Behaviour Support for Rescue Centres Across the West Midlands
Second Nature Behaviour offers free behaviour support for rescue centres across the West Midlands. We’re a clinical animal behaviour practice, and we’d love to help the dogs, cats and parrots in your care (and the people who adopt them) settle, feel secure, and stay in their new homes for good.
What we offer for your rescue
We know rescue teams are stretched, and that behaviour is so often the difference between an adoption that lasts and one that sadly comes back. So we’ve put together a simple package of free or discounted behaviour support for rescue centres:
- Free first-aid behaviour advice — a regular “pick our brains” call for the animals you’re finding most challenging.
- A settle-in guide for your adopters — a warm, practical booklet to share with every adoption.
- A discount for you and your adopters — 20% discounted behaviour support with us for animals in your care, and a 10% discount for anyone who rehomes through you.
- Free CPD sessions for your staff and volunteers — just let us know what topics you’re interested in.
- Occasional updates — a quarterly email with a useful behaviour tip or a recent research finding. No clutter.
Free first-aid behaviour advice for your team
Stuck with a tricky individual? Our free first-aid calls give you practical, in-the-moment behaviour advice — up to an hour each month. It’s preventative support: if a case turns out to need a full behaviour consultation, that goes through the animal’s vet on referral, and you’ll get a discounted rate.
Contact us
Get in touch to see how we can support you.
Settle-in resources for your adopters
Rescues who sign up to our network can access our free New Pet Adopter Guide — kind, practical, evidence-based advice on helping a rescue dog or cat settle into a new home. And because settling in sometimes needs a little more, adopters from our partner rescues get 10% off behaviour support with us.
Why partner with Second Nature Behaviour?
We’re a clinical animal behaviour practice led by ABTC-registered Certified Clinical Animal Behaviourists (CCAB). Everything we do is evidence-based and reward-based — never punishment — and we work on veterinary referral, so an animal’s physical health and emotional wellbeing are always considered together. That means kinder outcomes for the animals in your care, and more confident adopters.
Dogs, cats and parrots
We work with dogs, cats and parrots. Parrots are intensely social flock animals, and the upheaval of rehoming can be especially hard on them — so if your centre takes in birds, we can help there too.
Areas we cover
We support rescue centres and rehoming organisations across the West Midlands, with hubs in Birmingham, Coventry, Stoke-on-Trent and Wolverhampton.
FREE pet behaviour resources for your rescue centre
Looking for pet behaviour support for your rescue centre? We can offer:
In-house CPD
Free Behaviour First Aid Calls
Discounts on Our Services for You and Your Adopters
Free Pet Behaviour Resources
20% discounted pet behaviour consultations for rescues
Our pet behaviour consultations with one of our Clinical Animal Behaviourists or Veterinary Behaviourists aim to support you with the behaviour concerns of animals in your care, such as aggression, house soiling or separation issues.
These sessions are held either at your centre or virtually over video call and include ongoing support from our team.
We provide support for different pet species, including dogs, cats and parrots.
Meet our Clinical Animal Behaviourists
Meet some of Second Nature’s animal behaviourists with experience within rescue settings, who provide expert knowledge in a variety of companion animal species.
Zoe Demery, PhD CPsychol ABTC-CAB CCAB
Clinical Animal Behaviourist – Dogs, Cats & Parrots
Zoe founded Second Nature Behaviour in 2015 and has advised local rescues ever since. Her rescue work began training dogs for rehabilitation at the RSPCA in Hong Kong, and she later helped grow a pet behaviour counselling service into a non-profit social enterprise in Shropshire. As a CCAB in dogs, cats and parrots – and the UK's only independently accredited CCAB in parrots – she can support rescues with mixed populations, including surrendered birds that few behaviourists see.
Megan Richardson, BSc (Hons) ABTC-CAB CCAB
Clinical Animal Behaviourist – Dogs & Cats
Megan has worked in boarding and rescue kennels and catteries and volunteered at a wildlife rescue centre, so she knows how kennel life affects behaviour and what helps animals settle. A CCAB for dogs, she supports rescue dogs and cats and their adopters across Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Shropshire, and runs our dog training classes at Keele, where adopters can build everyday skills with their new dog.
Hannah Dawes, BVetMed PGDip ABTC-VB MRCVS
Veterinary Behaviourist
Hannah is a vet behaviourist who has worked in companion animal practice since 2008. For rescues she looks at the medical and behavioural sides together – pain, illness and stress in kennels – and can work with the rescue's vet on whether medication might help an animal cope or settle into a new home.
Elizabeth Hardy, BSc (Hons) PGDip ABTC-CAB
Clinical Animal Behaviourist – Dogs & Cats
Elizabeth started her career working with pets in rescue centre care, then moved into supporting adopters once their animals were home – most of the families she has helped have been through the rehoming process. She is an ABTC-registered Clinical Animal Behaviourist for cats and dogs (APBC-accredited since 2018), and knows first-hand how much the first weeks after adoption matter.
Free CPD sessions for your rescue centre team
Your staff and volunteers are with the animals every day, so a little behaviour knowledge goes a long way. We offer free pet behaviour CPD (continuing professional development) sessions for rescue centre staff — delivered at your centre or online, and tailored to whatever would help your team most.
Popular topics include:
- Reading dog and cat body language, and spotting the early signs of stress
- Keeping kennels and catteries as low-stress as possible
- Supporting animals through the rehoming journey, from intake to settling in
- Helping adopters get those first few weeks right, so adoptions are more likely to last
- Recognising when a behaviour needs a referral, and how that works
Every session is evidence-based and reward-based, and pitched at your team’s level — whether they’re brand-new volunteers or experienced staff. Just tell us what you’d find useful and we’ll build something around it.
What our referring vets say about our clinical animal behaviour services
Ella the vet
Nicki the vet
Zoe has worked absolute miracles on cats, dogs and parrots and given pet owners chance to build a more understanding and deeper relationship with their pets. I have loved seeing clients back with smiles on their faces after implementing Zoe’s instructions in order to manage the issues they have had for a long time.
Behavioural issues are very complex and with a communication barrier from man to animal creating an even more difficult task, a highly qualified behaviourist with lots of experience is absolutely invaluable and for me, Zoe is just that. An invaluable asset to my work as a vet to ensure you can get the best out of your relationship with your family pets.
I will always recommend 100%. Thank you for everything, I look forward to continuing to work with you.
RSPCA Brighton
Thank you for all your help with our 3 feathered residents, Billie, Dave and Alfie. As a charity we are extremely grateful for your generosity and wisdom!
Emma
Bilton Vets
Would highly recommend – Professional service consistently provided in an efficient and compassionate manner. Bilton Veterinary Centre
Emily Parkes
As a vet I have referred multiple cases to Zoe at Second Nature Behaviour, including a family member’s dog. I would highly recommend her, she offers effective practical advice, communicates clearly with vets and clients and provides ongoing support as needed. Thanks to Zoe’s advice the family dog is calmer and happier.
Nicola Dee
Zoe is so knowledgable, patient and caring. The team are worth their weight in gold and have transformed the lives of so many animals (and their owners) by successfully managing an array of complex behavioural issues. I will always recommend Second Nature Behaviour! Thank you for all your hard work.
Nicki Davis
Zoe has worked absolute miracles on cats and dogs and given pet owners chance to build a more understanding and deeper relationship with their pets. I have loved seeing clients back with smiles on their faces after implementing Zoe’s instructions in order to manage the issues they have had for a long time.
Behavioural issues are very complex and with a communication barrier from man to animal creating an even more difficult task, a highly qualified behaviourist with lots of experience is absolutely invaluable and for me, Zoe is just that. An invaluable asset to my work as a vet to ensure you can get the best out of your relationship with your family pets.
I will always recommend 100%. Thank you for everything, I look forward to continuing to work with you.
Contact Us
Get in touch to see how we can support you
FAQ
Have a more general question? Check out our general FAQ.
Prefer to chat things through a bit more?
Contact Us
Give us a buzz by email or phone
0121 299 0188.
Do you charge rescue centres for this?
Not for the first-aid behaviour advice, so long as it does not take up more than one hour of our time each month. The adopter guide and the quarterly updates are all free. If a case needs a full behaviour consultation, we will need to charge for this and request a vet referral first.
What behaviour problems can you help with?
Anything from settling-in worries, fear and reactivity to toileting, separation-related behaviour and more — in dogs, cats and parrots. We work out what’s driving the behaviour and build a kind, practical plan around it.
How does the adopter discount work?
Anyone who adopts from a partner rescue gets a discount on behaviour support — they just need to quote the code in their adopter guide when they book.
Which areas do you cover?
Across the West Midlands, including Birmingham, Coventry, Stoke-on-Trent and Wolverhampton.
Are you covered by insurance?
Second Nature Behaviour and our employees are fully covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance.