Compass Education and Training - a worthwhile resource for a potential Nihon ken owner?
Hi guys,
I was wondering if anyone could give me a little advice. I'm (hopefully) about a year off getting my first nihon ken. I haven't owned a dog of my own before, and neither has my partner although we both had dogs as children and I've been devouring books on training, behaviour etc. I'm also well aware that dogs, and especially nihon ken, can develop issues that a novice dog owner will not be equipped to deal with and was looking into reputable behaviorists in my area so I have their contact details if any issues like reactivity crop up.
While I was searching, I came across some educational resources recommended by the UK Registry of Canine Behaviourists. I don't have the time, money or inclination to get a degree, but I really liked the shorter courses and diplomas available from http://www.compass-education.co.uk/. I'm considering starting the Canine Care and Behaviour - Diploma course, which seems a perfect starting off point for an inexperienced owner like me. However, before I throw any money at them I thought I'd ask here to see if anyone has completed these courses and can give a review or if anyone has heard any horror stories about this organisation. Basically if anyone has experience or an opinion about them, please share it here!
I do like, and do better at, more structured learning methods, so if anyone can recommend other online courses too I'd greatly appreciate it. I will continue reading other material outside of the course.
P.S I'm sorry if something about Compass has already been posted, I couldn't find anything when i searched.
P.P.S I'm very sorry too if this is the wrong place to post this, I thought it sounded like the closest matching subforum even if the training is technically for the human :P
I was wondering if anyone could give me a little advice. I'm (hopefully) about a year off getting my first nihon ken. I haven't owned a dog of my own before, and neither has my partner although we both had dogs as children and I've been devouring books on training, behaviour etc. I'm also well aware that dogs, and especially nihon ken, can develop issues that a novice dog owner will not be equipped to deal with and was looking into reputable behaviorists in my area so I have their contact details if any issues like reactivity crop up.
While I was searching, I came across some educational resources recommended by the UK Registry of Canine Behaviourists. I don't have the time, money or inclination to get a degree, but I really liked the shorter courses and diplomas available from http://www.compass-education.co.uk/. I'm considering starting the Canine Care and Behaviour - Diploma course, which seems a perfect starting off point for an inexperienced owner like me. However, before I throw any money at them I thought I'd ask here to see if anyone has completed these courses and can give a review or if anyone has heard any horror stories about this organisation. Basically if anyone has experience or an opinion about them, please share it here!
I do like, and do better at, more structured learning methods, so if anyone can recommend other online courses too I'd greatly appreciate it. I will continue reading other material outside of the course.
P.S I'm sorry if something about Compass has already been posted, I couldn't find anything when i searched.
P.P.S I'm very sorry too if this is the wrong place to post this, I thought it sounded like the closest matching subforum even if the training is technically for the human :P
Comments
In my experience, you can't learn the most important things about dog behavior from a book. You can get tips or tricks or methods to employ or reasoning behind something, but to really know a dog and a dog's behavior you have to be around them.
Since it sounds like you want to commit time to something, why don't you volunteer at a shelter to walk and socialize with dogs or even better at a trainer or behaviorist who might be able to use you as a "stranger" in behavior tests, socialization classes, etc. That way you could trade your time for a bit of education and hear from someone with experience who could point to a dog and say, "That's fear" or "That's happy" or "That's him/her about to bite". There's nothing quite like seeing it for yourself.
I see now that I've listed them in reverse order of my actual recommendation. First see if you can volunteer with a reputable behaviorist, then a trainer, then a shelter in that order or even all three. It's good not to get all your information from one place. My suggestion though is that you stay away from anywhere that uses aversive training (shock collar, prong, choke, corrections, etc.) as its first choice. There is a time and place for that kind of training (a whole other discussion), but it should be the last resort IMHO.
Thanks for the recommendations. I have completed the necessary forms and got my shots up to date to volunteer at the one and only animal rescue on the Island. Unfortunately, it's about 40 minutes drive away + only open for limited hours. With that taken into account + some stuff going on events wise on the Island + personal life + job I've not found the time to go down for the introduction yet >.< I do fully intend to do so, hoping it's possible this weekend.
I don't think it's possible to for me to volunteer with a behaviourist as I haven't found any qualified ones on the island. The rescue I'm planning on volunteering with is the only one on the island though (well, there's a cat sanctuary too), so should be a good place to network, in case I've missed anything
My boyfriend's brother has also agreed to lend us his border collie mix. Hilariously, she's part pomeranian so hopefully she be full of primitive fire with all the crazy energy of a BC
Re; breed clubs, there are a handful of American Akitas and 4 Shibas on the entire Island. They haven't formed a club
Please keep the suggestions coming, they're all appreciated