Who We Are
Gelert Behaviour Training was set up by myself, Morag Sutherland, in 2004 in Buckinghamshire before moving to Worcestershire in 2012, where I met Liz Lannie, another Veterinary Nurse. We soon discovered a common interest in behaviour and training (and share a similar daft sense of humour!) and I invited Liz to work under the Gelert name too. We’re now based in West Wales, in a peaceful and private setting, perfect for working with dogs who struggle in a busy environment.
Morag Sutherland
I see myself as firstly an “interpreter” for the pet I am asked to help and a teacher for the humans involved. I am a Registered Veterinary Nurse, (important as often there are health issues involved in animals’ behaviour). Since 2019, I have been accredited by the Association of INTO Dogs as a behaviourist and trainer and I am very proud to be an Approved Volunteer Trainer for DogAID
As a member of the Association of INTO Dogs, as an RVN and as a licentiate of the Faculty of Homeopathy, I am obliged to undertake regular continuing professional development in order to remainaccredited or registered, which means I am always working with good knowledge of current research, practical skills and equipment. (That said, my main teachers are my own dogs !)
My interest in nutrition, in particular how it affects behaviour, has grown over the years as I’ve learned more and cannot be avoided in discussions to help your animal companion. Likewise, I am frustrated by how little information people are given about choices they have in regard to maintaining their animals’ health and so will share as much information as is relevant to your individual situation.
Qualifications
- RVN (Veterinary Nurse)
- C&G Certificate in Small Animal Nutrition
- Accredited behaviourist and trainer, Association of INTODogs
- Licentiate of the Faculty of Homeopathy (RVN)
The Gelert Story
The business name was inspired by an old ( and largely made up !) Welsh tale of a prince and his favourite hunting dog, Gelert. The prince missed his dog on a hunt and arrived home to find the dog covered in blood with his baby son’s cot upside down. He killed Gelert, thinking he had the babywas harmed or worse. The baby was then discovered safe from harm with the dead body of a wolf nearby. For me, this sad story accurately represents how our dogs‘ behaviours are so often misunderstood.
The more I work, the more I see the same misunderstandings applied to other animals as well. This usually results in difficulties in the relationship between animal and human.
Often, simply understanding WHY something is happening helps enormously! Behaviours happen for a reason, and finding the reason behind and dealing with that can be life changing.
Interestingly, the same applies to health. If you deal with the cause of rather than just taking action to remove symptoms (but not address their cause), then true health can be achieved. We all owe it to ourselves and our animal companions to do our best to be healthy.
(I recently learned about St Gelert – if you’re interested in how he connects to the dog story, this is a good starting point !)
