LUMEN Winter 2019 - Flipbook - Page 26
“I am someone who really thrives on pushing
myself and trying to get more knowledge and
experience under my belt. I’m a big believer in
trying to better yourself."
P
hillipa Edwards (Pip) is in the
business of loving dogs.
And one could easily be
forgiven for thinking that as a
Puppy Education Supervisor, Pip has the
enviable job of playing with puppies all day,
although regular cuddles with Labrador and
Golden Retriever pups is a major perk.
Pip, who studied a Bachelor of Sciences
(Animal Science) at the University of Adelaide,
works for the Royal Society for the Blind (RSB)
overseeing the training of pups destined to
become guide and assistance dogs in our
communities. Pip’s job requires in-depth
knowledge of dogs and their behaviours, as well
as an equally good understanding of human
psychology so she can teach volunteers how to
train puppies in their care.
“A large part of the work is training people,
and understanding that each person learns
differently,” she said.
According to Pip, there is also no ‘cookie-cutter’
way to train a dog because each dog’s
personality is different.
“It’s not so much that dogs learn differently,
because all dogs love positive reinforcement,
but every dog’s personality is a little bit
different so every dog responds differently to
each stimulus,” she said.
Pip sees her pupils as much as she can
to ensure trainers and pups are working
well together.
24
THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
PREVIOUS AND
CURRENT PAGE
Phillipa (Pip) Edwards
with her own dogs
Benji and Cooper Bear
“I’ll meet them at the shops to not only teach
them how to train a dog, but to make sure the
puppy is looking happy and settled.
“After all, we’re not going to force the dog to do
a role they are not comfortable with…the dog’s
welfare and health is always paramount.”
Pip’s recent involvement in the RSB’s new
assistance dog program Operation K9, which
provides assistance dogs to Australian Defence
Force veterans suffering post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) reaffirms she made the right
career choice.
“We have clients who have been able to reduce
the amount of medication they take, and we’ve
had some clients come off their medication
completely,” she said.
The assistance dogs are not only trained to
perform specific tasks to help mitigate PTSD
symptoms, but to also provide companionship
to service members.
Pip said for some veterans, even the small
changes have been life transforming.
“A lot of the time the dogs help the veterans’
relationships too because the burden on the
partner is suddenly a little bit eased when it’s
possible to go shopping or for a walk on your
own – it’s pretty incredible.”
For Pip, her love of dogs started in the same
way it did for many of us, through having pet
dogs as a child. She described her family photo
album as being full of photos of her with dogs
looking “happy as.”
