My research interests are in the area of companion animal behaviour and welfare. I study both fundamental aspects of behaviour such as personality characteristics, and applied studies such as validation of treatment programmes for undesired or apparently ‘abnormal’ behaviours.
One area of research is in understanding and measuring individual differences or personality characteristics, and how these influence the risk of undesired behaviours such as aggression occurring in companion animals. I am also interested in behavioural and physiological welfare assessment in companion animals, for example through evaluation of decision making processes such as ‘cognitive bias’ as an indication of underlying affective state. My work also includes the use of different welfare indicators to evaluate different environmental and social situations, as well as the assessment of how human activities such as training methods impact on companion animals.