Full Conference Pack

Available Until 30 November 2025 : £85.00

The Fellowship of Animal Behaviour Clinicians are delighted to be able to invite you to our annual conference on the 30 November 2024. We have an outstanding line up of internationally recognised experts in the field of animal behaviour and veterinary medicine who will be speaking on our conference topic of “Does it hurt?” – Chronic Pain and its effect on Behaviour

If you are a FABC member, please log-in to enable your member discount

Mechanisms which drive and maintain chronic pain

Dr James Hunt - BVetMed MSc PhD CertVA DipECAWBM(AWSEL)

Available Until 30 November 2025 : £20.00

Persistent pain is often associated with signs such as hyperalgesia, allodynia, and spontaneous pain, which indicate the altered processing of painful and non-painful stimuli by the nervous system. An appreciation of the mechanisms responsible for these signs can help to guide the rational treatment of persistent pain.

In this session we will review the alterations commonly associated with persistent pain and identify potential targets for interventions.

If you are a FABC member, please log-in to enable your member discount

Considering the emotional and cognitive dimensions to chronic pain

Dr Sarah Heath - BVSc PgCertVE DipECAWBM(BM) CCAB FHEA FRCVS

Available Until 30 November 2025 : £20.00

Chronic pain is a physical disease with sensory and motor components but the emotional and cognitive dimensions are of equal importance and often hold the key to diagnosis as well as treatment approaches. This presentation will consider the chronically painful patient using a comprehensive veterinary healthcare approach. The impact of chronic pain on emotional health will be discussed in relation to the emotional bias of the patient and also their level of emotional arousal. These factors not only influence the potential behavioural presentations of the chronic pain patient but can also influence other aspects of both their emotional and physical health. The cognitive component of pain will also be considered in relation to its impact on behavioural responses and memory formation.

If you are a FABC member, please log-in to enable your member discount

Conformation and Behaviour

Dr Åshild Roaldset - BVSc

Available Until 30 November 2025 : £20.00

Over time, animals have been selectively bred by humans for specific purposes, such as work, companionship, performance, or appearance. These intentional modifications in their physical conformation often serve functional or aesthetic goals but can have unintended consequences. Selective breeding for specific traits can result in medical conditions which impact on the animals behaviour

If you are a FABC member, please log-in to enable your member discount

Acute on chronic pain and our hiding in plain sight contributors

Dr Hannah Capon - MA Vet MB MRCVS CCRP

Available Until 30 November 2025 : £20.00

Osteoarthritis is a prevalent cause of chronic pain in our canine companions. A disease that leads to progressive debilitation punctuated by, less well understood, acute on chronic episodes.

Interest in holistic management practices, in addition to interventions, continues to grow. In this lecture Hannah aims to explain the background as to why simple environmental modifications can have profound effects on pain state.

If you are a FABC member, please log-in to enable your member discount

Red Flags in our patients’ clinical and behavioural histories

Dr Hannah Donovan - BSc (Hons) BVM&S MVetSci MSc (Clinical Animal Behaviour) MRCVS CCAB RCVS Advanced Practitioner in Companion Animal Behaviour

Available Until 30 November 2025 : £20.00

This talk will look at certain aspects of a patient’s history, clinically and behaviourally, and whether these would be a cause for further investigation. Many patients are referred for behavioural issues and this talk will highlight the “detective work” that goes on whilst working with these cases. These aspects are important to consider, ensuring we are taking an holistic approach to improving the animal’s wellbeing (emotional, physical, cognitive) and not missing something important.

If you are a FABC member, please log-in to enable your member discount

What factors influence the way we interact with cats and what does this mean for cat wellbeing and human behaviour change?

Lauren Finka PhD

Available Until 13 December 2024 : £20.00

This talk will discuss new research findings focused on quantifying the diversity of humans’ styles of interacting with cats, understanding the role individual differences may play (e.g. personality, previous experiences with cats), and how this information might be useful in supporting cat wellbeing and positive human behaviour change.

If you are a FABC member, please log-in to enable your free booking

Cold-blooded Care: Understanding the needs of Captive Reptiles

Prof Anna Wilkinson

Available Until 27 December 2024 : £20.00

Reptiles have long been considered “sluggish and unintelligent creatures” (Yerkes 1901, p 520) and were therefore largely ignored in the study of animal cognition. However, recent research has revealed striking new evidence of sophisticated cognitive capacities in a variety of reptile species. Such findings have important implications for the welfare of reptiles in captivity, particularly in relation to their ability to suffer. It is therefore essential to identify reliable indicators of both positive and negative welfare in reptiles and to understand how their environment impacts their wellbeing. This talk will present some recent research on the cognitive abilities of reptiles and consider the implications of this in relation to their captive welfare.

If you are a FABC member, please log-in to enable your free booking

Relationship between age-related cognitive and behavioural changes in senior cats

Dr Patrizia Piotti

Available Until 26 March 2025 : £20.00

The lifespan of companion cats is slowly increasing as a result of better care and progress of veterinary medicine. Surveys of cat owners indicate that 28% of cats aged 11-14 years develop signs of behavior and cognitive decline, and that the prevalence of these signs rises to over 50% in cats aged 15 years or older. It is therefore clear that veterinary professionals need to know how to prolong healthy ageing in cats. This session will provide an overview of feline ageing and will describe recent studies looking at the relationship between behavioural changes and the performance in cognitive tests in senior cats.

If you are a FABC member, please log-in to enable your free booking

Inducing and measuring positive affective state in horses through a personality-based lens

Loni Loftus MSc BSC(Hons) SFHEA CCAB

Available Until 6 May 2025 : £20.00

Maximising positive emotional welfare is a vital facet of good holistic welfare. In order to be able to evaluate positive emotional welfare in horse we must be able to induce and measure positive affect. This webinar will report on the results of research conducted into suitable methods to induce and measure affective state in equines whilst also considering the effect of personality on the intensity of emotional state experienced.

If you are a FABC member, please log-in to enable your free booking

Introducing Feliway Optimum

Dr Andrew Sparkes BVetMed PhD DipECVIM MANZCVS MRCVS and Professor Patrick Pageat DVM, MS, PhD, Dipl ECAWBM-BM, HDR

Available Until 29 October 2025 : Members Only

Charlotte Carr M.Sc. B.Sc. (Hons) – Technical Behaviour Manager for Ceva Animal Health United Kingdom & Ireland will take a Q&A session on the new CEVA product Feliway Optimum following a recorded product presentation by renowned feline experts Dr Andrew Sparkes BVetMed PhD DipECVIM MANZCVS MRCVS and Professor Patrick Pageat DVM, MS, PhD, Dipl ECAWBM-BM, HDR

If you are a FABC member, please log-in to enable booking

Full Conference Pack

Available Until 30 November 2025 : £85.00

The Fellowship of Animal Behaviour Clinicians are delighted to be able to invite you to our annual conference on the 30 November 2024. We have an outstanding line up of internationally recognised experts in the field of animal behaviour and veterinary medicine who will be speaking on our conference topic of “Does it hurt?” – Chronic Pain and its effect on Behaviour

If you are a FABC member, please log-in to enable your member discount

Mechanisms which drive and maintain chronic pain

Dr James Hunt - BVetMed MSc PhD CertVA DipECAWBM(AWSEL)

Available Until 30 November 2025 : £20.00

Persistent pain is often associated with signs such as hyperalgesia, allodynia, and spontaneous pain, which indicate the altered processing of painful and non-painful stimuli by the nervous system. An appreciation of the mechanisms responsible for these signs can help to guide the rational treatment of persistent pain.

In this session we will review the alterations commonly associated with persistent pain and identify potential targets for interventions.

If you are a FABC member, please log-in to enable your member discount

Considering the emotional and cognitive dimensions to chronic pain

Dr Sarah Heath - BVSc PgCertVE DipECAWBM(BM) CCAB FHEA FRCVS

Available Until 30 November 2025 : £20.00

Chronic pain is a physical disease with sensory and motor components but the emotional and cognitive dimensions are of equal importance and often hold the key to diagnosis as well as treatment approaches. This presentation will consider the chronically painful patient using a comprehensive veterinary healthcare approach. The impact of chronic pain on emotional health will be discussed in relation to the emotional bias of the patient and also their level of emotional arousal. These factors not only influence the potential behavioural presentations of the chronic pain patient but can also influence other aspects of both their emotional and physical health. The cognitive component of pain will also be considered in relation to its impact on behavioural responses and memory formation.

If you are a FABC member, please log-in to enable your member discount

Conformation and Behaviour

Dr Åshild Roaldset - BVSc

Available Until 30 November 2025 : £20.00

Over time, animals have been selectively bred by humans for specific purposes, such as work, companionship, performance, or appearance. These intentional modifications in their physical conformation often serve functional or aesthetic goals but can have unintended consequences. Selective breeding for specific traits can result in medical conditions which impact on the animals behaviour

If you are a FABC member, please log-in to enable your member discount

Acute on chronic pain and our hiding in plain sight contributors

Dr Hannah Capon - MA Vet MB MRCVS CCRP

Available Until 30 November 2025 : £20.00

Osteoarthritis is a prevalent cause of chronic pain in our canine companions. A disease that leads to progressive debilitation punctuated by, less well understood, acute on chronic episodes.

Interest in holistic management practices, in addition to interventions, continues to grow. In this lecture Hannah aims to explain the background as to why simple environmental modifications can have profound effects on pain state.

If you are a FABC member, please log-in to enable your member discount

Red Flags in our patients’ clinical and behavioural histories

Dr Hannah Donovan - BSc (Hons) BVM&S MVetSci MSc (Clinical Animal Behaviour) MRCVS CCAB RCVS Advanced Practitioner in Companion Animal Behaviour

Available Until 30 November 2025 : £20.00

This talk will look at certain aspects of a patient’s history, clinically and behaviourally, and whether these would be a cause for further investigation. Many patients are referred for behavioural issues and this talk will highlight the “detective work” that goes on whilst working with these cases. These aspects are important to consider, ensuring we are taking an holistic approach to improving the animal’s wellbeing (emotional, physical, cognitive) and not missing something important.

If you are a FABC member, please log-in to enable your member discount

TAKING CLINICAL ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR TO THE NEXT LEVEL - Sponsored by CEVA - Thinking about report writing: Increasing owner understanding and compliance

Helen Zulch

Available Until 11 August 2029 : Members Only

Writing reports for clients post consultation is a significant part of the work of a behaviour counsellor, but it’s generally a part of our job for which we receive little formal training. It’s very easy to fall into the habit of writing a report which we as an individual would like to read, or which we feel meets some professional expectation. However, to write a report that is of greatest value to our client, in order to aid understanding and adherence, means that we should be approaching report writing from the client’s perspective. This webinar will cover a range of aspects which should assist you in creating more client centric reports.

If you are a FABC member, please log-in to enable booking

Becoming an Expert Witness – what you need to know

David Ryan, PG Dip (CABC) CCAB

https://www.dog-secrets.co.uk/

Available Until 31 December 2029 : Members Only

An Expert Witness requires an in-depth knowledge of their subject, but that’s not all. This short presentation provides an insight into the role of the Expert Witness and how it relates to the field of animal behaviour and welfare, including the legal system and what to expect if you are instructed.

If you are a FABC member, please log-in to enable booking