Department of Biological Sciences

Introduction

The Animal Behaviour Clinic at Lincoln University is a referral only clinic for pets and animals of all species with behaviour and training problems. More than 40% of pets are believed to have some form of behavioural problem and in some cases this can be easily rectified with the correct management and advice. Whilst some problems may be due to a lack or problem with training, more than 10% involve ongoing medical conditions. Close veterinary involvement is therefore essential and so the clinic is directed by Dr. Daniel Mills BVSc MRCVS, resident veterinary surgeon and leading international authority on animal behaviour problems, at the University.

Make an Appointment:

You can make appointments for animals to be examined by Professor Daniel Mills. To make an appointment, you will need to complete 2 forms. First, a behavioural history form about your pet. Second, a referral form from your veterinarian. Both of these forms can be found below in green text. Please mail or fax these forms to the address/fax indicated on the form itself. Once we have received the forms, we will call you to set up an appointment. We call people to schedule an appointment as soon as possible after receiving the forms. Please note that we are able to subsidize the cost of behaviour appointments because as this is a University and therefore, students may be observing the cases. Should you have a strong objection to this, please mention this at the time of scheduling your appointment and note that the behavioural consultation fee may increase.  Please see below for information pertaining to cost of appointments.

In addition, if you have any video footage of your animal's behaviour, please email the footage to us or bring the tape with you to the behaviour consult. If you do not feel it is safe to video tape your animal's behaviour, please do not attempt to make a video.

The following PDF links will help:

Individual case consultations. If you are having trouble downloading the forms or if you wish to speak to someone prior to filling out the forms, please call 01522 895356.

Cost of behavioural consultations: A canine consultation costs £95 + VAT. A feline consultation costs 60£ + VAT. We do accept pet insurance if your policy covers behavioural problems. The University is able to offer these consultations at these subsidized prices because we may use the cases as part of our teaching responsibilities.  Private consultations are available upon request ( i.e no students will be sitting in on the case) however, the price for private consultations are 100£ per hour plus VAT. Home visits are possible in exceptional cases but are not usually recommended as they both curtail the possibility of the use of cases as a teaching aid which cross subsidises the fee and involve a further time commitment  by staff, for whom the typical day rate is £500-£1000 plus expenses. Generally these costs are not claimable on insurance as they do not deem home visits essential in most cases.

The following link contains information regarding the Humane Society of the United States "Pets For Life Program" which focuses on reducing the number of relinquished pets by  preventing or treating behaviour problems.

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program

Professor Daniel Mills BVSc PhD ILTM CBiol MIBiol Dip ECVBM-CA MRCVS Professor & RCVS Recognised Specialist in Veterinary Behavioural Medicine Animal Behaviour Animal Behaviour, Cognition and Welfare Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lincoln, Riseholme Park, Lincoln, LN3 4HE
Tel +44 (0)1522 895356
email dmills@lincoln.ac.uk

In addition to being a valuable teaching aid for our students, the clinic offers a number of public services ranging from

Company consultancy & product development This include strategic advice and the development of new products e.g. the clinic has recently been involved in the development of a new form of nose net ("net relief") to treat the problem of headshaking in horses  and bringing a novel treatment for urine spraying in cats to the market.

Independent product evaluation The clinic also undertakes independent research to evaluate the safety and efficacy of new products in the animal care sector.

Media advice. With the ever growing interest in animals and society staff are usually able to help with media enquiries on all aspects of animal behaviour and welfare. The clinic is a common source of reference for the Daily Telegraph’s Pet Advice Column.

Novel research. Recent projects include investigation into learning and training in the dog, and the classification and diagnosis of canine behaviour problems. (see also: Animal Cognition Laboratory)

For further information on any of the above, please contact Daniel Mills on dmills@lincoln.ac.uk.

Educational

Educational programmes and workshops. In addition to being an integral part of Lincoln University’s educational programme, staff are able to offer help in the design, running and physical resourcing of external courses. Please contact Daniel Mills on dmills@lincoln.ac.uk for further information.

Additional Website Information.

Department of Biological Sciences

University of Lincoln

Riseholme Park

Riseholme

Lincoln

LN2 2LG

Web Enquiries

Tel + 44 (0)1522 882000