COAPE Courses

ABOUT COAPE

 

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. COAPE originally focussed solely on companion animal behaviour, but we are proud to say that since 2007 our focus has expanded to include a variety of other species’ behaviour.

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 account of 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 really big 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 emotional well-being in animals form an integral part of our approach.  We pride ourselves on the fact that every COAPE Diploma graduate is exceptionally well-equipped to address problem behaviour in the species of their choice, with a knowledge and skillset unlike any other in the industry.

This new approach means working with all 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 are 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 and staff working with captive wildlife, 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 the ground-breaking MHERA™ and ESTA™ 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 Diploma in Animal Behaviour (plus other COAPE courses) is the only such Diploma 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.