Kate Mornement
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My life-long love of animals and keen interest in their behaviour, how they learn and how their environment influences their behaviour lead me to pursue an education in Zoology. I completed my Bachelor of Science degree with Honours in Zoology at La Trobe University in 2003. Following my honours year I voluntered for SOSRhino in Borneo, Malaysia. I spent two weeks with a research team hiking through the jungle of the Tabin Wildlife Reserve surveying habitat use by the Sumatran Rhino. This experience was both incredibly rewarding and physically challenging. I highly recommend it! |
I also have my own animal behaviour consultancy business called “Pets Behaving Badly.” The majority of my work involves companion animals including dogs, cats and parrots. Many pets develop behavioural problems due to a lack of understanding on the part of their owners. In the majority of cases, these problem behaviours are easily modified by teaching owners how to communicate effectively with their pets and by providing them with some insight into why their pets are “behaving badly.”
My experiences with my business have taught me that there are many pets in our society, particularly dogs that are simply misunderstood because their owners had high (and sometimes unrealistic) expectations about pet ownership. This often results in the relinquishment of unwanted pets to animal shelters. These animals are subsequently re-homed (if they’re lucky) or euthanased because a suitable home could not be found. The number of dogs’ euthanased each year in Australia is a significant welfare issue and one which could no doubt be improved.
I met Dr Pauleen Bennett in April 2005 and I knew I had found the perfect supervisor for my PhD. I currently work as a Research Assistant for Pauleen and commenced my PhD in March 2006. My thesis is entitled Behavioural assessment of adult companion dogs: Development of national standards for identifying behaviourally sound canidae. There are two aims of this study. Firstly, to investigate various attitudes towards adult dogs (pure bred and cross bred) and the reasons why prospective dog owners prefer puppies over adult shelter dogs. Secondly, to analyse the effectiveness and success of current behavioural assessment and rehabilitation programs for shelter dogs, developing “best practice” methods to potentially be used in shelters and pounds Australia wide.