Meet the Tutors and Advisors Professor
Simon BearderProfessor Bearder is one of the world’s leading authorities on nocturnal primates. He is the Coordinator of the Nocturnal Primate Research Group at Oxford Brookes which is known world wide for its expertise in this area. He recently co-edited a textbook called Primates in Perspective published by Oxford University Press. He writes: I have spent some 12 years studying wild animals at night in Africa since leaving the University College of Wales at Aberystwyth, where I read zoology, geology and botany. Starting in South Africa , I did an MSc and PhD on the ecology and behaviour of two species of bushbabies (galagos) at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg (Psychology Department). I then studied spotted hyaenas near the Kruger National Park for two years as Senior Research Fellow at the Mammal Research Institute, before joining Bob Martin to do a two-year radio-tracking study of lesser bushbabies in the Northern Transvaal. After that, I returned with my family to England and worked first as a Research Fellow at London Zoo and then as a lecturer in Physical Anthropology at Oxford Polytechnic, before it became Oxford Brookes. This enabled me to consolidate a programme of research on nocturnal primates, with work in 17 African countries (and one trip to Brazil ). This culminated in the formation of the Nocturnal Primate Research Group, starting with an enthusiastic group of PhD students and building to an international collaborative group of scientists working on bushbabies and lorises - from bones to biochemistry via biogeography and behaviour. I would recommend the primate programmes to anyone with an interest in that area or in preparation to studying the subject at a higher level.  Harold Burrows MBEHarold has been involved with Mountain Rescue from the age of seventeen and became involved with Search Dogs in 1985 due to a training week in the Cairngorms with the Search And Rescue Dog Association Wales (SARDA Wales). After being impressed by the amazing speed that the dogs located people on the mountains, whether on top or hidden beneath the snow, Harold’s career path became obvious. He began training his first search dog in 1986, whose second Call-out was to attend a four day search at the site of the Lockerbie air crash on Boxing Day. Harold has been training dogs and handlers from that date, whilst at the same time trying to find the best way for handlers to understand the way their dogs learn. After being awarded a Winston Churchill Travel Fellowship in 1992 he travelled across the USA for three months, learning how they train and deploy their search dog teams.After being exposed to such a broad spectrum of different training methods and uses for dogs, he returned to the UK to develop new ways of training and deploying search dogs. This wealth of experience has lead to further travel to many parts of the world to help training of search dogs and advising the setup of new search dog teams internationally. Harold was elected Chairman of SARDA Wales where he introduced a new training method and was involved with setting up the National Search And Rescue Dog Association (NSARDA) as an umbrella organisation for all search dog groups to join. The aim of NSARDA is to have all search dogs working to the same national standard and to be a focal point for search dog information. There are now national standards for Mountain, Lowland, Trailing and Drowned Victim Search Dogs. More recently Harold has assisted in developing the Search and Rescue Dog Handler Canine Studies Diploma which comes highly recommended.  Sheila BaileySheila is a Certificated Teacher and holds the post graduate qualification of Certificate in Education. She is the Education Officer and Founder Member of the U.K. Registry of Canine Behaviourists and a Founder Member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, a member of the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour, and an associate member of the Companion Animal Behaviour Therapy Study Group which is affiliated to the B.S.A.V.A. Sheila holds a Behaviour Clinic at the Derbyshire Canine Centre that she opened in 1987, the first to be held in the Sheffield, Derbyshire area, to help owners who have problems with their dogs. The consultations are on a one to one confidential basis, and take place in a friendly informal atmosphere. She has now had over twenty years of experience in this field. Over six thousand people have attended the Centre with over one hundred different breeds of dogs. They have come from all over England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland whilst our overseas students include those from USA, Sri Lanka, Japan, Sweden, Turkey, Malawi, Norway, The Netherlands, Germany, France, Argentina, Brazil, New Zealand and the Czechoslovakian Republic. Sheila, as well as taking part in T. V. and radio programmes, has written articles for Our Dogs, Kennel Gazette, Companion Dog, GSD National Magazine and other breed magazines, book reviews etc., and has also written articles on Working Trials for Dog Training Weekly - the Official Journal of the Dog Training Clubs of Great Britain. She was a regular contributor to the monthly national magazine PetDogs for four years, and has written series of articles for "Your Dog" Magazine.  Jackie MurphyJackie has studied Canine Behaviour to degree level and all five levels of the Hill’s Veterinary Nutrition Advisor Programme. Jackie is a qualified further education teacher and is studying towards her PGCE. She has been part of Battersea Dogs & Cats home Behaviour Advisory Service since 2006 and assesses dogs in the homes where families/adults foster children. Jackie holds training courses at a local kennels and has written and delivers dog training classes of her own she also has her own behaviour consultancy and receives referrals from a number veterinary surgeries. Jackie is an Educational Speaker for the Blue Cross, she visits schools accompanied by her dog Teddy to talk to children about animal welfare  Joanne Martin Joanne has a BSc in Biology and an MSc in Science from the Open University. The modular course consisted of studies in Brain and Behaviour, Molecules in Medicine and Contemporary Issues in Science Education. Projects included studying how drugs and naturally occurring brain chemicals can affect behaviour, and a review of pharmacological treatments of cancer and infectious diseases. She is also a qualified Adult Education Teacher and holds an Advanced Certificate in Education.  Alison BushAlison has a first class honours BSc in Animal Science (Behavioural studies) and her main areas of interest are in Human-Animal Interactions and Dog Behaviour and Training. Alison runs Happier Hounds Dog Training where she provides classes ranging from puppy socialisation, basic dog obedience to clicker and agility training. Alison is also a member of the APDT and Course Co-ordinator for Animal Care, Management, Grooming and Veterinary Nursing courses in a Further Education College in Cork, Southern Ireland. ‘Easy Lead’ practical dog training classes are being run by Alison in conjunction with the theory modules.  Tracey HammondTracey has an MSc (with distinction) in Equine Science at Writtle College. For her Masters dissertation, Tracey investigated the use of grazing muzzles to control grass intake and its affect on behaviour. Her first degree was a BSc in Animal Science and she also took part in research with Oxford University studying badgers. Tracey delivers lectures on equine nutrition and works at the forefront of this subject with a leading horse feed manufacturer  Laura SlingerLaura is a qualified veterinary nurse, she has worked at several zoological collections and also spent time in Africa working with CERCOPAN on a programme of rehabilitating and reintroducing primates to the wild. She has recently been appointed UK Co-ordinator for Animal Therapy, an Austrian charity organisation that provides international veterinary help to areas in need, such as arranging neutering trips, and preventative treatment and public education. Back to Online Courses
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