Behavioural Referrals Veterinary Practice

31/05/2026

🐾 Cat Behaviour Concerns? We Can Help! 🐾

At BRVP, we see all sorts of cat behaviour concerns - from house soiling and confrontational behaviour to cats who shy away from interaction, or those with physical health problems tied to emotional well-being.

By learning about your cat’s history, environment, and how they interact with you and other pets, we can help you understand the underlying factors behind their behaviour.

Our goal? To improve their emotional, cognitive, and physical health, which can reduce problem behaviours and help create a more balanced life for both cats and their caregivers. 🐈

To book a consultation, we require a referral from your GP vet to start the process. For more information, visit: https://behaviouralreferrals.co.uk/

26/05/2026

🦜 Understanding behaviour in parrots🦜

Parrots are highly intelligent, with complex social needs, and behaviour that is deeply influenced by physical, emotional and cognitive wellbeing - with some species having the intelligence equivalent to that of a 6 year old child.

Because parrots are long-lived, social and cognitively advanced, their behaviour is shaped by a wide range of factors including health status, social interaction, enrichment, past learning and their living environment.

When something is not right, behaviours may emerge such as excessive vocalisation, feather plucking, confrontational behaviour or withdrawal. These “problem behaviours” are important signals that something in their world may not be meeting their needs.

It is important to recognise that parrots need to form strong social bonds and require appropriate mental stimulation - without this, frustration and stress can develop over time.

If you are finding your parrot’s behaviour difficult to interpret, or you have noticed a change, it is important to seek support early rather than waiting for behaviours to escalate.

A veterinary behavioural medicine assessment helps identify the underlying causes by considering physical health, emotional state, and environmental factors together.

If you have concerns, please speak to your veterinary surgeon about a referral to a veterinary behavioural medicine service.

25/05/2026

☀️ Bank Holiday Closure
Just a reminder that we’re closed today for the bank holiday.
We’ll be back open as usual tomorrow.

20/05/2026

Behavioural Referrals Veterinary Practice is an independent specialist referral practice in veterinary behavioural medicine, led by Dr Sarah Heath FRCVS.

We provide advanced behavioural assessment and case management for companion animals where behaviour is a clinical concern, using an evidence-based, veterinary-led approach.

Our focus is always on understanding the full picture, including medical, emotional, environmental and cognitive factors before developing an individualised plan.

Our services include:
🌟Behavioural referral consultations
Veterinary-led assessments for dogs, cats, rabbits, and parrots, identifying the underlying motivations behind behaviour.

🌟Home-based diagnostic consultations (within 50 miles of the practice)
Where appropriate, we offer home visits to assess behaviour in the animal’s natural environment, particularly valuable in more complex cases.

🌟Individualised behavioural treatment plans
Each case is provided with a tailored, structured plan designed to address the specific factors identified during assessment.

🌟In-house physiotherapy and rehabilitation support
Where relevant, we integrate physiotherapy input to support physical wellbeing alongside behavioural management.

🌟Multidisciplinary case management
Our veterinary surgeons, rehabilitation skills coaches, veterinary nurses and support team work collaboratively to ensure continuity and clinical oversight throughout each case. Every case is approached through a structured behavioural medicine framework, ensuring each recommendation is grounded in veterinary behavioural science and tailored to the individual.

We accept cases on veterinary referral only. For more information, please visit our website🌟

Welcome to Behavioural Referrals, a veterinary practice specialising exclusively in Behavioural Medicine. Founded by Dr. Sarah Heath in 1992, the practice has grown under her leadership into a highly skilled team of veterinary surgeons, rehabilitation coaches, a veterinary physiotherapist, veterinar...

14/05/2026

🐾Understanding behaviour in dogs 🐾

Dog behaviour is often misunderstood as “good” or “bad” but in reality, behaviour is a form of communication. Every behaviour your dog shows is telling you something about how they are feeling and how they are coping with their environment.

Behaviour is influenced by a combination of factors including physical health, emotional state, past experiences and the environment your dog lives in. Pain, illness, fear, anxiety or frustration can all have a significant impact on how a dog behaves.

This means that behaviours such as barking, growling, avoiding or destructiveness are often not the problem themselves but signs of an underlying issue or imbalance.

By looking beyond the behaviour and asking why it is happening, we can better understand our dogs and provide the right support. This might include veterinary care, changes to their environment or structured behaviour modification.

Taking the time to understand behaviour from this perspective helps to improve not only behaviour, but overall welfare and quality of life.

If you have concerns about your dog’s behaviour, speak to your veterinary surgeon about a referral to a veterinary behavioural medicine service.

11/05/2026

🐱 Is Your Cat’s Emotional Health Being Overlooked? 🐱

Cats are experts at hiding how they feel, and subtle changes in behaviour can easily go unnoticed. When their emotional wellbeing is affected, the signs aren’t always obvious - but fear, anxiety, frustration or pain can still have a significant impact on their overall health.

Conditions such as recurrent cystitis, diarrhoea, respiratory infections or over-grooming often have an underlying emotional component. Left unaddressed, these can develop into ongoing physical health concerns.

Taking a holistic approach - supporting your cat’s physical, emotional and cognitive wellbeing gives them the best chance of long-term health and comfort.

If you’ve noticed changes in your cat’s behaviour or have concerns, we’re here to help. Please note, a referral from your vet is required for us to begin the consultation process. 💙

For more info, visit: https://behaviouralreferrals.co.uk/

08/05/2026

😨 Is Your Dog Feeling Fearful? 😨

Fear can have a profound impact on a dog’s behaviour. Whether it’s fear of loud noises, new environment or unfamiliar people, fear-based reactions can lead to anxiety, stress, and even aggression. 🐕

Signs of fear in dogs may include:

• Tucked Tail & Ears Back: Dogs may lower their body to appear smaller in threatening situations.
• Cowering or Freezing: Your dog might freeze or attempt to hide when scared.
• Excessive Panting or Whining: Fear often triggers increased panting or vocalisation.

If your dog is struggling with fear, speak with your GP vet. They can send us a referral and we can arrange a consultation to explore your dog's emotional health. During the consultation, we will take an extensive history and explain the underlying emotions driving their unwanted behaviour. A tailored behaviour modification plan will then be created to help your dog feel more secure. 🐕

05/05/2026

The Petplan Veterinary Awards are now open 🐾
Find out more here: https://awards.petplan.co.uk/

If someone in our team has helped you or your pet, and you’d like to nominate them, it would mean a great deal to us❤️

05/05/2026

Veterinary behavioural medicine is a specialist area of veterinary care that looks at behavioural signs as indicators of an animal’s overall health, rather than seeing it as “just training” or “bad behaviour”.

It recognises that behaviour is influenced by multiple interacting factors, including:

• Physical health (such as pain and illness, even if this is mild)
• Emotional health (including fear, anxiety, frustration or excessive arousal)
• Learning and experience (contributions from past learning and ongoing reinforcement)
• The physical and social environment the animal lives in

A key concept in the Heath Model used at BRVP is the health triad, which considers behaviour through the assessment of physical health, emotional health and cognitive health/ influences. When one part of this triad is disrupted, behaviour can change as a result.

This means behavioural signs are often symptoms of an underlying issue, rather than the core problem itself.

Treatment from BRVP is therefore tailored to the individual patient and may include medical support (in conjunction with the referring veterinary team), behaviour modification strategies and environmental adjustments to improve overall welfare and quality of life.

In short, veterinary behavioural medicine helps us understand why a behaviour is happening, so we can support both the animal’s health and wellbeing more effectively.