When dog owners considers hiring a professional, they are left with little choice: either trust their luck or trust the recommandations of other dog owners who often do not know better themselves. Even when they find lists of more or less 'official' recommandations, it is usually very incomplete and it does not give warning about nefarious professionals. The AFCBC has been created by a small group
of dog trainers and behaviourists who have hardcore beliefs in Science-Based, Force-Free methods and are more concerned by animal welfare than by marketing consideration and will not hesitate to either refer a case to a valued competitor or openly name professionals whose methods are not ethical enough. The primary goal of the AFCBC is to promote the use of Science-Based, Force-Free methods in the dog industry to favour the improvement of dog welfare and compensate for the lack of industrial regulations. At the core of the AFCBC is a vetted directory that is growing every day and aims at eventually listing and evaluating all dog professionals in the UK. Namely, this implies:
Supplying dog owners with pertinent business recommandations
by naming and supporting professionals who use these methods and exclusively these
by naming those professionals who do not
and by assessing the professionals they consider hiring
Providing incentives to dog owners to chose preferentially designated professionals
by making the selection process easier
and by proposing incentives to clear away from aversive methods
Providing a plateform to ethical dog professionals
Providing incentives to dog professionals to actively develop Force-Free methods
by providing reliable, peer-reviewed resources
by providing marketing support
by providing technical support and referrals
All dog professionals can apply to join and are likely to be evaluated regardless. Dog Trainers
Dog Behaviourists
Dog Walkers
Dog Sitters
Dog Borders
Dog Groomers
and generally all professionals having charge of dogs who are not their own.
