Pre AGM Webinar: Keren McIlwain - "Supporting Owner-Trained Assistance Dogs: The CAB Role and Key Considerations"

This presentation focuses on the practical and behavioural challenges faced by people raising owner-trained assistance dogs (OTADs), and the role clinical animal behaviourists (CABs) play in supporting these teams.

Drawing on interviews with OTAD owners, the presentation will highlight common issues behaviourists are asked to support with, including adolescent behaviour, training setbacks, handler health fluctuations, public access pressures, and maintaining welfare while meeting assistance dog expectations.

A key theme is the value of knowledgeable, consistent professional support.

OTAD owners described needing clear guidance, realistic expectations, and reassurance alongside technical behaviour input. The presentation will explore how CABs can support early decision-making around dog selection, workload, and training pace, while helping prevent burnout in both dog and handler.

The aim of the presentation is to provide clear, usable insights that CAB\'s can apply in practice when supporting OTAD teams, using a flexible, ethical, and welfare-led approach. This presentation is based on my MSc thesis: Raising an Owner-Trained Assistance Dog – An Exploratory Study of Owner Experiences MSc Clinical Animal Behaviour, University of Edinburgh (2025).

Post AGM Webinar: Lisa Clifforde - "Emus, crocodiles, and tigers – working with behaviour cases in the zoo"

This presentation will introduce a variety of behaviour cases from ZSL’s two zoos, focussing on unusual taxa, but illustrating how we extrapolate from domestic behaviour science to find resolutions.

Assessment and management of undesired behaviours can be especially challenging in zoo species as we have little direct literature to inform our plans. Often, we are working with species that may be cryptic or understudied, so much so that even ‘normal’ behaviour is not well known. When problems arise, we must collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders from keepers and vets, to the site managers and visitors to find a solution that is workable for all concerned.

Several different case studies will be described to illustrate the variety of approaches we use, and the challenges we face along the way.