Heather Thomas Clinical Animal Behaviourist

25/08/2026

What actually counts as “natural behaviour”?
This recent paper caught my attention because it asks a deceptively simple question:

What IS natural behaviour?

We often hear that animals should be allowed to “behave naturally”.

But a paper published at the end of July argues that for adaptable species living across many different environments, defining one single natural behaviour or environment isn’t necessarily straightforward.

Instead, the author argues for looking carefully at measurable behavioural outcomes and how animals successfully adapt to their environment.

It’s an interesting welfare question.

As a behaviourist, I think context is incredibly important.

Rather than asking only:

“Is this natural?”

we can also ask:

“What does this individual animal need to experience good welfare in the environment they’re actually living in?”

What do you think?

What is a natural behavior? I argue that the study of natural behaviors is often the study of the spontaneous behaviors of animals placed in quantifiably different environments. For behavioral generalists such as rodents, humans, and many other species, there may be no such definable construct as a....

25/08/2026

When dog training isn’t enough 🐕
You’ve been to training classes.

You’ve watched the videos.

You’ve tried the treats.

You’ve followed advice online.

But your dog is still struggling.

Sometimes that’s because what you’re dealing with isn’t simply a training problem.

Fear, anxiety, aggression, reactivity, separation-related problems and other complex behaviours require us to understand why the behaviour is happening, rather than simply trying to stop it.

I’m Heather Thomas, a CCAB-registered Clinical Animal Behaviourist with an MSc in Clinical Animal Behaviour and over 20 years’ professional experience working with animals.

I offer comprehensive behaviour consultations for dogs and cats, both in person and online. My approach is kind, evidence-based and looks at the whole animal — including health, history, environment and emotional state.

📍 Bath & surrounding areas
💻 Online consultations available

📧 [email protected]

24/08/2026

Does your dog struggle with reactivity? 🐕💥
Barking and lunging on walks can make everyday life incredibly stressful — for both ends of the lead.

But reactivity isn’t a diagnosis.

Before deciding how to help, we need to understand what’s driving the behaviour.

Is it:

🐾 Fear?
🐾 Frustration?
🐾 Over-arousal?
🐾 Previous experiences?
🐾 Pain or discomfort?
🐾 Something else entirely?

My behaviour consultations look at the whole dog before developing an individual behaviour modification programme. Behaviour cases are undertaken with veterinary referral because physical health can have an important influence on behaviour.

If walks have become something you dread rather than enjoy, please get in touch.

📧 [email protected]

24/08/2026

DOG MYTH: “A tired dog is a well-behaved dog.”
❌ Not necessarily!

Physical exercise is important, but constantly trying to exhaust a dog can sometimes simply create a very fit dog who needs more and more activity to become tired.

Dogs also need:

🧠 Mental stimulation
👃 Opportunities to sniff
😴 Quality sleep
🐾 Predictability
❤️ Emotional security
🧘 The ability to switch off

Sometimes your dog doesn’t need another hour of ball throwing.

They need help learning how to settle.

Did you think this one was TRUE or FALSE before reading? 👇

23/08/2026

🔬 Dogs really ARE reading our faces
WHAT DOES THE SCIENCE SAY? 🐶

A fascinating new study published this month has looked inside dogs’ brains while they viewed human faces showing different emotions.

Researchers used fMRI brain scans and found different patterns of brain activity depending on whether dogs were looking at happiness, fear, anger or sadness.

Particularly interestingly, happy human faces activated areas including the temporal cortex and caudate nucleus, while whole-brain patterns also provided evidence that dogs could distinguish certain negative facial expressions from one another.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/10/dogs-distinguish-fearful-angry-sad-human-faces-brain-scans

Does that mean your dog understands your emotions exactly as another human would?

No — and that’s an important distinction.

But it adds to a fascinating body of evidence showing just how sensitive dogs are to the humans around them.

As a behaviourist, it’s another reminder that when we’re working with dogs, we should never forget about the behaviour and emotional state of the human at the other end of the lead.

Researchers analysed activity in regions of brain when dogs were shown images of different facial expressions

23/08/2026

If your dog could leave you a Google review… 😂
⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Food generally acceptable but occasionally served 14 minutes late.

Staff disappear every day without explanation.

Unreasonable restrictions on eating things found in hedges.

Have repeatedly requested additional treats.

Management refuses.

Would probably stay again.”

😂😂

What rating would YOUR dog give you — and what would their review say?

I want to hear these! 👇

22/08/2026

Getting a puppy? Don’t wait for problems to start 🐶
One of the best times to speak to a trainer is before your puppy even arrives.

Those first weeks and months are incredibly important.

I offer individual puppy sessions covering things such as:

🐾 Toilet training
🐾 Puppy biting
🐾 Recall
🐾 Loose-lead walking
🐾 Crate training
🐾 Appropriate socialisation
🐾 Settling into family life
🐾 General training

I even offer a pre-puppy session before your new arrival comes home, as well as a three-session puppy package.

Start as you mean to go on and give your puppy the best foundations possible. ❤️

📧 [email protected]

22/08/2026

Reactive dog owners — this one’s for you ❤️
The person crossing the road with their dog isn’t necessarily rude.

The dog wearing the yellow lead isn’t necessarily aggressive.

The owner asking you not to let your dog approach isn’t being unfriendly.

They may have spent months building their dog’s confidence.

One uncontrolled “Don’t worry, he’s friendly!” interaction can be incredibly difficult for them.

If somebody creates space from you and your dog…

Give it to them.

Sometimes that’s the kindest thing one dog owner can do for another. 🐾

Please share this one — there are lots of reactive-dog owners who would appreciate it. ❤️

21/08/2026

🔬 Almost every dog showed stress at the vet
A recent study examining canine stress in a veterinary-clinic setting reported a striking result:

97.9% of the dogs studied displayed at least one stress-related behaviour during examination.

And 75% displayed four or more.

That’s a really important reminder that stress doesn’t always look dramatic.

A frightened dog isn’t necessarily barking, growling or trying to bite.

It might be:

👅 Lip licking
🥱 Yawning
🐾 Trying to move away
🧍 Becoming very still
👀 Avoiding interaction

Recognising those quieter signals gives us an opportunity to change how we handle the animal before their stress escalates.

Behaviour is communication. We just have to learn to listen.

Most dogs show signs of impaired welfare at the vet, according to their owners.

21/08/2026

Try the 10-second consent test with your dog 🐶
Next time you’re stroking your dog, try this.

Give them a little fuss for a few seconds…

Then stop.

What happens?

Do they:

❤️ Move closer?
🐾 Nudge your hand?
🥰 Lean into you?

Or do they:

👀 Turn away?
🐕 Stay where they are?
🚶 Move off?

We often assume our dogs want affection because we want to give it.

Pausing gives them an opportunity to tell us whether they’d like the interaction to continue.

Try it today and tell me what your dog does! 👇