ICAN- Freya Locke- Ask the Trainer

A little-known fact is that Ruby, the founder of WFA, is also the social media manager for ICAN (International Companion Animal Network). What is ICAN? Why is it important for animal professionals? Learn the answers to these questions, what ICAN stands for and how you can be a part of ICAN. Learn from Freya Locke and Taryn Blyth- the two ICAN co-coordinators -about their amazing work with ICAN and their own businesses.

This month- we are focusing Ask The Trainer- on Freya and next month Taryn will be featured! Freya Locke is an absolutely phenomenal behaviourist and canine nutrionist and we are so proud to feature her!

What is ICAN?

ICAN: International Companion Animal Network is an organisation that has evolved over time to become a networking tool for people who work in animal-related industries who have an interest in force-free, reward-based methods in their dealings with animals.

Who founded ICAN? What was the inspiration for founding ICAN?

ICAN was founded by Lisa Tenzin-Dolma, who also founded The International School For Canine Psychology and The Dog Welfare Alliance. Lisa is a powerhouse when it comes to promoting the best methods of care for animals - especially dogs, and I believe she wanted to create an umbrella organisation for people to be able to recognise while looking for professionals to work within this area.

Who are you (your own businesses and qualifications) and what are your roles in ICAN?

I am Freya Locke, currently a co-coordinator of ICAN. I own Locke’s Dogs - Behaviourist & Trainer in Exning, Newmarket, UK and also Locke’s Dogs latest project, our virtual Fun Not Fear® Dog Care School (for guardians of family dogs, specialising in anxiety at either end of the lead.) I was also gifted The Dog Welfare Alliance by Lisa, and I work with the ISCP on their social media. On top of this, I also am the membership secretary at INTODogs. I am also a carer for some vulnerable people. I have many qualifications in behaviour and training, and also a level 5 diploma in canine nutrition. My motto is “There is nothing in life, that can be trained with fear, that can’t be trained with fun, apart from fear itself”. I base my entire training ethics, methods and philosophy around this. Each dog I encounter is an individual who requires different things to help them achieve their potential, but no dog ever should be subjected to aversives and so we strive to find ways to make everything we do fun for the dog.

Tell us more about your work

I do so many jobs it is impossible to talk about them all, but they all revolve around animals, mainly dogs, and showing the world the power of force-free training. My own dog is the reason I learned about behaviour, as his health problems led to serious anxiety problems for him, and as I learned more about how to help him, I developed a passion for helping anxious dogs in general. I also train puppies and run basic training, using my Fun Not Fear® philosophy to prevent anxiety from occurring in their futures. I also care deeply about people, knowing how anxiety can affect the way a person is able to show up for their animals, and so I am working hard to make training, behaviour, and nutrition advice available and accessible for everyone.

Do you have any courses or events people can join?

Details of all my courses and work can be found at https://www.lockesdogs.co.uk/ and at https://www.funnotfear.co.uk/

How do you use your experiences and qualifications in your role in ICAN?

I make sure that people who join are suitable, that they have the same force-free ethics that the rest of ICAN membership has. I try to encourage people to give each other the same respect that they allow the animals, and to network among each other to raise all of us, our skill sets, and our abilities, as a collective.

Tell us more about ICAN’s code of practice and how it affects members

The ICAN code of practice can be found here: https://companionanimal.network/code-of-practice/ The code of practice gives ICAN members standards to adhere to, for themselves, their businesses and their dealings with animals in their care. It also gives the public an assurance that when they are dealing with an ICAN professional, that there are systems in place to ensure that their chosen professional is highly motivated to care for their animals in the kindest and ethical, effective ways possible.

Why is transparency, regular CPDS and honesty regarding member’s skillsets, qualifications and capabilities so important for ICAN? And how do you apply this in your daily work?

We are all constantly learning and discovering new things, in any walk of life - but whenit comes to the care and wellbeing of animals it is vital to always be at the top of our game. Regular CPDS helps to ensure this, and also helps us discover passions within our business that we can then specialise in and learn even more about. This, in turn, helps us to become trusted professionals with a wide knowledge base, and being part of ICAN’s networking system means we ALL have this knowledge base to draw on.

Why is it important to have an overarching network for different organizations to join?

Because a lot of animal industries are largely unregulated, it is important for ourselves, the clients, and especially the animals, that we have systems in place that show the world who we are, what we believe in, and that as part of a large membership like ICAN, we can effect changes and set standards in all areas of animal-related industry.

How can certified individuals, charity organizations, trainers, behaviourists, and vets be involved in ICAN?

Non-members can apply to become individual ICAN members or become a member as part of a member organisation (For example INTODogs are a member organisation, so their members are ICAN members). We hold a monthly live session where any of our members can join us to talk about their work, their courses, their ideas and we can generally get to know them. We are always open to discussing lives and webinars, and promoting things we feel are suitable and educational for our members. Of course, there is a busy Facebook group for members to bounce ideas around in and to get advice and more from each other. Any organisations must have been running in their current form for 12 months, and all applicants will be vetted to ensure that the applicant meets our high standards. Application information is here: https://companionanimal.network/join-us/

Tell us more about some of ICAN’s unique members!

Recently I was lucky enough to be able to “Get To Know” the Reptile Academy, and it was fascinating to hear about their work. You can watch the chat we had here:

How can be people, charity organizations, trainers, behaviourists and vets be ICAN

members?

Any organisations must have been running in their current form for 12 months, and all applicants will be vetted to ensure that the applicant meets our high standards. Application information is here: https://companionanimal.network/join-us/

How is ICAN connected to other organizations?

ICAN has several organisations under our umbrella and many more who we work alongside too. We work with people who share our common goals - to promote force-free training and ethics in the care of animals.

Can you tell us more your ICAN Get To Know monthly live series?

Once a month, the first Friday of each month in fact, you can meet our members! This gives the public and the membership the chance to ask questions about what our members do, while also giving our members a platform to tell the world about the things that are important to them. The live is beamed out across various channels and can also be found at our YouTube channel here

What are your thoughts for the next steps for ICAN?

We have lots of plans in store, to help members with education and networking, and also getting their names and business names out there! ICAN recently split into two sections, with the second section now being called “ICAAB” and they will be taking care of the certifying of members as trainers and behaviourists. This gives us the time and freedom to start pushing ICAN as a networking and communication tool. It is still early days and there are many things going on behind the scenes, but exciting times are coming!