Help with dog behaviour issues Oxfordshire / puppy training and dog training West Oxfordshire
My career and volunteering have enabled me to combine my passion for supporting people with my love of dogs. I have over 15 years experience of dog training and helping families to address dog behaviour problems, in completing comprehensive assessments, analysing information to assess the underlying emotions and other causes of dog behaviour, and of working in partnership with people, their families and their dogs towards positive outcomes. I also have a background in teaching and worked for ten years as an Associate Lecturer at the Open University, planning and running monthly workshops, as well as assessing, mentoring and supervising students in practice.
I am committed to positive, force-free dog training, and to kind and science based approaches to dog behavioural change. Dog behaviour training is tailored to the individual needs of dogs and their human carers and to their wishes and motivations. I have run my own dog care and training business since 2013. I set up Canine Potential in early 2020 to focus exclusively on providing support with positive dog training and helping with dog behaviour issues in Oxfordshire, using a kind, empathetic, and empowering approach, and placing welfare at the forefront of practice.
The four years I spent working with rescue dogs at National Animal Welfare Trust gave me the chance to work with a range of canine behaviour issues: anxiety, fear, frustration, depression, and defensive aggression. Many dogs had experienced trauma. Helping these dogs to feel safe, observing and responding to their body language, and supporting them to relax and gain a calmer state of mind was key in enabling these dogs to learn and adapt their behaviour. I latterly worked as a volunteer dog trainer for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. Shih Tzu Edith was the first pup that I helped to train and socialise. I used positive reward-based dog training to support each pup to gain greater confidence, adaptability and responsiveness and to strengthen the dog human bond. Edith returned to me after ten years as a working hearing dog and enjoyed a well earned retirement with her hearing dog companion Dudley! The latest addition to my canine family is 6 year old rescue poodle Gino. Gino is already assisting with 121 behaviour sessions and puppy training!
I have also volunteered for Medical Detection Dogs for circa nine years, providing day to day dog training, socialisation and assessment of pups to circa eighteen months of age. Building trust and a secure attachment helped these puppies to optimise their long term development. The charity is committed to the use of kind dog training methods and positive reinforcement. The role involved helping each puppy to increase their confidence, engagement and impulse control, and their ability to take the initiative and make positive decisions about their own behaviour. It also involved helping to address a range of dog behaviour issues – inappropriate elimination, unruly behaviour, separation anxiety, anxiety and fear issues, excessive vocalisation and more.... Scent training games helped prepare each pup for their future role as a Medication Detection Dog. I was particularly proud to be a part of a wider team of people that helped these puppies achieve their potential and make a life changing difference. Jade arrived as an adolescent with some very challenging behaviour. Building trust, providing consistent and kind dog training, and a secure human attachment, helped Jade develop into a fantastic diabetic alert dog, one of three finalists at the Hero Dogs awards a few years later.
The main focus of my Masters Degree MSc. (ASS) at Green College Oxford was applied social sciences and the psychology of animal behaviour which has been immensely relevant in my understanding of dogs and canine behaviour. I have a life long love of music as well as dogs and my first degree was an honours degree in music at Royal Holloway University of London, specializing in performance. I have a real interest in using music to help reduce stress in dogs. I have also completed an Advanced Diploma in Applied Canine Behaviour with distinction from Compass Education. I have taken a certificated course in Advanced Dog Training Instructing with the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), am a fully qualified trainer and proud member of the Association of Canine Trainers (PACT), and am a registered animal training instructor with the Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC).
I am committed to constantly updating my knowledge and skills in dog behaviour and training and joined the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors as a provisional member in early 2020. Provisional members have demonstrated that they have the appropriate level of knowledge and understanding for the professional role of Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CAB). They are now gaining the practical experience necessary to be assessed as a CAB and therefore become a full member of the APBC. The APBC supports its provisional CAB members undertaking behaviour consultations.
I am committed to positive, force-free dog training, and to kind and science based approaches to dog behavioural change. Dog behaviour training is tailored to the individual needs of dogs and their human carers and to their wishes and motivations. I have run my own dog care and training business since 2013. I set up Canine Potential in early 2020 to focus exclusively on providing support with positive dog training and helping with dog behaviour issues in Oxfordshire, using a kind, empathetic, and empowering approach, and placing welfare at the forefront of practice.
The four years I spent working with rescue dogs at National Animal Welfare Trust gave me the chance to work with a range of canine behaviour issues: anxiety, fear, frustration, depression, and defensive aggression. Many dogs had experienced trauma. Helping these dogs to feel safe, observing and responding to their body language, and supporting them to relax and gain a calmer state of mind was key in enabling these dogs to learn and adapt their behaviour. I latterly worked as a volunteer dog trainer for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. Shih Tzu Edith was the first pup that I helped to train and socialise. I used positive reward-based dog training to support each pup to gain greater confidence, adaptability and responsiveness and to strengthen the dog human bond. Edith returned to me after ten years as a working hearing dog and enjoyed a well earned retirement with her hearing dog companion Dudley! The latest addition to my canine family is 6 year old rescue poodle Gino. Gino is already assisting with 121 behaviour sessions and puppy training!
I have also volunteered for Medical Detection Dogs for circa nine years, providing day to day dog training, socialisation and assessment of pups to circa eighteen months of age. Building trust and a secure attachment helped these puppies to optimise their long term development. The charity is committed to the use of kind dog training methods and positive reinforcement. The role involved helping each puppy to increase their confidence, engagement and impulse control, and their ability to take the initiative and make positive decisions about their own behaviour. It also involved helping to address a range of dog behaviour issues – inappropriate elimination, unruly behaviour, separation anxiety, anxiety and fear issues, excessive vocalisation and more.... Scent training games helped prepare each pup for their future role as a Medication Detection Dog. I was particularly proud to be a part of a wider team of people that helped these puppies achieve their potential and make a life changing difference. Jade arrived as an adolescent with some very challenging behaviour. Building trust, providing consistent and kind dog training, and a secure human attachment, helped Jade develop into a fantastic diabetic alert dog, one of three finalists at the Hero Dogs awards a few years later.
The main focus of my Masters Degree MSc. (ASS) at Green College Oxford was applied social sciences and the psychology of animal behaviour which has been immensely relevant in my understanding of dogs and canine behaviour. I have a life long love of music as well as dogs and my first degree was an honours degree in music at Royal Holloway University of London, specializing in performance. I have a real interest in using music to help reduce stress in dogs. I have also completed an Advanced Diploma in Applied Canine Behaviour with distinction from Compass Education. I have taken a certificated course in Advanced Dog Training Instructing with the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), am a fully qualified trainer and proud member of the Association of Canine Trainers (PACT), and am a registered animal training instructor with the Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC).
I am committed to constantly updating my knowledge and skills in dog behaviour and training and joined the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors as a provisional member in early 2020. Provisional members have demonstrated that they have the appropriate level of knowledge and understanding for the professional role of Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CAB). They are now gaining the practical experience necessary to be assessed as a CAB and therefore become a full member of the APBC. The APBC supports its provisional CAB members undertaking behaviour consultations.
Please don’t hesitate to contact Fiona for help with dog training and behaviour issues on fbcaninepotential@gmail.com.