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Welcome to COAPE

Why Study With COAPE?
Whether you are interested in learning more about your own pet's behaviour, or planning to pursue or develop a professional role working with animals, COAPE can offer you a fascinating, challenging and appropriate study course.

COAPE correspondence and residential courses in canine and feline behaviour run from Foundation Level to Diploma and beyond and present a fully co-ordinated study and career path. Teaching encompasses a variety of up-to-the-minute approaches to treating behaviour problems including the acclaimed EMRA™ approach developed and pioneered by COAPE.

While all of our courses require commitment on your part, they are as enjoyable as they are educational! We continually update and expand our wide range of courses with the very latest scientific knowledge in the field of companion animal behaviour, veterinary ethology, animal training and behaviour therapy.

Why is COAPE Different to other Animal Behaviour Education Providers? Here are 7 good reasons...

1. Course Tutors
Our courses are written and tutored by internationally recognised practical, academic and practising authorities. Please check out their credentials on the COAPE Tutors link above.

2. Accreditation
COAPE has been appointed by the National Open College Network (NOCN) as an Approved Education Centre. To ensure the highest standards of quality, COAPE has a fully qualified Internal Moderator who reviews each of the COAPE courses, and courses run by other providers, as part of the NOCN's accreditation standardisation and quality assurance procedures. Please Click Here for more information about the NOCN.

3. On-line marking and student liaison facilities
COAPE is an environmentally responsible organisation and we try to reduce the amount of paper we are responsible for using. All our correspondence course notes are delivered electronically via the internet, and all our courses can be completed on-line. We supply you with a specially designed ‘template’ on-line to assist you in writing your coursework using your own computer and preferred word processing software. There are great benefits to running our planet-friendly courses this way, including:

1. Speed, reliability and efficiency: At the simple 'click of a button' you receive your course notes, complete your assignment and submit it for marking. It is marked by your tutor and returned back to you. No chance of valuable assignments being lost in the post!
2. Liaison with COAPE and your tutor: Internet course management means that you have easy and reliable access to COAPE tutors, wherever they are in the world!
3. On-line Student Resource Centre: For more information about the COAPE Student Resource Centre, see 4. below.
4. Up-to-date course notes and other materials: All our courses are under constant review and we update and refine our course material as new information becomes available... impossible with printed course notes!

4. On-line Student Resource Centre
All students of most COAPE courses above Foundation Level are provided with password-protected access to a dedicated on-line Resource Centre. The Resource Centre gives you access to a range of rich media content to complement the formal course notes, including video, sound, graphics and pictures, web links, and of course additional written content. In addition, students studying the COAPE Advanced Diploma course also have access to a dedicated password-protected Student on-line user group where they can discuss the course, behaviour matters and help each other with their studies.

5. Course Development and CPD Opportunities
We are constantly developing new theoretical and practical courses both for hands-on petcare professionals and pet owners alike, and are committed to providing Continuing Professional Education opportunities for our Diploma and other COAPE course graduates.

6. Animal Welfare Awareness
COAPE keeps constantly abreast of current thinking in animal welfare and changes in animal protection law and how this affects pets and their owners. Please Click Here for further information.

7. Ethos
COAPE was founded in 1993 and has always been at the forefront in offering 'education for all' in the field of companion animal behaviour and behaviour therapy. We exclude no-one from the joy of studying and sharing knowledge about companion animal behaviour and behaviour therapy.

In March 2003, the Companion Animal Welfare Council (CAWC) established a working group of experts to investigate the state of the companion animal training and behaviour industry in the UK. Their report was published in July 2008, you can see an extract from the summary of this report below.

The Regulation of Companion Animal Services in Relation to the Training and Behaviour Modification of Dogs (CAWC)

"There are clearly a large number of different standards and codes of practice that directly or indirectly relate to the provision of training and behavioural advice and treatment of behavioural problems both within the UK and at a European level. Whilst there are several individual and nationally operated schemes in place that are worthy of mention, they all have their limitations. They are either species specific or they focus on one standard of the individual e.g. academic knowledge versus practical ability, and are hence restrictive in their inclusivity."

So, who can study and practise pet behaviour therapy? Anyone! There is no one specific route or qualification to follow in order to become a successful professional pet behaviour therapist, nor does membership of any one organisation bestow the legal right to practise behaviour therapy. And so at COAPE we strive to offer the best possible academic study, preparation and ongoing practical pre and post qualification support and training to anyone who is interested in pursuing a career in this fascinating field.

Most pet behaviour course providers send a certificate to graduating students and then abandon them. At COAPE, we uniquely provide lots of ongoing career development advice and courses, see COAPE suggested Career Paths, and practical support at all stages of all courses and thereafter.

Diploma graduates are automatically enrolled into the COAPE Association of Companion Animal Behaviour Practitioners and Affiliates and can promote their practices and services to pet owners seeking help on the Find Help for a Problem Pet section of the COAPE website.

They also have ongoing access to a wealth of expertise and support via a Members Association internet user group, and to lots of other regularly updated information and resurces about companion animal behaviour.

Affilliates can also go on to become accredited COAPE Behaviour Practitioners.

For more information about consultations with COAPE qualified behaviourists, please Click Here