BehaviouRVNs

It was lovely to speak to the amazing Vikki who has such an interest in developing puppy training at the veterinary practice. “Hey! I'm Vikki, I have 13 years of veterinary practice experience from reception to RVN. Prior to vet life I lived/worked on a farm, gaining experience with cattle, sheep,youngstock, commercial cattery and kennel work, grumpy farmers, tetchy farm vets and plenty of 'old school' behaviour theory...I had a group of working border terriers/patterdales for 16 years and currently have a 1 year old working (eventually!) labrador.

I'm currently working in a small animal Vets for Pets clinic in Derbyshire, as a 5 year qualified RVN, having completed a level 3 fear free certificate, a COAPE behavior certificate in puppy behaviour and training, and more recently as a Dog friendly clinic advocate through the Dogs Trust scheme.

I'm hopefully starting a graduate certificate in advanced veterinary nursing (Behaviour) at Harper Adams university this year.

I offer a range of support throughout our practice from behavioural first aid interventions, management of surgical cases and behaviourally supportive careplans for surgical cases- extensive pre neutering and PVP assessments with the vets, to all colleague in house training, CPD sourcing and co-operative care clinic packages.

My aim is to educate our veterinary teams and clients in psychologically prophylactic approaches to veterinary care and treatment provision, in an accessible and positive way. Improving patient welfare, colleague welfare, client/practice bonding and co-operation.

I am also a neurodiversity advocate in the practice, tailoring our communication of care to ensure all clients can access in person or virtual support for co-operative care or low stress clinics, or for vet visits in general.”

Katey Aldred is the ultimate in veterinary nurse turned animal behaviourist!

“With three dogs, two cats and two reptiles of my own, it’s clear to see that I am passionate about animals, and it is my belief that a well-trained and well-behaved pet results in a happier home; for everyone!

“It was my love and passion for animals that drew me into a career working with them in 2001, and I haven’t stopped loving it since. Since then I have I completed two degree's; Canine Behaviour and Training and a Master’s Degree in Applied Animal Behaviour and Training (AABT)."

Katey is listed as a Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CAB) with The Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC) and a full member of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors (APBC).

In addition, Katey is a Registered Veterinary Nurse (RVN) with the Royal Veterinary College and was the first to become a CBATI within East Anglia in 2014.

Katey is the owner of Pooch Paws based at St.Olaves, Norfolk established since 2005. She is the main trainer delivering weekly puppy and dog training classes.

. Katey also works privately with clients for training and behaviour as well as teaching workshops. Katey has a passion for gundogs utilising clicker training to teach the sport. A background in the veterinary industry has also resulted in a passion for husbandry training and low-stress handling.

https://www.kateyaldred.co.uk/

Dr Katrin Jahn, DrMedVet, CertVA, MANZCVS (Veterinary Behaviour), MRCVS ACVB & ECAWBM Resident in Veterinary Behaviour Medicine

Fear Free Certified Professional

I have been a veterinarian for over 20 years and have owned and run my own practice for over a decade. This has provided me with a wealth of knowledge and experience in all areas of pet health.

I am also a pet owner so I understand how special the bonds and relationships are that we have with our pets and how difficult it can be when that relationship gets challenged or damaged.

I am extremely passionate about treating each patient as an individual and each patient-family dynamic as a unique entity.

I understand the complexity of Pet Behaviour problems and I will help and support you through this journey by combining science and evidence with kindness, compassion and empathy.

My aim is to enable the best welfare outcome for everyone and for your pet to be the very best, happiest version of themselves.

Being a member of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Behaviour as well as a resident in Veterinary Behaviour Medicine through both the European and American colleges means that I am always at the forefront of current knowledge and research which allows me to serve you to the very highest standards.

Julie Brewer is a Veterinary Nurse, Behaviourist, Dog Trainer and Business owner at Little Tykes Dog Hub.

Little Tykes Dog Hub was named after Julie’s dog Tyke, who having badly bitten both a human and another dog in separate incidences forced Julie to learn more about behaviour and training, turning her into the dog geek she is today. Julie gained a Masters in Clinical Animal Behaviour from University of Lincoln in 2021, as a Pre-Certified Clinical Animal Behaviourist she is working towards her full Certification with the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors. She has been seeing behaviour cases and training clients for 25 years and gained her Diploma in Companion Animal Behaviour and Training (COAPE) in 2004.

She has been nursing for 33 years and holds an Advanced Diploma in Surgical Nursing. She is experienced in both general and referral small animal practices. She currently works part time in a busy small animal practice in Lincolnshire. The rest of her time is divided between CPD, running her business and spending time with her 3 dogs. Two of her dogs (Twiggy and Dodo) are Podenco types from rescue centres in Spain. Twiggy is an active member of Little Tykes as a demo dog in class, stooge dog for 1:1’s and emotional support dog for Julie. Dodo demos in class but is also training with Julie’s business partner for his Mantrailing Title. The third, Dez is a border collie from the RSPCA, who participates in agility, herding games, Parkour and hoopers whilst also training with Louth Search and Rescue to be tested and hopefully qualify this year as a certified Search and Rescue dog.

Julie eventually plans to leave veterinary practice, but she loves it and the people that she works with too much.

Julie is a member of:

ABTC - Animal Behaviour and Training Council.

APBC - Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors.

COAPE

FABC - Federation of Animal Behaviour Counsellors.

PPG - Pet Professional Guide.

BVNA – British Veterinary Nursing Association.

The legend that is Linda Ryan BSc (Hons) Animal Behaviour & Welfare, VTS (Behaviour & Oncology), DipAVN (Medical), KPA-CTP, RVN, CCAB

Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist - ASAB accredited (Cats & Dogs), ABTC-registered Clinical Animal Behaviourist, & Animal Training Instructor, a Certificated member of the Fellowship of Animal Behaviour Clinicians (FABC), a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner, & Faculty Instructor. She is also Fear Free Certified www.inspiringpets.com

Dom is a Registered Veterinary Nurse of 3 years, working in the profession for over 7. She started as an animal assistant and moved up to a Lead nurse. She developed a passion for canine behaviour when still a student veterinary nurse and as soon as she qualified, she dug into more education.

She enrolled onto CPD courses and then decided to apply for Behaviour Certificate. With time she wanted to change more things within my practice, so became Dog Friendly advocate with Dogs Trust.

She then lead her practice to become “Dog Friendly Clinic” and also started a journey with Fear Free. #

Dom is currently a Subject of Matter expert (Dog Friendly clinics) on Clinical Board with Linnaeus. She is part of the Pact team currently working towards my ATI and a volunteer at guide dogs.

Her plan is to start the CAM course so she can incorporate arthritis management in her dog training and behaviour!

Time to chat to a fellow Scot!

Connie is an RVN originally from Scotland, now based near Milton Keynes - qualified for nearly 30 years! She has worked  in Mixed and Independent SA practices but now based at the on-site veterinary practice at  Wood Green Pet Charity.

Connie obtained the ATI (Animal Training Instructor) qualification after studying with PACT (Professional Association of Canine Trainers) and is listed on the ABTC (Animal and Behaviour Training Council) register. She is currently studying for the ABT (Animal Behaviour Technician) qualification.

Connie is passionate about reducing stress for animals within the  veterinary setting, puppy problem prevention and encouraging everyone to educate themselves on other species communication styles.

Continuing with the feline theme, for this special guest episode, I am talking to the amazing Lucy Hoile about feline behaviour, and her amazing new book ‘The Book Your Cat Wishes You Would Read’.

Lucy is a MSc holder from University of Southampton, a registered Clinical Animal Behaviourist with ABTC and a full member of APBC. She is also a certified member of FABC and a Certified Clinical Animal Behaviourist certified by ASAB, and a full member of International Feline Behaviourist.

In this episode, I speak to Laura Watson, about cats and emotions. Laura is iCatCare’s Cat Welfare Assistant. Laura works closely with the Cat Welfare department, assisting in the creation and delivery of welfare-centric activities to positively impact the welfare of cats, both owned and unowned. Laura creates content for the charities social media channels iCatCare and ISFM (the veterinary division), newsletters, courses, congresses and campaigns and assists with programme delivery for the Cat Friendly Clinic, processing accreditations and reaccreditations.

About Laura

Laura qualified as a Registered Veterinary Nurse in 2018 and has over sixteen years nursing experience in small animal first opinion clinics. She has always had a natural affinity with cats, having grown up with a myriad of rescue cats throughout her childhood, and her love of cats filtered into her working career with a passion to improve the welfare of cats within the veterinary clinic. This led Laura to complete the ISFM Advanced Feline Behaviour for Veterinary Professionals course with distinction in 2020 which helped her implement ideas to help their clinic become behaviourally centred for their care of cats and offer feline first aid nursing consultation to their clients. Laura was then promoted to Clinical Lead Nurse in her clinic and wanted to develop her feline nursing skills to confidently lead and guide her nursing team in the care they delivered to cats, which lead her to complete and gain a distinction in the ISFM Foundation Diploma in Feline Nursing in 2022.

This week I chat to Jo Clews about preventative behavioural care for dogs, such a wonderful topic. I learnt so much from Jo with this chat.

"Hi, my name is Jo and I have been working in the veterinary industry for over a decade and have been a qualified registered veterinary nurse for 5 years.

I got into behaviour through my little dog ‘Luna’ who is seen pictured with me. She was a very poorly RSPCA puppy that came into my old veterinary practice needing some medical attention, after getting her better I just couldn’t give her back, so she has stayed with me ever since!

Having worked within the veterinary setting I was determined to not have a dog that ‘hated the vets’ and went on a knowledge quest for how I can best help my little friend when it came to the Veterinary environment. One thing was the annual Kennel Cough vaccination, I had seen many dogs fight and get scared by this. It had me thinking, there has to be a better way. So I went on the cooperative care journey, I managed to teach my dog a set of instructions and communications using the power of positive training to get her comfortable and happy with having a force free kennel cough vaccination. This then opened up the door to many things, including setting up my own desensitisation clinics and enrolling in my level 5 canine behaviour course. My mission is to educate owners just how the power of positivity can help their pets when it comes to preventative veterinary treatment and how we can best help their pets when they are at the vets."

Jo's Facebook group '

Luna’s Cooperative Care