13/08/2024
Good morning! Bear just wanted to drop by and say you are winning at life ❤️
Clinical Animal Behaviourist and dog trainer My name is Lesley Townsend and I’m a qualified, insured dog trainer and clinical animal behaviourist.
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Qualifications
I have a Masters in Clinical Animal Behaviour from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh, where my dissertation research on lead-walking and pet-dog welfare was awarded a distinction and achieved the highest marks in my year. I’m a qualified Canine Behaviour and Training Technician (CBTT-13119) with AniEd Ireland, I hold a Fetac level 6 in Cani
ne Obedience and Training, a CAP Level 1 (Clicker Trainers Competency Assessment - Distinction) and I’m a certified Canine First Responder. I’m a member of the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) a provisional member of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors (APBC) and a candidate member of the Fellowship of Animal Behaviour Consultants (FABC), professional organisations which require members to adhere to the highest standards for knowledge, competency and ethics. As a provisional member of APBC I have demonstrated that I have the appropriate level of knowledge and understanding for the professional role of Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CAB). I am currently working towards (CCAB) accreditation. The APBC and FABC support provisional and candidate members undertaking behaviour consultations. I am an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Authority (AFHEA) in the UK and have been a peer tutor on the Companion Animal Behaviour and Production Animal Welfare post-graduate courses for the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh. I’m a founding member of the Irish Veterinary Behaviour Association. I’ve been published in the Journal of the British Veterinary Nursing Association (VNJ) and the journal of the British Veterinary Association (Vet Record) and my research has been featured in Psychology Today. I have contributed original research to both the British Veterinary Behaviour Association (BVBA) study day and the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) conference. I regularly attend workshops, seminars and conferences, ensuring my knowledge and skills are always at the cutting edge of behavioural science. Most importantly, I have hundreds of hours of ‘real-life’ experience, working with people and their dogs every day. I believe a rewarding learning experience isn’t just for dogs, it’s for people too, so making training fun and achievable for both ends of the lead, is at the heart of everything I do. My goal is to help you better understand your dog’s behaviour, and to empower you to change it, using welfare-centred, evidence-based, training and behaviour programmes.
06/08/2024
Superstar Marshall walked to the park today on a loose lead and had the joy of all the sniffs along the way and when he got there. Super proud of him and his people for doing the work, lead walking is the ultimate self control exercise and that’s not easy for a busy adolescent springer. But using access to sniffs and brilliant lead skills has made all the difference - top of the class!
07/07/2024
Good morning from Kobe ❤️ you are welcome
06/07/2024
I’m super proud of Dash (left) and his emotional support dog Dixie (right) and their awesome people. When Dash came home 7 months ago he was completely shut down, couldn’t approach people and had never been in a house or worn a lead. His world was very small and he made himself even smaller to cope. His humans have taken such a gentle and consistent approach and together we prioritised helping Dash to feel safe above all else, and we let him tell us what safe looked like to him. We worked in collaboration with the fantastic team who prescribed behaviour and pain medication to improve his coping skills and help ease the stiffness in his atrophied legs. His people did their homework- which sometimes meant doing nothing, which can be really tough, and sometimes meant doing little things but all the time - also tough. And now, 7 months later, Dash is walking on the beach with his best buddy Dixie. And not just walking but jumping into the car, sniffing, toileting, playing and greeting other dog buddies. There are no overnight successes, no quick fixes or magic wands, in reality not every case has a happy ending and love alone isn’t the secret sauce. I wanted to share this here because when vets, behaviourists and clients collaborate and truly put the dogs interests first, with realistic expectations on all sides, it’s a powerful mix, which over time makes meaningful behaviour change a reality. And in all of that Dash has worked the hardest of us all to become the dog he is today ❤️
15/06/2024
Good morning! Lenny wants to know, where’s the food?!
13/06/2024
Banning any type of dog, (based solely on appearance) in a bid to reduce dog related deaths is like banning red cars in a bid to reduce road deaths - it is a gross over simplification of what is in fact a very complex issue. Dog behaviour is the outcome of multiple factors- breed being just one - and we know that there can be as much variability within a breed as there is between breeds (Duffy et al 2008, Morrill et al 2022). Breeding, socialisation, early life experiences, the environment, learning, owner behaviour, training history, health, pain, life stage and many more variables need to be considered on a case by case basis. Dog bites and fatalities are undoubtedly traumatic and tragic for communities, families, friends and first responders, but introducing legislation that puts 100s if not 1000s of dogs to death as a knee jerk reaction, would also be tragic. Tragic for animal welfare, but also för responsible owners, of which there are many across all breeds, who ARE doing their best. Tragic for public safety because, of the four fatalities in Ireland to date, (and each and every one is awful) but only one was an XL bully type and all of the attacks happened in private, with dogs known to the victims. By labelling one breed as inherently dangerous legislators imply that others are others are inherently safe - creating a false sense of security and doing nothing to prevent future deaths by empowering people with knowledge, increasing enforcement and regulating the breeding, training and sourcing of dogs. Red cars can kill you, blue cars can’t. .td
05/06/2024
Back June 11th - I’ll respond to emails and messages then!
01/06/2024
Aaaaaaaaand sleep
29/05/2024
When you bring the behaviourist a rubber chicken as a not so subtle hint……
15/05/2024
Cooper ❤️ his (mahoosive) love language is slobber
24/04/2024
Welcome home Jazz! This stunner has just landed a 5 star home with her new people
19/04/2024
The AGM and conference is go!
18/04/2024
Had a fantastic afternoon yesterday guest lecturing in dog behaviour to students in Athlone TUS. Great to see so many biovet and vet nursing students with a keen interest in behaviour. What a privilege to teach Ireland’s future veterinary medicine professionals!
12/04/2024
Some thoughts for a Friday…..
Last week I woke in the middle of the night with what can only be described as excruciating pain in my tooth. On the advice of my dentist I took non prescription painkillers, confident they would offer relief while I awaited an appointment.
They didn’t. Not at all.
What started as a pain in my tooth transformed into pain that radiated to my top jaw, my ear and even my nose.
By the time I saw the dentist on Monday I had been in terrible pain for 4 days and I would have done anything to make it stop.
The thing is, during those four days I still went to work, talked to friends, cleaned my house, swam over a km twice and walked for two hours. No one would know I was in pain. I was still able to eat and drink (albeit tentatively) I was able to function and I still did the things I enjoy (and some of the things I don’t!) because I had to take my mind off the pain.
So what has this got to do with dogs?
Well now imagine being in pain and not knowing what it is, or how to make it stop. Imagine trying to tell people and not being heard. Imagine having no choice about relieving your pain. Imagine how that might change your perception of pain? Imagine how scared, anxious, frustrated or angry you might become?
So I say to vets, dog professionals, dog owners and carers.
Please don’t assume that because a dog isn’t lame, wants to chase a ball, eat a chew, or go for a long walk, that they aren’t in pain. Please don’t assume that if a dog is on pain medication for 5 days and behaviour they have practiced for 6 months or a year doesn’t change, that pain is not a factor. Please don’t assume that your pain is the same as someone else’s or that this labs pain is the same as that bichons, is the same as that cockers. It’s not. Pain is subjective, it’s nuanced, it’s particular to an individual. Please don’t assume that ‘it’s behavioural’ and discount pain entirely at a glance - pain and behaviour are intrinsically linked. Sometimes behaviour IS the only symptom of pain.
And finally please be tireless in your pursuit of pain management for your dog, any dog. Be a pain! (Scuse the pun)
12/04/2024
Lovely to be back with Mocha (L) and Bailey (R) yesterday - otherwise affectionately known as Chaos and Mayhem 😂 There is SO much fun to be had with these two and it’s definitely a full contact sport!
12/04/2024
Now I’m not saying Indie is a Daddy’s girl but…… ❤️
05/04/2024
Yes!! What a fantastic Easter hanging out in Uppsala Sweden, seeing dogs dogs and more dogs ❤️ Now back to work 🇸🇪
29/03/2024
Toby waving me off for the long weekend! He’s just found his forever home and he’s already won his people over by being the biggest love bug ❤️ I’m taking some time away from work this week - back in the office Thursday 4th
27/03/2024
Wow! A whole decade of Clever Companions……it’s hard to believe that ten years has passed since I started my business. When I started I didn’t even know what I didn’t know yet, and there is still so much to learn. There have been the highest peaks (the dogs, amazing clients, my masters, the dogs) and the lowest troughs (losing Boo 💔, the passing of dogs, pandemic anyone?) But throughout it all, the dogs have shown me what true joy and resilience is and have taught me more than I could ever have imagined about behaviour. This post is a huge thank you to them, you’ve made the last ten years worth every moment and I hope in some small way I’ve made your lives a little better too ❤️
26/03/2024
Chaila did not eat mud for lunch…..
26/03/2024
Cooper ❤️ so much love to give, he’d be in your lap if he could!
26/03/2024
What? Technically I am ‘In’ the bed……Poppy brings her own style to learning settle time
25/03/2024
When you go to see your bestie and you’re basically just stalking her dogs ❤️ (who like to sleep on her stunning prints)
23/03/2024
Lily is a Glen of Imaal terrier, one of our native breeds that are sadly pretty rare these days - she’s also part Meerkat apparently
23/03/2024
Morning! Does you have the treaties?
08/03/2024
Thank dog it’s Friday! And Charlie is settling into his new home just beautifully
08/03/2024
Little Chloe is making such great progress with the help of her fantastic human - and she was rocking a pony tail at our session yesterday
08/03/2024
Pip ❤️ a real beaut inside and out, she has all the love to give and doesn’t believe in personal space - as far as she was concerned this photo was taken during the long distance phase of our relationship 😂
06/03/2024
Goofing
04/03/2024
Cutie patootie Ted snoozling away - being gorgeous is exhausting
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Looking at the scary stuff = chicken #schnauzers #schnauzersofinstagram #sisters #dogbehaviour #dogtraining #cleverdogs #fabclinicians #fabc #rewardbasedtraining
Happy birthday to the pink ladies who are 8 today! Wishing the two best little bichons the very happiest of birthdays. They had a birthday ball at the beach in matching outfits 💗#bichons #pinkladies #sisters #happybirthday #itsourbirthday #bichonstagram #bichonsofinstagram
When it’s just too hot for Ruby, only a mud bath will do! It’s good for the skin don’t you know! #mudbath #hippo #mudmudgloriousmud #frenchbulldog #frenchiesofinstagram #frenchies #frenchbulldogpuppy #puppytraining #puppylove #puppygram
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