Editorial guidelines
Our guiding principles
To support dog owners to meet the health, welfare and happiness needs of their dogs we have developed a small number of guiding principles to inform our editorial content. We will:
- Only promote, and allow the promotion of, evidence-based and non-aversive training and behaviour modification methods for dogs. Aversive training techniques or products are not supported by Our Family Dog. This includes, but is not limited to, items such as prong, shock or choke-chain collars and bark sprays.
- Only promote, and allow the promotion of, dog trainers and behaviourists that are accredited to the following UK bodies:
- The Association of Pet Dog Trainers
- Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors
- Animal Behaviour Training Council
- The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Look for CCAB-accredited members. This stands for Certified Clinical Animal Behaviourist.
- The Fellowship of Animal Behaviour Clinicians
- International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants
- The Canine Behaviour & Training Society
- Encourage dog owners to use dog services (dog groomers, walkers, sitters, doggy day care, boarding) that are members of the Pet Industry Federation.
Our Family Dog follows the good practice guidelines developed by the British Veterinary Association (BVA) for the responsible use of pet animals in advertising.
We are delighted to be working with Natalie Light BSc PGDip PGCert CCAB as our technical advisor on dog training and behaviour. Natalie is an Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) accredited Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist, an Animal Behaviour & Training Council (ABTC) Registered Clinical Animal Behaviourist and Animal Training Instructor and a full member of both the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors and Fellowship of Animal Behaviour Clinicians.