Can I cope? Do I feel Safe? A fresh look at an old problem

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Introducing Our Speakers

Dr. Sarah Penturn – BSc BVM&S MRCVS MANZCVS(Veterinary Behaviour)

Sarah graduated from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, and completed an intercalated Bachelor of Science in Animal Behaviour and Welfare at the University of Bristol. After gaining experience in small animal general practice, Sarah followed her passion for behavioural medicine by joining Dogs Trust and beginning a residency with the European College of Animal Welfare and Behaviour Medicine. Sarah now lives in Melbourne, Australia, working with rescue dogs, wildlife, and offering private behaviour consultations. In addition to clinical work, Sarah regularly delivers CPD on topics including small animal behaviour, psychotropic medications, and the interplay between pain and behaviour.

Meeting needs at every life stage to help animals feel safe and thrive

All animals need to feel physically, emotionally, and socially safe in order to have good welfare and thrive. This talk will explore how guardians can support feelings of safety in their pets as they grow and change from puppy and kittenhood, through adolescence, adulthood and into their senior years. By understanding and meeting animals’ evolving needs throughout their lives, carers can build their pets’ resilience, help them to better cope with life’s stressors, and further strengthen the human-animal bond.

Dr Amber Batson – BVetMed MRCVS

Amber Batson graduated from the Royal Veterinary College, London in 1999. She started working in general veterinary practice straight from graduating and quickly became aware that many consultations involved elements of behaviour, which set her on a path of acquiring science-based behaviour knowledge.

For many years she worked in practice whilst undertaking a number of behaviour qualifications in dogs, horses and cats which became blended in with her veterinary work.

In 2007 she set up her own business, Understand Animals, with the aim to bridge the gap between up-to-date science and using that in a practical way to benefit animals and the humans they share their lives with. Alongside working in clinical vet practice, her business provides education across the globe regards animal behaviour and welfare, as well as providing vet behaviour consultations for clients and legal expert witness work.

Gutsy reactions : how the gut brain axis influences resilience

This presentation will provide a short overview of current understanding regards the gut brain axis in animals.

We will then explore the impact of different processes in the body influenced by the gut bug population as to their impact on neurophysiology influencing the concepts of resilience and robustness. There will be practical considerations of whether we can assess the condition of the gut bug population effectively in animals and the types of experiences that may assist optimal gut health.

Dr Loni Loftus – BSC(Hons), MSc, PhD, SFHEA, ABTC-ATI, ABTC-CAB, CCAB

Loni is a Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CCAB). She is an Animal Behaviour & Training Council (ABTC) Registered Clinical Animal Behaviourist and Animal Training Instructor and holds a PhD in Animal Behaviour and Welfare.
Loni runs Loni Loftus Behaviour, Clinical Animal Behaviour Referral Practice covering Yorkshire and the Northeast, sees referral cases nationwide for Donovan Veterinary Behaviour Practice and is a Lecturer in Clinical Animal Behaviour at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh.

She has authored numerous scientific papers on animal behaviour and welfare and sits on the editorial boards of both Applied Animal Behaviour Science and RCVS Knowledge Veterinary Evidence journals.

From Nice-to-Have to Non-Negotiable: Positioning environmental optimisation as the welfare baseline

Over the last few decades there has been significant progress in improving environments for non-human animals with popularisation of the term ‘environmental enrichment’ alongside this.

This session will compare and contrast the terms enrichment and optimisation and evaluate the implications of the use of each term from an animal welfare perspective. Furthermore it will suggest a reframing of enrichment towards optimisation as a baseline for good welfare and discuss considerations for this from both an ethological perspective and with examples relating to the varied environments that domesticated dogs, cats and horses live within.

Dr Sarah Heath – BVSc DipECAWBM(BM) PGCert Vet Ed CCAB FHEA FRSM FRCVS

Sarah qualified from Bristol and spent four years in mixed general practice before setting up Behavioural Referrals Veterinary Practice in 1992. In 2018 she was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in recognition of her work in establishing Behavioural Medicine as a veterinary discipline. She is an RCVS and EBVS® European Veterinary Specialist in Behavioural Medicine. Sarah is an External Lecturer in small animal behavioural medicine on the veterinary undergraduate courses at Liverpool University and the University of Central Lancashire School of Veterinary Medicine. She is a Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist and sees clinical cases across North West England. Sarah is the author of the Heath Model and promotes the concept of Comprehensive Veterinary Healthcare. She has a special interest in the interplay between emotional and physical illness in dogs and cats and particularly in the role of pain. She promotes the recognition of emotional health issues in companion animals and the role of the veterinary profession in safeguarding the welfare of animals in this context. Sarah lectures at home and abroad and is an author, co-author and editor of several books and papers.

Information gathering – its role in coping with protective emotions

When patients experience protective emotions the aim to reach a point of safety. These emotions are normal and beneficial to the individual when they occur in an appropriate context and the ability to cope with them and respond to them effectively is therefore essential. Information gathering is one way in which individuals can respond to these protective emotions and this presentation will explore the species specific ways in which they may do this. It will also discuss how miscommunication between species might lead to confusion as well as the role of information gathering when protective emotions are outside of normal limits.

Carrie Tooley BSc BVetMed MSc PGCVE DipECAWBM(BM) CCAB FHEA MRCVS

RCVS Veterinary Specialist in Behavioural Medicine EBVS® European Veterinary Specialist in Behavioural Medicine

Carrie qualified from the Royal Veterinary College in 2012 and spent three years in mixed general practice before pursuing her interest in behavioural medicine. She completed an MSc in Clinical Animal Behaviour and became an RCVS and EBVS European Veterinary Specialist in Behavioural Medicine in 2025. She sees canine and feline behavioural medicine referral cases at Behavioural Referrals Veterinary Practice and has a particular interest in sleep medicine. Carrie is a member of the British Sleep Society and the European Sleep Research Society

Let’s sleep on it; how sleep relies on, and influences, the sensation of safety

Sleep science is a new and emerging field within clinical animal behaviour. This talk will discuss what we know from veterinary and human sleep medicine and research and its impact on emotional health. A practical approach to the assessment and management of sleep problems will be presented.