Are there posters on here that have completed any part if the Bishop Burton course?
I'm signed up to it and have heard some negotive things about it recently.

Try sending a pm to Tassle I think she's a behaviourist/trainer of some kind she has a website, so take a look on there and see if she has done this course maybe? Another one who might be worth pm'ing would be Wilbar coz although he's a behaviourist in the feline world, he might well have done the same course, I really don't know. Can't be of any further help, but good luck with it.

I think Lindsay (wysiwyg) has done the course.

Just done the on-line induction. They have a live thing going on the internet.
Also the new learning zone looks very good.
Spoke to the lecturers and they seem great. I'm certainly charged up and ready for the course!

Oh and here is no exam so whoever said the exam is the same every year must have been mistaken! It seems to be coursework based.

I am with Jodee!

rune

It's always difficult to discuss this sort of thing on a public forum as you never know who is reading, but for my part, I liked the course. I did 3 years to get the full foundation, and then a further 2 at Sparsholt to top up I've done other courses here and there, (the original Canine/Human Interface).

Don't get me wrong, as with every course, there were hiccups and things going wrong. But what I did like about it was that your dog goes with you and you work with your dog; you have practical dog tests (I guess this was what was meant by an exam; you have to train your own dog to high standard in something) and when I was there we had the very good trainer Paddy Driscoll, who was just marvellous. However she has now left, and I am not sure who replaced her. We also had Roger Teasdale, and again I think he has now left, so there may be a bit of a change.

At the time we had our own dog training shed and an out door area; I think this may have changed. We had a police dog handler and an RAF handler on the course as well as others from various backgrounds in dogs.

The cafe does - or used to do - the most amazing chocolate brownies, plus other lovely snacks which were home made (much nicer than at Sparsholt )

Wys
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Hi TangoCharlie ~ I've had a look at the course you're signed up for but the website doesn't really give much info on the course content, nor does it say whether you get a recognised qualification at the end. But this may not be your motivation for doing the course anyway?

Are you taking the course because you want a career as a dog behaviourist/trainer or just out of personal development & knowledge?

The courses I've done in dog & cat behaviour are in the process of getting formal recognition & accreditation from Bristol University (to late for me obviously!!) but I can highly recommend them. They include hands on practical experience as well as academic study & theory. The main aim is to give you sufficient knowledge & experience to start yourself up in busines as a dog/cat/horse behaviourist & you get lots of practical support in that area as well.

The downside is that, as well as the studying, reading & blocks of 3 day courses over a 12 to 18 month period, you have 2 days of exams at the end as well as an exam in taking a "live" consultation ~ which was quite scary, in front of the rest of the class! After that you have 3 months to research & write up 4 given subjects (usually papers of about 2,000 to 2,500 words). After that you have to run a real live case study with a client that you obtain under vet referral, you have to submit a video recording of the initial consultation plus the write up of the ongoing support & subsequent consultations, & the report you provide to the vet. Only after you've passed all elements (pass mark 70%) do you get your qualification.

It was quite challenging but you're taught a lot of people skills as well as all the animal stuff. The place where the course is run has loads of animals to practice on, but you can't take your own pets. I've clicker trained some enormous pigs ~ they were brilliant to work with, no trouble with food motivation there!! But they also have lots of dogs, cats, horses, sheep, chickens, ducks, rabbits, guinea pigs. We used to spend our lunch breaks just watching all the animals interact & during lectures, the tutor's dogs would snuggle up with the rabbits in the lecture room, give lovely demonstrations of R.E.M. sleep (one time absolutely on cue which had us in stitches ), the chickens would wander in if the door was open. Probably not conducive to our concentration but lovely to see!

If you want details, PM me ~ the courses are pricey, but IMO, well worth it,

Paddy is great, when did you do the course?

rune

I looked at the part-time foundation degree at Bishop Burton(distance learning), but can't help much am afraid, it seemed pricey but would be interested of any further information. Am looking at some other courses, distance learning and also Jan Fenell runs weekend courses but not sure as they don't seem to be accredited in any way
Best of luck

I find it relatively good value.

I would also steer well clear of anything Jan Fennell related.
I suppose if dogs are your hobby then fine but if you are serious then something like a Foundation Degree is quite well respected.

Coape and Compass have the best reputation of on-line courses imo. But if you think the BB Course was expensive you are in for a shock!