Animal Behaviour, Cognition and Welfare Research Group Uni. of Lincoln

20/08/2025

Hello again all! We have been asked to share the following advert for participants for an exciting new study here at Lincoln!📝 If you have a senior dog and are interested in taking part, please find the details below 🐩🐕

"Participants needed for an exciting research study aimed at helping the mental functioning and well-being of older dogs
The study will examine the effects of a dietary supplement on age-related changes in behaviour and emotion in dogs. We aim to establish what supplementation can and cannot do to alleviate the decline of emotional state and cognitive function often seen in aging dogs.
This is a 24-week placebo controlled study. You will be required to complete a questionnaire, get your dog health checked if we think they are suitable (pre-authorisation is required to allow you to claim back these costs), and then complete further questionnaires, with the option of three home visits where we will train and test your dog’s reactions to a range of situations. On completion of the study all participants will be offered a free 6-month supply of the supplement.
Participation is voluntary. You must be over 18 years old and own a dog that is over 7 years old, any breed or type, but must weigh more than 5kg. Dogs must have been in your possession for at least 6 months and seem to be showing signs of aging. You must be willing to get your dog health checked with blood test prior to enrolment (cost covered by us, subject to pre-authorisation).
Please contact Dr Benjamin Keep, Post-Doctoral Research Associate in Animal Behaviour, College of health and Science, [email protected], if you have any questions, would like further information or you are interested in taking part.
This study has received a favourable ethical opinion by a University Research Ethics Committee [Ethics Reference 2025_18711]. For any concerns contact [email protected]."

11/08/2025

🚨New Paper Alert🚨

A new paper is out, authored by Alex Elford, Andrew Cooke & Beth Ventura! Very appropriately, it was published on international cat day (8th August) 🐈

""I want them to live their best lives:” A qualitative exploration of owner experiences with walking their cats."

Cat owners were interviewed on their perceptions and experiences of walking their cats. A fascinating insight into the benefits and risks of this practice 🐈‍⬛📝

16/07/2025

Hi again everyone! We don't wish to bombard everyone with surveys, but we do have another one from one of our current CAB MSc students 📝 This one is aimed at Veterinarians, Clinical Animal Behaviourists, and Veterinary Behaviourists. If you have 10 minutes and could help, it would be much appreciated! 🩺🐕

"Hi! My name is Jessica Lee, I am recruiting participants for my thesis project on 'ethics of euthanising animals for behavioural issues: A comparison of behaviourist and veterinarian perspectives' for my MSc Clinical Animal Behaviour degree at the University of Lincoln.

Participation should take around 10-15 minutes and is completely voluntary. Participants must be over the age of 18, based in the UK and work as a veterinarian, clinical animal behaviourist or veterinary behaviourist. Ethics reference: UoL2025_1069. If you would like to take part, please click on the following link https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/lincoln/ethics-of-euthanising-animals-for-behavioural-issues.

Thank you!"

15/07/2025

Hi everyone! We're posting this questionnaire on behalf of one of our current CAB MSc students. If you have a dog, and 5 minutes to spare, please consider taking part 🐕🐩

"My name is Sefiyat Alaka, I am recruiting participants for my thesis project: 'Dogs and Humans - Who Stresses Who and How?'. Your participation should take around 5mins and is completely voluntary. Participants must be 18 years and above. Ethics reference UoL2025_1069. If you would like to take part, please click on the following link: https://qualtricsxm8n3bmdtps.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_51tGXGxQu1cg1o2

Thank you! University of Lincoln Ethics reference: 1069"

The most powerful, simple and trusted way to gather experience data. Start your journey to experience management and try a free account today.

26/06/2025

Prof Mills delivering his plenary talk on pain in dogs at Canine Science Forum in Hannover based on the previous and ongoing work at Lincoln.

19/06/2025

Out now! New paper based on an international collaboration with Prof Mills on using digital technologies for behavioural data collection. Free to access.

Field data collection in veterinary and animal behaviour science often faces practical limitations, including time constraints, restricted resources, and dif...

07/06/2025

Our very own Professor Mills will speaking about his work on our relationships with companion animals at this event https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/relationships-and-the-dog-owner-bond-a-psychobiological-perspective-tickets-1391628019869?aff=ebdsoporgprofile&_gl=1%2Aeybvwd%2A_up%2AMQ..%2A_ga%2AMTc4MDM4MjE3OS4xNzQ5MTA1NTMz%2A_ga_TQVES5V6SH%2AczE3NDkxMDU1MzMkbzEkZzAkdDE3NDkxMDU1MzMkajYwJGwwJGgw&fbclid=IwY2xjawKxiylleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETBFa21NZFFtaDJZU2RVcW15AR5Hzx53PKtzbz4z50Rqivv4AAo7E---G9k16spIzO_rODS1iiPMcVwkRegOJA_aem_KFrIEg5htprN9zpeGvmiKA

Presenter: Professor Daniel Mills, Animal Behaviour Cognition & Welfare Group, University of Lincoln

09/05/2025

💥New paper alert!💥

In a new publication, our own Nicki Phillips, Beth Ventura, Jonathan Cooper, and Laetitia Marechal explore how public perception of zoo animal welfare can impact public attitudes towards zoos, visit likelihood, and engagement with conservation initiatives. Understanding what factors are influential to public perceptions of welfare is therefore important.

We conducted a mixed-methods systematic review and identified a range of human, animal, and environmental factors affecting perceptions and impacting public attitudes and behaviours. We concluded with seven proposed recommendations to increase the robustness and validity of future research in this area.

Read it in full in the latest issue of Animal Behaviour and Cognition for free here: https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.11.04.05.2024

29/04/2025

Congratulations to our MSc graduates celebrating today

28/04/2025

ABCW's own Prof Anna Wilkinson is going to be presenting at a Pint of Science https://pintofscience.co.uk/event/nature-night on May 21st! Standard tickets are just £5 and the event will take place at The Pessimist, 4 Mint Lane, Lincoln LN1 1UD

Anna will be giving a talk titled "Cold-blooded care: how does a tortoise feel?"

"Reptiles are becoming increasingly popular as pets, with more people in UK having pet reptiles than guinea-pigs or hamsters. As reptile ownership continues to increase, there has been an associated rise in the prevalence of poor reptile health and welfare. This reflects a lack of scientific evidence underpinning the necessary guidelines and legislation to educate members of the public about best practice. This talk will cover recent advances in our understanding of reptile welfare and aims to get you thinking about how a snake, lizard or tortoise might be feeling."

So please join her for an amazing night of science!

25/04/2025

🚨New paper alert!🚨

New research by the ABCW's own Dr Holly Root-Gutteridge has shown that dogs not only recognise their names when we are speaking directly to them but can find their names in a complex sentence said in a monotonous tone of voice. This gives us a little more insight into the evolution of language, as it requires the ability to parse a complex sequence of sounds to recognise familiar content.

You can read about it on the BBC website here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3v9307y3vdo

Or read the full paper online here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-025-01948-z

And you can watch Lola the Rottweiler hearing her owner mention her name here:

22/04/2025

Always good to see a PhD student get their first paper out, and so much more interesting when that paper challenges traditional beliefs about pet behaviour. In this one, Jackie uses her data to question the quality of the evidence that scratching is associated with stress and its role as a form of marking. Read the preprint here. Well done Jackie!