Pet Bereavement – Précis of a Complex Journey with Debra Millikan
On-Demand Webinar: Watch as soon as you register
Webinar Description
As animal trainers with a passion for what we do, we possibly know more than most about the pain of losing an animal family member, whether it be one of our own or one with whom we work. How to companion people through this difficult time is rarely seen in any animal training course. This is an unfortunate oversight.
Grief comes in many forms and so too do grievers. Having a basic understanding of not only the types of grief that people can encounter but the stages of grief through which many pass will help us support our clients, friends, family and even ourselves through the grieving process.
Children and the elderly are differently sensitive to grief and need individual attention to their concerns. That does not discount the complexity of adult grief. Grief counselling is not the job of an animal trainer, but some knowledge of grief and its vagaries may help relieve clients’ anxieties or encourage them to seek further help.
Grief is a very personal journey (despite what some in society believe of it) and there is no right or wrong way to grieve. There is no time limit on grief. There are, however, warning signs of when help is warranted. Many do not understand these principles and suffer further as a consequence.
Reconciling grief and acceptance of life as it is and as it will be is a more recent concept than formally seeking ‘closure’. “Moving from loving in the present to loving in memory” (Wolfet 2019) is a necessary transitional phase.
Simple things such as knowing the various options people have when their pet dies and how they can best celebrate and memorialise the life of a pet will help people understand and move forward with life after losing a special friend. Today there are many therapies to help people in their grief and a knowledge of what is locally available will always be of benefit to the grieving client.
This topic is endless, and this presentation seeks only to whet the trainer’s appetite to know more about how this knowledge can be incorporated into daily practice.
Learning Objectives
- To briefly understand the complexities of pet bereavement
- To gain a brief understanding of types and stages of grief
- To be aware that grief is age sensitive. Children, adults, and more elderly adults experience it in different ways.
- To appreciate the depth of grief that some animals feel at the loss of a household member, whether that is two or four-legged, winged or other.
- To understand the difference between closure and reconciling and accepting grief.
- Gain insight into how they can best help their clients based on the client’s needs.
Your Presenter – Debra Millikan
Debra was born in Adelaide, South Australia where she happily resides with her husband and her two wonderful canine teachers Mace the Bouvier des Flandres and Roux the rescue Griffon Bruxellois. Deb’s first dog, Scruffy, a Border Collie mix was part of her family before she was born and there have been very few months since that time that she has been without a dog.
Having spent 40 years training, dogs, 13 years as an obedience judge and many years in formal canine studies, Deb has a passion for helping others to better understand dogs and how to train them. Establishing her own training centre in 1979 back in the days when aversive training was the only way known in Australia, she was ahead of her time in seeking out new and better ways of building relationships with dogs. Travelling to the UK and Europe enabled her to learn new techniques and the wonderful world of force-free training revealed itself to her. There was no going back to the old ways.
Attaining a Diploma in Dog Training and Behavior Consulting and another in Animal Behavior Science and Technology she consolidated her theoretical skills in gaining perfect scores in the Competency Assessment Program (CAP) Levels 1& 2.
She spent two years as Director of Animals on Course (a registered training organisation within the Australian educational framework), developing educational packages for Animal Studies and Companion Animal Services programs.
She currently is the international Assessor for the practical component of the Pet Professional Accreditation Board’s Canine Training Technician – Accredited (CTT-A) and the Professional Canine Trainer – Accredited (PCT-A).
Debra has spoken at the Pet Professional Guild’s Inaugural Education Summit in Tampa FL and the New Zealand Inaugural Association of Pet Dog Trainers Education Meeting in Wellington. She has also spoken at the Australian Association of Pet Dog Trainers Meetings in Sydney and Melbourne and the 2016 Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) – Animal Welfare Seminar in Melbourne. Debra has run (and still does run) many workshops, both nationally and internationally covering topics such as canine body language, how to choose which dog is right for you, cross-over workshops for those transitioning to +R methods, further education workshops on pet dog manners classes and CAP preparation workshops.
Debra chairs the Australian Committee that created the Pet Professional Guild’s international Pet Dog Ambassador Program which was launched in May 2016. She is on the Lead by Example Campaign Committee for the South Australian (SA) Branch of the RSPCA and has been working with the RSPCA and the SA Dog and Cat Management Board to help better educate the team in this government department with regards to best practice in current dog training.
Debra is currently the Head Instructor of Canine Behavioural School Inc (CBS), a volunteer dog training facility run by professional dog trainers. Over the last several years she has created the CBS Aspiring Instructor program that educates future dog trainers, allowing them to gain experience under the tutelage of professional trainers. This program now attracts people from all over the state and has been instrumental in teaching cross-over trainers the ways of force-free training.
Although Deb is slowly relinquishing some of her practical dog training pursuits, her interest remains in education and ensuring that as many dogs as possible come under the care and guidance of trainers who have been taught, tested and found competent in force-free training techniques.
Debra holds the following qualifications.
Pet Professional Accreditation Board Professional Canine Behavior Consultant – Accredited. (PCBC – A)
Companion Animal Sciences Institute, Diploma of Animal Behavior Science and Technology (Dip ABST) with distinction and Diploma of Dog Training and Behaviour Consulting (Dip DTBC) with distinction.
Delta Society (now Institute), Cert IV Dog Behavioural Training. Learning About Dogs Competency Assessment Program (CAP 1, CAP 2 each with distinction)
HBA Learning Centre, Cert IV Training and Assessment (for humans)
Debra is a Board Member of The Pet Professional Guild, Association of Animal Behavior Professionals and the Companion Animal Sciences Institute
PPG Members
PPG Members use your $10.00 discount coupon code at registration to access your membership rate. The code can be found in your membership area.
Not yet a member? Click here to join and begin receiving discounts on PPG member events.
Bookings
Log in if you already have an account with us.