animals Relationship between human behaviour and attitudes to the behaviour of the domestic dog Physiological and Behavioural responses of rabbits to tonic immobility The effect of the death of pet dogs on owners Review of the cat-human relationship with special reference to asthma


Slide 13:13 Comparison of Japanese and UK attitudes to dogs Animal Assisted Therapy in UK hospitals and Prisons Appearance of the handler and people’s perceptions of the temperament of the dog The value of dogs in increasing interpersonal communication levels in withdrawn/uncommunicative patients with enduring mental illness Influence of management on the behaviour of pet rabbits in Switzerland The effects of aromatherapy oils on the behaviour of stabled horses