Faye Owen

I grew up in England and since I was a young girl I have always been an animal lover. I always had a pet, whether it was a budgie, hamster, dog, cat or horse. I owned my own horse from the age of 12 and still own one, some 23 years later! I had an interest in dog training from a young age too, and trained the family dogs at obedience training and agility in my early teen years.

At the time of leaving school, the career of animal behaviorist did not exist and I carried on to University to study Administrative Management. A career in project management and computer project installations followed. However, my interest in animals continued in my spare time. I rode my own horses regularly and also became a dog walker and adoption home assessor for my local dog rescue center.

After a one year sabbatical traveling around the world in 2001, my husband and I returned home and continued our careers. However, I was regularly asked by family and friends to “sort out” their pets and their horses, and these increasing requests led me to look around for some qualification that I could build into a long term career.

I began studying at Southampton University for the Diploma in Companion Animal Behavior, one of the first courses of its kind in the UK, and completed the diploma in 2005. Whilst in the middle of completing my diploma, my husband’s job was relocated to the US and we settled in Atlanta in 2003. I began working alongside an Atlanta dog trainer, Joyce Clemens, who emphasizes positive reinforcement training, in conjunction with Tellington Touch methods. Joyce introduced me to Dr. Joanne Roesner of Loving Hands Animal Clinic, where I conducted puppy and basic manners dog training classes for two years.

During the last three years whilst living in Atlanta, I have been very busy in my personal life and career. I have been building up experience in the field of animal behavior and have specialized in in-home behavior consultations and in-home training programs. I am currently undertaking my Masters Degree in Companion Animal Behavior Counseling, which I am due to complete in the fall of 2007. My thesis is concerned with correlations between dog behavior and attendance at dog daycare.

One of my other areas of interest is in the field of equine behavior problems. I have been studying under the Parelli Program of Natural Horsemanship for the last year and a half and am currently working on Level 2 of the program. During my years of experience with horses, this is the only program I have found that centers around the human relationship with the horse, and therefore focuses on building a level of trust and communication between owner and horse, in order to deal with the various issues.

I have been very fortunate to have developed a relationship with Dr. Debra Forthman and to be working with her in the field of animal behavior and training. One of her goals is to restore a harmonious relationship between owner and pet, and this has also always been a fundamental objective of mine.