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Canny Canines Pet Services Kirkcaldy

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About me

For 20 years now I have had the pleasure of looking after Kirkcaldy’s pets. From cats to dogs, rabbits to guinea pigs and fish to hens. Yes, hens are the new budgie it seems and certainly their eggs make for a better fry up!

Growing up we had the usual hamsters, tortoises, Links Market gold fish and maybe not so usual Great Danes, all of which were left to dad to clean out, feed and exercise of course.

Since then, my own pets over the years have been 5 cats, Remus, Rocky (aptly named), Dusty, Smokey and Max and my Golden Retriever, Barney who I miss every single day.

My first move from years of office work was to Elmwood College in 2002 for an HNC in Animal Care and to the SSPCA’s Middlebank Wildlife Hospital near Inverkeithing as a volunteer. Elmwood is a lovely college in lovely surroundings and while the theory was great, cutting goats toe nails and bathing an iguana was certainly something different and unexpected.

Sadly, the wildlife centre is long gone but the highlight for me was definitely washing the oiled birds and seeing their joy fluffing themselves up in the drying room after their ordeal. For those old enough to remember it was this centre that Anika Rice did one of her challenges, to build an outdoor seal pool for these beautiful creatures that passed through our care in their hundreds.

It was the bond with domestic pets however that lead me to dog walking and pet sitting and to later broaden my services to include dog behaviour and puppy training through my studies with Compass Education and Training and their Advanced Diploma in Canine Behaviour Management. A most fascinating and informative course, I couldn’t have asked for better tutors and content.

As well as my love for animals, I love getting out on my motorbike, Jujitsu and stone painting (an accidental lockdown hobby).

That’s pretty much me. Many of my customers I have had from day one and I am grateful to them all. I hope to care for their pets for many more years to come and I look forward to all new customers and their furry families. Hope to meet you all very soon.

Canine Behaviour & Training

A well mannered dog is a pleasure to be with, a delightful companion and a joy to walk. It is my belief that for most dog owners this is all they ask, not rosettes for obedience or trophies for their looks. But when things don’t turn out as harmoniously as planned, the joy of a dog can for some become a constant battle of wills and a source of frustration and turmoil. To this end it is my aim to restore a sense of calm between a dog and it’s owner, strengthen the relationship between them and once more make owning a dog an experience to cherish.

My first visit aims to establish the root cause of your dog’s behaviour and equally, what is maintaining the behaviour. A thorough investigation is undertaken which includes:

Taking a full history of your dog’s past and his problem behaviour.
Observing your dogs behaviour in his normal environment and where possible in the situation where the behaviour occurs.
Assessing the contributory factors to your dogs behaviour which fall into the categories of nature, nurture, pharmacology, physiology and environment thus looking at such things as hormonal influences, breed traits, relationship with owners, etc.

From this a behaviour modification plan specifically tailored for you and your dog can then be implemented which is the focus of my second visit. This includes:

A full explanation of why your dog engages in his problem behaviour.
An explanation of the behaviour modification plan and how it works.
Demonstrations of techniques where applicable.

You should allow up to 2 hours for the first visit and another 2 hours for the second as a rough guide. However, more complex problems may require additional visits. Throughout the programme I am always available to answer any queries by phone or email at no extra charge and in any case a follow up call or email will be made two weeks into the programme to enquire of the progress or answer any questions or concerns. Any additional visits however will be charged for accordingly.