ah ok.
thanks ailsa. your a great help.
ive decided to advertise locally as i think perhaps it would be easier to use a dog i dont know rather than one i know the extensive background to, cos then it just gets too confusing.

so hopefully i'll get a response.

Hi Jenny, I know this may be off thread topic but I am curious as to what course you are doing...

I have just left uni and really want to become an animal behaviourist. I know there are courses around but I am having a hard time deciding on which would be most suitable. I was just wondering if you could give me any advice.

If you know of a thread along similar lines then please let me know

Thanks

Also, Good luck in you essay and case study/dog hunt.. I'm sure there are plenty of dogs around with behavioural problems... unfortunately.

GW
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Good advice going on there, definitely go for third person. As for structure, my background is in physical sciences, but I imagine psychology and animal behaviour would take a similar line. Here's what I would go for:

1) Introduction (This should be the last thing you write!)
2) General background (A brief review of current literature relevant to the particular behavioural problem, what causes it, is it affected by breed, rearing etc...)
3) Case history (Introduce your case study: the dog, the owner, the problem, what they hope to acheive)
4) Observational work (ie: what YOU saw. This is where you should be careful not to write: "I saw the dog..."; it is more correct to write "The dog was seen to...")
5) Remedial work (Again in third person, what you did to fix it! I would probably describe the effect on behaviour here too, no need to have a separate section.)
6) Summary (Short section - 1 paragraph approx. to help draw the reader's attention to what you think are the important points/findings)
7) Conclusions (This is VERY IMPORTANT, but doesn't have to be long. It should do two things - a) explain what your work adds to curernt knowledge, b) suggest ways in which you could further this work. This second bit might only be a sentence long, but shows that you understand that your research is not the final word, and that you've thought about what you would do with more time and resources, try it with different dogs etc...)

Last thing I'll say is that your best guidance should come from other people in your field. Try to read similar reports in canine psychology/behaviour journals, not just to learn about the subject, but to learn about writing style: it's more important than you think! The stuff in mainstream magazines is a starting point, but if you want to really impress, it's best to write in the style accepted by serious publications.

Good luck, and let us know how you're getting on.

thanks for that duboing, that really helped!

glimmering winter: im doing the COAPE diploma in practical aspects of companion animal behaviour and training, altho this piece is for my yet to be finished intermediate in canine behaviour and training. its all correspondance, cept for the diploma where you go to 3 weekend seminars.
I looked around for a while for good course, they do them on www.coape.co.uk. bit expensive though.

the animal care college also do correspondance courses, but i was recommended to coape by another dog trainer.
They do practical courses too, but ive decided to go on an instructors course with a trainer near me, its cheaper and more practical.

i think there are some colleges about, cant remember what they are called though.

Brilliant

Thanks Jenny.

i shall look into it. I've had a look at animal care college but I really want to make the right choice.

Thanks again
GW
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