Understand Animals

07/11/2026

Just finished this presentation on sleep and behaviour in dogs as part of the COBIET conference :))
A fantastic line up of speakers over 2 days, was an honour to be invited to speak

07/11/2026

Happiness on a Saturday morning is sitting with a cup of oat milk chai (after a decent early dog wander), reading the reflections of several people who attended the In Sickness and In Health course earlier this year ❤️

"The course was brilliant, so informative and helpful, and a much-needed resource for many behaviour and animal professionals. I will be referring back to the PDFs and my own notes frequently for many years to come, I suspect."

"Honestly one of the best courses I have done in a very long time. Has really helped me have the confidence as a dog professional to collect more information and work more effectively alongside vets in certain cases"

"Overall, the course was fantastic and I learned so much! My take home lessons are:
- Behavior is way more complicated than we will ever know;
- We can’t ask too many questions;
- Every observation is important;
- “The bugs have it!"

DID YOU MISS THIS COURSE?
In Sickness and In Health is a 6 part online course aimed at dog professionals (behaviourists, trainers, groomers, physios, vet nurses, vets etc) to help increase their awareness and knowledge of how medical conditions can influence behaviour and how we can gather information in collaboration with the dog's family / carers, for them to present to their vet team and also to monitor response to treatments and trial effectively when behaviour concerns and medical issues overlap.

This course started again last month SO THERE IS STILL TIME to join! You will have access to the webinars until the end of September 2027 and option to join two live online QA / discussion sessions (one Jan 5th and one 13th April 2027)

You can get more info in the link below

https://www.noseybarker.co.uk/professional-courses/in-sickness/

27/10/2026

Having a few days away with our family and we found this vending machine at a dog adventure park we visited this morning (Pupstars Paddock, Johnstown, West Wales)

Full of exciting human and dog treats - we thought it was a great idea and everyone picked something exciting they fancied to enjoy in the sun in picnic corner 🐾❤️

What would your dog want to find in the vending machine?!

17/10/2026

Trick or treat?!

Pop up Halloween enrichment in a rescue centre yesterday 🎃

13/10/2026

This sounds great

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1A1cFrwFHW/?mibextid=wwXIfr

05/10/2026

It’s been 4 years since I shared the stage with these wonderful individuals… where has the time gone?!

04/10/2026

Something seasonally silly for a Sunday!

Anyone theme some of their enrichment around the season?

I may have purchased a couple of new Halloween dogs toys this weekend … and pumpkin, apple and cinnamon balls are in the Pupsicle …. Mostly our enrichment focusses on sensory and exploratory opportunities that aren’t based on food - instead they are new sights, smells, sounds, textures, platforms, tunnels and surfaces and I tend to keep food enrichment separate to exploration enrichment so the individual is not only engaging or making choices in order to feed themselves.

Watch this space for more Autumn in England inspired ideas …. I m hoping to take Howl O Ween on the road for some dogs in rescue to enjoy too so more on that as well coming up 🎃

PS. The pumpkin tinsel was purely for photo purposes, it’s not a safe enrichment item for most dogs.

03/10/2026

This weekend I m preparing my presentation for the London Vet Show in November where I am honoured to be discussing the role of the intestinal microbiota in chronic pain on behalf of Canine Arthritis Management.

This new piece of human research might cover some familiar ground if you ve listened to some of my previous presentations on gut bugs (some of you will remember the brilliant T shirt that PACT made for me which says “I got my gut bugs from my mum” 😂)
Where in this paper by Al-Beltagi, M et al 2026 (full reference below) they look at both the short term and long term consequences to the gut where babies are born via caesarean. Now I m a mum to a son born via emergency caesarean so it’s good to read in the paper the practical ways that may offset these potential negatives.

Then just this last week I ve consulted on 3 cases of behaviour issues in French Bulldogs where GI symptoms are present which of course brought my mind back to this topic …. Previous research has suggest around 80% of FBDs are born via caesarean.
There are several potential reasons why a specific breed like FBDs may be predisposed to gut issues - genetics, impact of oxygenation on mums gut bugs, puppy delivery method, impact of oxygenation on pups gut bugs, gut-spine axis (yes that’s a thing!) … and more. But the high incidence of caesarean delivery may well be a factor … particularly in combination with early weaning (extended breast feeding can be one way to offset the negatives from caesarean delivery) given most companion pups are not mum milk drinking beyond week 7 as they are readied for transition to the new home.

I know we don’t have all the answers and I also know it’s all pretty complex … but I do know we have to keep asking questions and trying to be as open minded as we can for the responses. For the sake of all companion dogs.

If you want to learn more about this fascinating topic, you can

*come and listen to my presentation at the London Vet Show
*sign up for my In Sickness and In Health - how disease impacts dog behaviour, online course

https://www.noseybarker.co.uk/professional-courses/in-sickness/

*take a look at the Microbiome Forum as there are some great free short webinars all about the gut brain axis and more

https://www.purinainstitute.com/microbiome-forum/microbiome-fundamentals/gut-brain-axis

As well as taking a read of the human paper mentioned above

Al-Beltagi, M., Alzayani, S., Saeed, N.K., Bediwy, A.S., Kumar, A.P., Bediwy, H.A. and Elbeltagi, R., 2026. Gastrointestinal consequences of cesarean section birth: A systematic review of short-and long-term effects in infancy and beyond. World Journal of Clinical Pediatrics, 15(1), p.111501.

02/10/2026

Coping with confinement….
It’s over 25 years ago since I created a client booklet on this very subject so I m delighted to see this resource available via the British Equine Veterinary Association
Times are definitely changing.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1414480394144188&id=100067467235510

🐴 Coping with Confinement: a new resource from the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA)

We’re pleased to highlight a new resource from NEWC member BEVA, supporting equine veterinary professionals in managing the behavioural and welfare challenges that can arise when equines need periods of confinement.

The Coping with Confinement Toolkit provides evidence-based guidance to help veterinary professionals develop individualised confinement plans that consider both the equine’s clinical and behavioural needs, as well as the practical circumstances of their care.

There’s also an Owner’s Guide, providing practical information to help owners and carers.

A really useful initiative recognising that good welfare during recovery means considering both the physical and behavioural needs of the horse 💙

🔗 Coping with Confinement Toolkit: beva.org.uk/resources/coping-with-confinement/

🔗 Owner’s Guide: beva.org.uk/resources/coping-with-confinement/owners-guide/

Congratulations to BEVA and everyone involved in developing this valuable resource👏