Institute for applied Ethology and Animal Psychology

The Institute for applied Ethology and Animal Psychology, I.E.T. in the German language, is a private, scientific institute that was founded in 1991 by the internationally known behavioural researcher, Dennis C. Turner (see below). In the small, picturesque Swiss village of Hirzel, about 20 Km south of Zurich, one finds the administrative headquarters of the institute which is active all over the globe. Most activities of I.E.A.P. concern the behaviour of domestic animals, particularly cats and dogs, and humancompanion animal relationships and their consequences for the health and wellbeing of both relationship partners. The institute has been certified of both relationship partners.

I.E.T. Dr. Turner + Partner Ltd was founded in 2008 by Dennis Turner (chairman of the board), Dr. Eva Waiblinger, ethologist (board member), and Heidi Turner-Schmid (board member). Both I.E.A.P. and I.E.T. Dr. Turner + Partner Ltd. have been certified by SQS (eduQua-procedure) as official continuing education institutions in Switzerland and are internationally accredited by ISAAT (see www.aat-isaat.org) in the area of animal-assisted interventions. Depending on demand, courses (in German), seminars and guest lectures (in German or English) are offered in major cities of Switzerland and other countries.

Research observations on companion animals are conducted either in private households and neighbourhoods, on farms in the countryside, in animal shelters and kennels, or in institutions with animal-assisted therapy programmes, e.g. homes for the elderly, hospitals, clinics and correctional institutions. (The institute itself maintains no animals on its premises.) Dr. Turner's institute I.E.A.P. is active and well-recognized in the following areas, which will be explained in detail further below:

Education (Courses, Seminars)

• Animal welfare/shelter staff
• Veterinarians/vet assistants
• Pet behaviour counsellors

• Psychotherapists / psychiatrists / other medical doctors
• Special educators / social workers
• Institutional staff / care-givers
• Volunteers with specially selected companion animals

Public service

• Public lectures
• Exhibitions
• Weekend seminars
• Popular publications
• Interviews / press releases

Expert opinions for:

• Government agencies
• Courts/Attorneys of Law
• Insurance commissions
• Companies
• Animal welfare associations

Recommendations for:

• Companies
• Media (TV, Radio, Press)
• Scientific journals
• Publishing houses
• Government agencies
• Research funding agencies

Research projects supported by:

• I.E.A.P./ I.E.T.
• Private industry
• Swiss National Science Foundation
• Swiss/Zurich Animal Protection
• Swiss Federal Veterinary Office
• University of Zurich
• IEMT

Animal welfare questions

• Animal protection associations
• Exhibition organisers
• Institutions (e.g. nursing homes, correctional institutions)
• Companies

Advisory Board of I.E.A.P.

• Prof. Patrick Bateson, FRS, Animal Behaviour, Dept. of Zoology,
  University of Cambridge, UK
   
• Prof. Felix Gutzwiller, Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine,
  University of Zurich, Switzerland
   
• Prof. Johannes Odendaal †, Dept. of Veterinary Ethology,
  University of Pretoria, Republic of South Africa
   
• Prof. Erhard Olbrich, Dept. of Psychology,
  University of Nuremberg-Erlangen, Germany
   
• Prof. James Serpell, Dept. of Clinical Studies,
  Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
   
• Prof. Mitzuaki Ohta, PhD D.V.M.,
  Laboratory of Effective Animals for Human Health, ERCAZ, Azabu University, Fuchinobe/Sagamihara (Tokio), Japan
   
• Prof. Cindy C. Wilson, Dept. of Family Medicine,
  USUSH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Information about the owner and director of I.E.A.P. (I.E.T.)
Dr. Dennis C. Turner

• 1974, Doctor of Science degree, from the Johns Hopkins University, School of Hygiene and Public Health (Medical Institutions), Baltimore, Maryland, USA
   
• Private faculty member (Privatdozent, PD), Veterinary Faculty, University of Zurich (since 1 October 2000) with teaching responsibility for companion animal behaviour
   
• Invited Visiting Professor for Animal-Assisted Therapy, Azabu University, Kanagawa (Tokyo), Japan (beginning 1 April 2001)
   
• President, IEMT, Institute for interdisciplinary Research on the Human-Animal Relationship, Zurich
   
• President of IAHAIO, the International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organizations, headquartered in Renton, Washington, USA
   
• Chief adviser, Animal behaviour consultancy, Cantonal Veterinary Hospital, Zurich (1998-1999)
   
• Trustee and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Panel, World Society for the Protection of Animals, WSPA, London (since 2002, resp. 2007)
   
• Programm chairman,, 7th International Conference on Human- Animal Relations, «Animals, Health and Quality of Life», which took place in Geneva, September 1995, with endorsements from such organizations as WHO, the World Small Animal Veterinary Association, the US National Institute on Aging, NIH, the Swiss Federal Health Administration, Swiss Animal Protection, various universities, etc.
   
• Programm chairman, 8th International Conference on Human-Animal Relations, «The Changing Roles of Animals in Society», which took place in Prague, Czech Republic, in September 1998, with endorsements from such organizations as WHO, the World Small Animal Veterinary Association, WSAVA, the International Society for Anthrozoology, the International Society for Applied Ethology, the World Society for the Protection of Animals, and various universities.
   
• Programm chairman, 9th International Conference on Human-Animal Relations, «People and Animals: a global perspective for the 21st century», co-sponsored by WHO, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, September 2001.
   
• Programm co-chairman, 11th International Conference on Human-Animal Relations, «People & Animals: October 2007, Tokyo, Japan.
  
• Program advisor for th 10th (Glasgow) and 12th (Stockholm) International Conferences on Human-Animal Relations. 
  
• Ex officio council member, ISAZ, the International Society for Anthrozoology
   
• Associate editor, Anthrozoös, a multidisciplinary journal on the interactions of people, animals and nature. ISAZ, Perg Bublishers. www.isaz.net/anthrozoos.html
   
• Companion animal section editor, Animal Welfare, The Universities Federation for Animal Welfare, Wheathamopstead, Herts., England
   
• Certified «applied animal behaviorist», US Animal Behavior Society (ABS)
   
• Overseas member, Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors, APBC, England
   
• Honorary President V.I.E.T.A., Verband I.E.T.-Absolventen, the professional pet behaviour counsellors' association headquartered in Switzerland
   
• Vice president GTTA, Society for Animal-Assisted Therapy and Activites
   
• Non-veterinarian member of the veterinarian associations of Zurich and Switzerland, GZT and GST
   
• Senior Research Associate (ad personam), Animal Behaviour, Zoology Institute, University of Zurich
   
• Honorary member, HARS, the Japanese Society for Research on Human-Animal Relations. Tokyo 

   

• Author
   
  • «Turners Katzenbuch. Wie Katzen sind, was Katzen wollen», Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart. ISBN 3-440-09339-5
     
  • «Das sind Katzen. Informationen für eine verständnisvolle Partnerschaft», a popularly written book in German on cat behaviour. Müller-Rüschlikon Verlag, Zug, Switzerland. ISBN 3-275-00952-4.
     
  • «The Domestic Cat: the biology of its behaviour», already a classic in the study of behaviour in domestic animals. D.C. Turner and P. Bateson (eds.). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York. ISBN 0-521-63648-5, paperback. (German first edition, out of print; Dutch edition from Swets & Zeitlinger B.V., Lisse, NL, ISBN 90-265-1069-1; Japanese edition in preparation).
     
  • «Die Mensch-Katze-Beziehung. Ethologische und psychologische Aspekte», a book for specialists and veterinarians interested in the human-cat-relationship. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Jena, VET special series (later in Enke Verlag). ISBN 3-334-60528-0.
     
  • «Katzen lieben und verstehen. Ein humorvoller Wegweiser für Katzenfreunde». A humorous, but factually correct, popular book on house cats, their behaviour, their relationship with people, and on behavioural problems, well-illustrated with cartoon drawings by Fulvio Federi. Franckh-Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart ISBN 3-440-07160-X. (Also available in Japanese from Pet Life Sha, Tokyo.)
     
  • «Behavioural Problems of Small Animals», Special Issue, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 1997. Vol. 52 (Nrs. 3,4): Elsevier Science Ltd., Amsterdam. Guest editor: D.C. Turner.
     
  • «Companion Animals in Human Health». Cindy C. Wilson and Dennis C. Turner (eds.). Sage Publications, Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA and London. ISBN 0-7619-1061-1 hardcover, 0-7619-1062-X paperback.
     
  • Author and co-author of numerous scientific articles in specialty journals.