A fascination for animal behaviour: Q+A with student Megan

What interests you about animals?

I’ve always liked dogs. When I go past them, I’m always the person saying: “can I say hello to your dog?!” But I’ve always wondered things like why dogs bark, why they lick their lips, what makes them anxious. It’s always interested me, and when I’ve been through some of my darkest times, it’s always been animals that have picked up on that. My friend has a heart condition and her dog always knows when she’s going to pass out. How does the dog know? These questions fascinate me – also how animals can be trained to recognise medical issues – and I want to understand more.

Why did you decide to study at Merrist Wood?

I did a 720 hours course in animal management somewhere else, and I wasn’t really sure what to do next. A few of my teachers had studied at Merrist Wood, and they told me about the opportunities it brought them – and that they’d been able to go off and work with animals as a result. When I looked into it more, I got even more interested in it. I saw the great reviews, the opportunities for getting into work, and I liked the small class sizes. The interview gave me a really good impression too – it was very calm and felt more like a chat to get to know me. That all made me feel quite relaxed about it all and I didn’t have to put so much pressure on myself. I haven’t looked back once since I’ve been here.

What’s the learning like?

There’s a lot to take in, but once you get the gist of it, you’re flying. As well as the lessons they’ve also got PowerPoints up for you, which I find helpful to go back and look at. And we often go over what we did last lesson, which makes such a difference to me. I need time to digest information. And when you ask questions in class, they don’t make you feel stupid or judged, they explain it to you and they’re happy to do it. It’s really nice, and you feel like you become that little bit better version of yourself each time. Being around likeminded people is great, and we can debate things like ‘should animals be kept as pets or not?’ – we all share our opinions and we’re still friends even if we disagree with each other. We do a mixture of classroom and practical learning – because obviously you have to know the theory before you can do the practical.

What’s your favourite part of the course so far?

Animal training is the most brilliant thing ever. We’ve been learning about different training methods, how different people believe in different methods, and how particular methods work for some animals. There aren’t any animals you can’t train. We’ve been doing clicker training and using training wands. Sometimes the teachers get us to act things out in class, which is really fun, but it gives you an idea of how difficult it is for an animal to be trained too. I just don’t think you’d get some of these memories anywhere else. We’ve been given assignments, and I’ve got to train the ferrets to turn. I’m quite intrigued to see how that goes. I think they’ve got it in them. And I’m looking forward to having that achievement – knowing that I will train them to do something, and that they’ll trust me enough to do it.

What’s the support like?

During the summer before I started at Merrist Wood, I was really impressed with the support that was put in place for me. I’ve got ADHD, so I’ve got support for things like exams. But we also got our timetables, our lanyards were ready, we got sheets telling us all the information we needed. I didn’t get any of that at college. They genuinely want to get to know you here and make sure everything’s okay. It’s brilliant.

What are the teachers like?

Knowing that our teachers have all studied just like us, and they’ve done loads of work with animals, shows us that they all had to start somewhere. They’re always happy to sit down and guide you through any questions you have. We get to know the teachers well – they always check in with us to make sure everything’s ok, and some of them bring their dogs into the office – so I love going to say “hello”. We have a bit of fun and banter too, and I like winding up James with things I find on TikTok, because he hates social media!

How do you balance studying with the rest of your life?

I come from Portsmouth, so I get up at 5:45am, take my meds, have a protein shake and off I go. I catch a train, then a bus, and walk for the last part. It’s a lot, but it’s worth it, and we only have to be in two days a week which helps. I make sure I get on top of assignments as soon as I get them so I don’t feel stressed. I failed maths at college so I’m also redoing that on Tuesday evenings. And all the rest of the time I have dog walking jobs. Everyone asks how I do it, and it’s because I love it. I knew the commitment I’d have to make to come here, but I couldn’t see myself anywhere else.

Do you know what you want to do as a career yet?

I think I’d like to be a dog behaviourist, but I’m keeping my options open. All the opportunities we have here are opening my eyes to the possibilities. All our learning about zoos is making me more interested in that. I’m planning to go on the group trip to India  that’s planned for next year, which will also help me see what I’m interested in. The teachers have a lot of connections so I will do some work experience as well. That’s the good thing about this course, you can explore and not be tied to anything.

What’s the best thing about your Merrist Wood experience so far?

There’s so much land here and so many animals – we haven’t even discovered half of it so far. Even though we’re only at foundation level, we get treated with the same respect that the higher levels get. The classes are nice and small, which I love. And we get a Merrist Wood uniform that says ‘university’ on it. I sit on the train wearing it in the morning and I see other people looking at it. Inside I’m thinking, ‘oh yes, I’m at university, I’m one of them!’ That makes me feel happy.