Charlie Kemp

In my previous position I developed an excellent understanding of dog behavioural problems, dog nutrition and even basics of dog grooming. I was able to use co-operative care to aid in grooming dogs safely. I utilised behavioural modification techniques, such as classical conditioning for reactive dogs, and positive reinforcement to help rehabilitate multiple reactive dogs. This included more complex dogs, such as rescues from Romania. Since then, I have developed my knowledge around dog body language, dog behaviour and different skills to improve your partnership and bond with dogs by watching multiple webinars, reading professional dog behaviour books and practicing skills learnt with my own reactive dog. I have been able to mostly rehabilitate her, using mixtures of positive reinforcement and training games. In my previous role I was expected to communicate with clients, veterinary professionals and write behavioural reports. I was able to help dogs get appropriate medical help which improved their quality of life, reduced discomfort and thus ultimately helped to reduce their problem behaviours. I learnt about dog nutrition and how to help a variety of nutritional needs. This meant I was able to further reduce discomfort in dogs as I took a deep dive into their diet and reduced issues such as chronic loose stools and itchy skin. I learnt how to work as part of a team with the head behaviourist and the Animal Behaviour Technician. We communicated with each other and helped each other on different behavioural cases. We worked as a team when conducting training workshops to ensure the safety of everyone involved as well as working together to troubleshoot any problems that arose. Since leaving this position, I have started a remote Access to Higher Education course in Veterinary Nursing. I expect to complete this course by September.

• Crochet
• Dog trick training
• Reading books