The Centre of Applied Pet Ethology (COAPE) has one of the longest and most well-established histories as a top educational service provider in the industry.  For over 30 years, COAPE has been THE educational facility of choice for anyone who wanted to obtain a serious qualification in Animal Behaviour.

COAPE courses are widely regarded as top of the range, partly because we are constantly researching and updating our content, but also because COAPE courses have always been developed by some of the most prominent key players in the field of Animal Behaviour and training.

Worldwide, the field of Animal Behaviour is professionalizing fast – especially in terms of how we look at methods used in behaviour and training for animals. COAPE is proud to offer exceptional courses that focus on utilising the latest scientific approaches in this exciting field. The modern approach to behaviour and training is rapidly evolving and moving away from treating animals with behaviour problems as having an illness and in need of medication or punishment. We have also moved away from treating each case in the same way using out-dated standardized treatment, and into a much more advanced and scientifically based approach.

At COAPE, we teach behaviourists working with companion animals how to accurately evaluate and take into account all the aspects involved in the pet/owner relationship, as well as each individual pet’s development and history when assessing and addressing problems. Another huge step forward is that science is now taking the emotionality of pets and owners alike into consideration when looking at behaviour problems. Therefore, emotionality and the emotional well-being in animals forms an integral part of our approach.  We pride ourselves on the fact that every COAPE Diploma graduate is exceptionally well-equipped to address problem behaviours in the species of their choice, with a knowledge and skillset unlike any other in the industry.

This approach means working with owners and their pets individually to assist in resolving behaviour problems. This service has never been more needed in times when behaviour problems in pets seems to be on an increase, the human demands on pets are increasing and diversifying into not only the psychological relationships, but also when expecting our dogs to fulfil complex (and often contradicting) roles such as being our guard dogs and companion family animals at the same time.

We believe that all animals have the right to the best care possible, from veterinary to behavioural care.  That is why we provide courses for behaviourists, enabling them to accurately evaluate the emotional and mood states of the animals in their care, which in turn allows them to monitor and address stress levels. We teach our students how to use ground-breaking COAPE developed tools to facilitate emotional and behavioural well-being.

We strive to get the COAPE courses accredited within various countries. For example, in South Africa, the COAPE Diplomas in Animal Behaviour and in Dog Behaviour (plus other COAPE courses) are the only such Diplomas accredited by the South African Veterinary Council (SAVC) for structured CPD points.

COAPE’s ethos is to improve the lives of animals by producing exceptional behaviourists with a better understanding of the behavioural and emotional needs of the animals they will be helping. Read more about our ethos here.