About Animals in Mind...

Animals in Mind is a registered charity (1063919) in the UK, our current trustees with responsibility for the charity are Cathie de Silva, Valerie Gant, Andrew Constant and Alan Bach.

We were founded in 1996 mainly in response to the growing number of people that have problem pets and dogs that were being re-homed or destroyed due to behaviour problems.

Most of our work at present is in helping owners to understand their pets better so that they don’t need to consider options such as re-homing or destruction as a result of their behaviour.

Gently does it
Promoting gentle methods of teaching for pets, is very important. If an owner develops a mutual relationship with their pet, there will be far less, if any behaviour problems.

A student on one of our dog courses said: ‘It’s amazing how much closer she(her dog) and I have become in the last few weeks, now that I understand her better’.

Walkies
Lots of owners have problems when walking their dogs. Either because their dog causes a problem, or because other dogs cause them a problem. The most common complaint is dogs who wants to chase away others when they come close.

The solution is to let the dogs spend more time with other dogs and other people, very often the exact opposite of what usually happens. Socialising dogs is a vital part of our work. Thousands of dogs are re-homed or destroyed each year for their behaviour problems in public.

Developing an understanding
What makes one species happy can make another very unhappy. Often a lack of true understanding leads to stress and anxiety in our pets, which in turn leads to behaviour problems.

We often see a vicious circle where the pet does something, the owner chastises them and their pet appears to retaliate by doing it again. Before long, they lose respect for each other and things go from bad to worse.

Sometimes all that is needed to solve a behaviour problem, is for an owner to understand their pet and change their relationship with them. I many cases problems can start to be resolved within days.

Education is vital
A lot of behaviour problems in pets can be completely cured or avoided altogether with a little understanding of the animal's behaviour.

Understanding is the key to solving or avoiding any problems. Our educational programmes cater for pet owners and people who are involved in animal welfare and the re-homing of pets. Their aim is simple, to help people understand.

The main purpose of the educational work is to demonstrate how to recognise and prevent the most common behaviour problems before they change into a larger problem.

If we can teach owners to understand the fundamentals of their pet's behaviour, we can prevent immense mental suffering to many pets. Then caring for a pet can be a far more enjoyable and much less stressful experience for millions of owners.

If you have any questions or comments on any part of our work, please contact us:
Animals in Mind, 31 Magdalen Way, Worle, North Somerset, BS22 7PG
01934 516714 - email us