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Animal behaviour and local government: Improving regulatory compliance and community engagement using applied behaviour principles

Petra Edwards

City of Charles Sturt Council

Abstract

The City of Charles Sturt’s Community Safety team is responsible for animal management and promoting responsible pet ownership. Like many regulatory bodies, the Council has traditionally been limited in the behaviour change tools available to them — often focusing on deterrence, prohibitive messaging, and penalties.

In 2015, the team began using behaviour analysis principles to guide its education and engagement strategies in an effort to improve compliance. Rather than relying solely on regulatory signage and enforcement contingencies, the team trialled a more proactive approach for a contentious animal management issue – dog leash laws on the foreshore.

Qualified dog trainers were hired as authorised Beach Education Officers, and new signage that emphasised the target behaviours (responsible and respectful use of shared public spaces) with fun messaging was implemented along the foreshore. This enabled a strategic shift in how our officers could engage with the community, and facilitated a more targeted approach to improving compliance through education.

This proactive approach has seen an increase in compliance and generated positive community feedback. More importantly, it has repositioned the City of Charles Sturt as a trustworthy source of support for responsible pet ownership and animal management, rather than just a regulatory body. An increased focus on behavioural insight has resulted in a more effective approach to compliance and community education.

Learning Objectives

By attending this session, attendees will:

Gain a better understanding of the challenges of regulatory compliance within local government
Be able to identify opportunities for the application of applied behaviour analysis principles in community engagement and education strategies

Biography

Petra is the project officer at the City of Charles Sturt Council in South Australia. She holds a PhD in dog behaviour and welfare, and

is a Certified Applied Animal Behaviourist, with over 20 years’ experience in the dog training industry. Petra’s dog training and behaviour background aids her work in the animal management sector, especially relating to safe and appropriate use of shared public spaces including dog parks, and improving community engagement through animal behaviour messaging.

A Fluid Approach - Individualised Behaviour and Training Approaches for Dog Grooming and Handling

Emma Cook

The Funky Foxhound

Abstract: Grooming a dog is a very personal, intimate experience for our canine friends. It requires handling of even the most sensitive parts of their bodies and features some procedures that cause a level of discomfort, all of this often performed by a person hardly known to the dog. Is it any wonder, then, that so many dogs find this experience distressing, their discomfort expressed through undesirable behaviours such as fidgeting, growling, snapping and thrashing? All dogs of today require varying levels of grooming and handling for their own well-being, but how can we achieve this whilst keeping both ourselves and our canine companions safe?

By taking a fluid approach, we are able to ensure we can adapt to the needs of the dogs in front of us, helping to ease grooming-related anxiety and behavioural problems. Trialling a variety of reinforcement methods, providing the dogs with predictability and control within handling scenarios, and utilising cooperative care approaches ensures all dogs can have a positive, welfare-focused grooming experience, whilst reducing the stress and physical discomfort of the person doing the grooming. These procedures can become enjoyable trust-building activities when we begin to see each dog for the individual they are; when we work with them, rather than against them, we can achieve a result that is beneficial to everybody.

Learning Objectives:

Learn about different techniques that can be utilised to achieve low-stress grooming with even the most complex cases.
Hear real success stories of clients who struggle with various grooming-related behavioural issues.
See pet grooming from a whole new perspective, with a dog-centred approach at the forefront.

Biography

Emma Cook FFCP Cert IV ABAT CARE-TC KA is a progressive dog groomer and qualified dog trainer with 10+ years' experience in the grooming industry. She operates The Funky Foxhound, a dog grooming business specialising in services for dogs who struggle with grooming-related behavioural issues here in Adelaide, and works within a collaborative team at veterinary behaviour clinic Pawly Understood. Her grooming and training techniques utilise a holistic approach including dog-centred training, co-operative care, enrichment, confidence building exercises and collaboration with other pet professionals to ensure the best outcome for each individual dog. Her emphasis is on the autonomy of her canine clients, encouraging them to communicate their needs safely and to have control over their own grooming sessions, therefore building a relationship based on safety and trust between dog and groomer.