This is where we feature a student who has impressed us with their knowledge and understanding of behaviour modification, and their flexible, creative approach to solving problem behaviour.

Meet Daren Handley-Howard from Suffolk – our latest Top Student.

Daren Handley-Howard

Daren, pictured here with his three dogs, tells us:

"I have always been interested in animals and their welfare from a very young age.  When I left school I worked for a local veterinary practice before moving on to the Animal Health Trust for a number of years where I met my wife Jo, who still works there to this day.

Due to family commitments I had to make the hard decision to leave the Trust in favour of a career with more income but always knew that I would like to get back to working with animals again one day.  My wife and I decided to set up a website in 2007 selling good quality pet products as we were finding ourselves unable to find pet products that would last.  Having had many dogs over the years ( all of which feature on our website!) we knew the kind of things we were looking for, it was just finding them! Since then we have gone on to attend many country shows where our products have been greatly received and we have now also opened a small shop too.

I really wanted to study canine psychology as I have always been interrested to understand why dogs especially can react in the way they do and how different situations and starts in life play such an important role.  I saw this Course run by the Canine Behaviour Centre and just thought straight away that it sounded so interesting, that it was the one for me.

My plans for the future are to build on what I have learnt so far and practise in dog psychology iocally in Suffolk and East Anglia.  I still feel I have a lot to learn but I am planning to take this forward and build on a new career from it.  Along with my shop, shows and website I am hoping to go full time in this area very soon.  It's taken some years but I'm glad to be back doing something I have always loved to do - work with animals."

Please note that the views and opinions of our Top Students are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Canine Behaviour Centre.

Many people ask us how we select our Top Students. Quite simply, they are those students whose work is outstanding. They display all the qualities we are looking for - the ability to think of all possible options, an empathy with human as well as dog problems, flexibility, open-mindedness, creativity - and much more!