Temporarily closed
Nikita Norman - Canine Behaviour & Training is temporarily closed!
Owing to a temporary change in circumstances, I've closed down for the time being as I will be physically unable to meet clients' needs for the near future.
As and when I'm able to help again, I will reopen the website and remove this page.
Credentials
BSc Animal Management (3yrs, Hadlow College, Kent; covering all aspects of animal care across a wide range of species and industries)
FdSc Canine Behaviour & Training (3yrs, Bishop Burton College, Yorkshire; covering all aspects of dog behaviour, including learning theories through to practical application, and training methodology, from basic up to advanced levels)
Completed Intensive 30-day Dog Grooming Course (certified for completion of course, undertaken at Animal Magic in Kent in 2004)
Insurance:
Covered under Petplan Sanctuary for
- Public Liability (£3,000,000)
- Professional Indemnity (£100,000)
- Loss/Theft of Keys (£1,500)
- Per animal Care Custody & Control of Animals (£1,250)
- Custodial Responsibility (£10,000)
This means I am insured to carry out:
- Dog training and behavioural work
- Dog walking
- Dog grooming
- Pet sitting (covering all care and feeding in clients' homes)
- Being in control of animals (walking and transportation)
- Having possession of clients' house keys for walking and pet care
About Me
From before I got my first puppy, I was well on my way into the world of dog training. My first clicker arrived before he did!
Remy was learning tricks from the start, went to basic training classes as soon as he was old enough and from there he did his bronze Canine Good Citizen and moved on to agility. That was it - I was hooked.
However, it was not all smooth sailing: along the way we experienced more than our share of unpleasant clubs and trainers, and I exchanged words with one for their atrocious handling of a stressed-out dog before leaving the club. I left another for their inability to train individual dogs - the 'one size fits all' premise. There were more besides.
Remy never went beyond his bronze because I was uncomfortable with the overwhelming emphasis during the bronze on being the 'pack leader' and dogs being 'dominant' - known, these days, to be a myth but way back then I never bought into the idea anyway; it seemed ridiculous. After all, he was a dog and I most definitely was not! He passed his bronze with flying colours without me 'dominating' him at any stage.
That's what started my journey towards becoming a behaviourist: that urge to learn more, to find out why dogs do what they do, and how to work with it rather than against it. My first stop was Hadley College in Kent, for my BSc in Animal Management - at this point I was not intending to become a behaviourist but I had decided that I wanted to work with animals in some way, with dogs at the forefront. The units on animal behaviour narrowed that field and from Hadlow, I first learned how to groom for a living, then went on to Bishop Burton College in Beverley to study dog behaviour properly.
At this stage it was still just an interest; however shortly after I started the course, I took on Soli, my first rescue dog - a then 42kg dobermann - and still, to date, the most aggressive dog I have taken on. It was her that made me become a behaviourist. She didn't so much steer me in that direction though, as rig the pedals and send it over the ravine! She was quite the learning curve, but worth every second and she confirmed that I was doing what I should be - within six months she loved people and turned into one of the best dogs I've ever known, loved by everyone and she had a bit of a following at our local park.
Since her I have taken on several serious cases, including two heading for euthanasia and one who to this day remains the most damaged dog I've ever met - aggression is not so much a problem for her but multiple noise phobias, dog phobia, lead phobia and more besides mean she has definitely been the most challenging dog I've had and continues to be so - but for all that, she has come on in leaps and bounds and taught me an immense amount in the short time I've had her so far.
In my workings with dogs I try and keep myself as up to date as I can in the behaviour world, with both the good and the bad; essential, I feel, to be able to give the best help and advice possible. Staying in the past does no-one any favours, especially when there is such a wealth of new positive methods and alternative approaches being developed all the time.
Remy was learning tricks from the start, went to basic training classes as soon as he was old enough and from there he did his bronze Canine Good Citizen and moved on to agility. That was it - I was hooked.
However, it was not all smooth sailing: along the way we experienced more than our share of unpleasant clubs and trainers, and I exchanged words with one for their atrocious handling of a stressed-out dog before leaving the club. I left another for their inability to train individual dogs - the 'one size fits all' premise. There were more besides.
Remy never went beyond his bronze because I was uncomfortable with the overwhelming emphasis during the bronze on being the 'pack leader' and dogs being 'dominant' - known, these days, to be a myth but way back then I never bought into the idea anyway; it seemed ridiculous. After all, he was a dog and I most definitely was not! He passed his bronze with flying colours without me 'dominating' him at any stage.
That's what started my journey towards becoming a behaviourist: that urge to learn more, to find out why dogs do what they do, and how to work with it rather than against it. My first stop was Hadley College in Kent, for my BSc in Animal Management - at this point I was not intending to become a behaviourist but I had decided that I wanted to work with animals in some way, with dogs at the forefront. The units on animal behaviour narrowed that field and from Hadlow, I first learned how to groom for a living, then went on to Bishop Burton College in Beverley to study dog behaviour properly.
At this stage it was still just an interest; however shortly after I started the course, I took on Soli, my first rescue dog - a then 42kg dobermann - and still, to date, the most aggressive dog I have taken on. It was her that made me become a behaviourist. She didn't so much steer me in that direction though, as rig the pedals and send it over the ravine! She was quite the learning curve, but worth every second and she confirmed that I was doing what I should be - within six months she loved people and turned into one of the best dogs I've ever known, loved by everyone and she had a bit of a following at our local park.
Since her I have taken on several serious cases, including two heading for euthanasia and one who to this day remains the most damaged dog I've ever met - aggression is not so much a problem for her but multiple noise phobias, dog phobia, lead phobia and more besides mean she has definitely been the most challenging dog I've had and continues to be so - but for all that, she has come on in leaps and bounds and taught me an immense amount in the short time I've had her so far.
In my workings with dogs I try and keep myself as up to date as I can in the behaviour world, with both the good and the bad; essential, I feel, to be able to give the best help and advice possible. Staying in the past does no-one any favours, especially when there is such a wealth of new positive methods and alternative approaches being developed all the time.