Aidan3

I don't refer to myself as a behaviourist, although I don't have a problem with the term being used and if it's the only way to explain to someone what I do then I will use it. I only train dogs when it suits my schedule, I've not noticed anyone else run off their feet doing it down here so I doubt it would be as reliable as my other business (unrelated). I have no formal qualifications in dog training, clients come through referral based on my past work so it hasn't been an issue. In fact, I've had referrals from a veterinary behaviourist (vets and other dog trainers make up the bulk of my referees). I plan to work in academia when I've finished my post-grad qualifications, not sure that I would enjoy clinical psych. I have an interest in affective neuroscience (how emotions are processed in the brain, particularly anxiety) so I'd like to see where that takes me, too early to say. Probably not dogs, although I expect much of that field to be relevant to dogs. Interestingly, I would be no more entitled to use the term "animal behaviourist" when I finish my degree than someone who has never trained, owned or even seen a dog!

Ethologists in their approach, although I'm not sure what their individual backgrounds were.

That's very interesting because that's exactly what I would NOT be expecting. Not because I don't like him (although I don't), but because he is almost the antithesis of a behaviourist in that he does not follow behaviourist principles, which are deeply rooted in the scientific method and only deal with the observable (expressly putting aside things like submission, for e.g) "Behaviourist" says to me that you are from the behaviourist school of thought, e.g Skinner, Pavlov, Watson, Rescorla. You certainly do get that from a veterinary behaviourist, along with the veterinary medical perspective. I don't know where I would put CM, he is very slightly in the ethologist camp.

And Nekhbet can make this comparison because not only is she a behaviourist, she is a forensic biologist, so obviously she has one of each (ETA: congratulations, btw, if these [forensics and criminology] are recent qualifications?)

Haha, no that's a "Lexcen", Lexus are like the Japanese version of the Mercedes, very expensive and you really need a lot of mumbo-jumbo or rescue funds to own one. No, a Veterinary Behaviourist completes post-graduate qualifications after they have qualified as vets. They are the only ones allowed to use the term "veterinary behaviourist". A normal vet cannot use the term, neither could a psychologist with animal behaviour qualifications. Vets can prescribe the same medications used by veterinary behaviourists, though. When I complete my degree (psychology), I will not be able to use a professional term related to dogs with any more authority than someone who has never trained or even owned a dog.

It seems we have quite a few students and academics here working in related fields, and most of us would be happy to review the literature (to whatever extent we are able, it is a never-ending rabbit hole). In the process some of the gaps and deficiencies in the literature begin to reveal themselves, particularly if it spurs a bit of discussion. If you put some of your ideas out there it might be interesting to see what comes back. I'll defer to others for help with the rest of your questions, I'm just a lowly undergrad. If you want to do a quick literature review yourself, Google Scholar is a really handy search engine and you'll usually get abstracts which are useful.

Usually with a quick apology and a hasty exit

I thought that was the vets?! Same thing but with drugs and rubber gloves.

In the back of the Lexus? It's very simple, there aren't any in Australia. You can obtain qualifications, but anyone can call themselves a behaviourist.

If there is a push within the industry its about time ! They need to be regulated as the behaviourist industry has become a big "money to be made" industry and imo most behaviourists out there are the ones to blame for people believing dogs are complicated beings..when in fact they're not complicated at all. I have to agree, there is a lot of money in exchange for plenty of mumbo jumbo with poor results I've heard they just throw the mumbo-jumbo in there to confuse the customers so they get poor results and have to keep coming back so that the behaviouralist can keep up the payments on their mansions and beach houses. It's genius really.

OK, then I would like to give you the opportunity to explain how your comments have contributed to helping the Fox Terrier in some way?

I'm sure you mean well, Tapferhund, but you aren't helping the OP or her dogs and there is much more to this than how the Foxie will feel about being rehomed. As someone who has devoted most of his adult life to understanding animal emotion and behaviour, and currently completing a degree focused on it, I would think ignorance on my part would not be the obvious conclusion.

Probably sadder for siks3 than the dog, they seem to handle the change without getting too sentimental about it.

Erny's suggestion of Triangle of Temptation is great, the principle with dogs like this really has to be "to get the thing you really want, you have to settle down and give me this first" which is no different to any other dog, except you have to fully indoctrinate these dogs so that it becomes part of everything they do. Sue Ailsby tells this story of her Giant Schnauzer when she was introduced to sheep, it's a good read and I'm guessing you will be able to relate - http://www.dragonflyllama.com/%20DOGS/Writ...&Sheep.html Sue begins all dogs with "doggy zen" which is similar to TOT, a good starting point to imprint the basic idea on the dog.

Like a head halter, I like them to "put it on themselves" by choice, which is really very quick to shape. Then, if your Mal is anything like my GSD, give them a soccer ball to punt around with the muzzle.

RSPCA should have an effective and impartial independent review process and be open to scientific scrutiny. Many problems solved and removes a lot of the politics from animal welfare.

I don't want to sound too cynical, but it just doesn't seem to me that the plight of the dog breeder is too high on the list of priorities for state politicians. It looks to me like they all want to extend further powers to the RSPCA to shift the responsibility.

Just a thought, I quite often hear people say "I wish they would study that" and often, someone already has - but you have to know what to look for. No-one is an expert in every field, so a bit of cross-pollination doesn't go astray.

I had nothing to do with that, I was just pointing out some details. An IP tells people where an internet user is accessing the internet.

Maybe to build, but not over it's lifetime. http://www.thecarconnection.com/tips-artic...loding-the-myth

Donegal, what has this got to do with Vickie's question? Susan Garrett is not a behaviourist, nor does she claim to be one, nor are we talking about a dog with a behaviour problem. And why are we not surprised to see you turn up to beat a dead hobby horse for 55chevy? Do you know what an IP is?

Crates behind a cargo barrier are the safest option, in which case you will need a Commodore or Falcon wagon.

Those warmists and their "science"! The other day it was, like, 33C and today it's back down to about 18C. Make up your mind, warmists! And don't tell me I can't have a dog or a house or a car. From my cold, dead hands...

As I understand it, dogs make Vit D on their fur through exposure to UV-B from the sun, which they then ingest through grooming. We are exposed to UV-B in the middle of the day. Current recommendations for humans are being challenged by science, and it could be that the recommended 10-15 mins per day sun exposure for dogs is not nearly enough. See: http://lewrockwell.com/miller/miller25.html for an opinion (make of it what you will).

http://www.thedogfiles.com/2009/11/23/man-fights-kangaroo/