ABOUT THE ACADEMY OF DOG TRAINING AND BEHAVIOUR

Jenni Watson formed the ADTB in April 2001. Jenni had been involved in Competitive Obedience from the late 1970's. She had taken two of her own dogs, both rescues to the pinnacle of Championship competition and created two Obedience Champions. Jenni is a Championship Obedience judge and had the honour of judging the Kennel Club YKC classes at Crufts.

She has always supported the plight of rescue dogs and all her life she has worked to raise funds for these causes. In the 80´s she walked from Darlington, Co. Durham to London (where she appeared at Crufts) to raise over £8,000 for rescue societies. The following year she organised a further walk which raised over £40,000.

In 2002, she organised a "sponsored stay" where 336 dogs from the classes run by ADTB Instructors from every area of the UK performed a one minute "stay" at exactly the same time. This event resulted in a donation of over £18,000 being given to the "Make-A-Wish foundation" and a Guiness world record for the ADTB.

Since 1981 when she was first requested to run a seminar Jenni has travelled the country teaching others how to achieve the very best from their dog. She has instructed in many European countries and the USA. In all, she has held over 400 seminars and has provided a helping hand in the training of many of the top UK competition dogs.

Jenni believes that a dog behaviourist may not necessarily have the ability to be a good dog trainer, but that a good trainer must be able to read a dog and understand its behaviour in order to train it, therefore a coupling of knowledge between trainers and behaviourists will vastly improve the knowledge of all.

She also believes that there are many excellent methods of training whether clicker, toy training, food training but only kind, fair and motivational methods should be used.

Since the birth of the ADTB Jenni has lectured at some 53 courses throughout the UK from as far afield as Huntley in Aberdeenshire to Southampton. Over 1,000 people have attended with candidates travelling from France, Spain, Ireland, Japan and the USA.

Today, the ADTB is proud to uphold over 100 ADTB Approved Instructors. The organisation is both recognised and respected by many canine related organizations.

HOW OUR COURSES WORK

Participants of the ADTB courses do not need to travel to take the courses. These are provided online. When people order a course, or, all 6 courses, they are given access to the private ADTB members forum. They then have a choice between studying the courses online or, downloading or printing off the courses for home study.

They are offered question back-up from Jenni Watson or they can post their questions to the members forum and gain the thoughts of over 400 other members.

Upon completion of each course participants can apply for their test paper which is emailed to them. They do not have to be academics to pass these tests. They are simply designed to ensure that participants have taken in the content of each course. Provided the participants test paper reaches the required standard they receive a diploma upon completion of every test.

There is no time limit for completion of the courses. Some people will complete all courses in a matter of weeks whilst other may take a year. It is entirely up to the individual.

Participants need not have any previous Dog Training experience.

There are two levels of qualification:

ADTB ONLINE GRADUATE

Suitable for people who may wish to hold one to one training, dog walking, dog sitting etc.This level is also suitable for those living outside the UK.

Upon completion of all 6 online courses and provided a PASS mark has been achieved for the paperwork required, participants will be accepted into the ADTB as an ADTB ONLINE GRADUATE and their details will be listed on the ADTB ONLINE GRADUATE page. This will act as a reference for participants to show that they have undertaken a canine study course.

People who achieve this status can advance to become an ADTB APPROVED INSTRUCTOR at a later date.

ADTB ONLINE GRADUATE

Should the participant wish to gain membership as an ADTB APPROVED INSTRUCTOR (after successful completion of the ADTB theory courses) they can apply to have their training skills assessed. This means that they would travel to a venue suggested by the ADTB to meet up with their chosen assessor.

They would be asked to train a small class of dogs and their owners using the material contained in the Online courses. Candidates are encouraged to also use their own input of methods.What this means is that if you are a great believer in a certain method of training, i.e. "Clicker Training" this is acceptable.

Before the ADTB can approve candidates the assessor must be satisfied that the candidate appears capable of holding a safe, happy, fun and beneficial training class.

If the assessment is successful, membership within the ADTB would be upgraded to ADTB APPROVED INSTRUCTOR. Please note that a further charge of £25 is required for this assessment and participants must be prepared to meet the travel costs. For a list of assessors and the areas in which they train please apply to jenni@adtb.co.uk.

The ADTB also appreciates that practical hands on experience is a vital part of training. If participants do not already have experience we recommend that upon completion of the courses they gain some experience before applying for assessment.

For those who book all 6 online courses, and successfully achieve and pass our standard requirements and tests participants will receive one year's free membership of the ADTB (value £25). After this time a yearly subscription fee of £35 is required to continue ADTB membership.

Each course offers an ADTB diploma upon completion and achievement. This diploma does not indicate that the holder is an ADTB Approved Instructor. It indicates that the participant has undertaken the course and passed the test

.Only those who have passed assessment are offered membership as an Approved Instructor.

View The Available Courses