Dog Behaviour Problems – Expert Help from Clinical Animal Behaviourists
We see dogs at home across Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton and Stoke-on-Trent, and across the West Midlands, Staffordshire and Shropshire.
Get support from our expert dog behaviourists and dog trainers.
Dog behaviour problems can be stressful and overwhelming for both you and your dog, often affecting daily routines, relationships, and overall well-being. But you don’t have to face this alone.
At Second Nature Behaviour, our experienced dog behaviourists support owners with dog behaviour problems such as aggression and separation anxiety, helping you understand the underlying causes and guiding you towards practical, compassionate solutions that support long-term change.
Our canine behaviourists and dog trainers cover the West Midlands to provide in-person support, including Staffordshire, Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Warwickshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and South Derbyshire. Get in touch today.
Why Choose Us to Support With Dog Behaviour Problems?
At Second Nature, we understand how worrying, frustrating, and sometimes isolating it can feel when your dog is struggling with behaviour problems. You’re not just looking for answers – you want to feel heard, supported, and confident that your dog is in safe, experienced hands. That’s exactly what we aim to provide.
Support for a variety of dog behaviour problems:
We offer dog behaviour consultations for a wide range of dog behaviour issues, from everyday training challenges through to more complex and serious behavioural concerns. Our experienced dog behaviourists regularly support dogs with reactivity to other dogs on walks, nervousness, fears and phobias, and separation-related problems. We also help with common dog training problems such as pulling on the lead, poor recall, and jumping up at people. Every dog and every family is different, so our approach is always tailored to you and your dog’s individual needs.
Qualified behaviourists:
All of our behaviourists are accredited Clinical Animal Behaviourists (CABs) or Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourists (CCABs). This means they have undergone rigorous assessment and have demonstrated the education, knowledge, and hands-on experience required to work ethically and effectively with behaviour cases. You can feel reassured that you are working with qualified professionals who prioritise both your dog’s welfare and your safety.
Accreditation:
Because we are accredited and members of professional organisations such as the Fellowship of Animal Behaviour Clinicians (FABC), and registered with the Animal Behaviour & Training Council (ABTC), many clients are able to claim our fees through their pet insurance, or arrange for their insurer to pay us directly.
In-person support:
We also believe that meaningful change happens through real-world support. That’s why our dog behaviour consultation packages include in-person visits, either in your home for the consultations or out on a walk during a follow-up session. You’ll receive a clear, practical behaviour modification plan, along with a dog training manual and supportive information sheets, so you’re never left wondering what to do next.
Vet-led team:
Finally, we are a vet-led team. Our dog behaviourists work under the guidance of veterinary behaviourists, ensuring that your dog’s physical and emotional health are always considered together. If medical factors may be influencing your dog’s behaviour, our veterinary behaviourists can review your dog’s case and liaise directly with your own vet, giving you truly joined-up, compassionate care.
At Second Nature, we don’t just work with dogs – we support the people who care about them too.
Book a Behaviour Consultation
Get help from one of our animal behaviour experts
Common Dog Behaviour Problems We Support With
Home Visit Dog Behaviour Consultations
Our most popular option is to have a home visit consultation on referral from a veterinary surgeon. You receive a dog training manual and a tailor-made treatment plan, followed by further visits where necessary. At least 6 weeks of remote follow-up support is included.
Prices for our home visit dog behaviour consultations are dependent upon how far you are away from us and who you would like to lead your consultation. You could alternatively come to one of our regional or virtual behaviour clinics with your dog, which is a more affordable, but not as thorough an option. You can book an appointment through our website or contact us if you have further questions.
Invest £840
Get expert help from one of our canine behaviourists.
Or, fancy a 50% discount?
Book a supervised consult to allow a budding behaviourist to lead your consultation under the watchful eye of one of our behaviourists.
Claim on pet insurance
Did you know? You may be able to pay for our pet behaviour services through your pet insurance. We accept direct insurance claims for our pet behaviour consultations through select insurance companies.
Meet Your Dog Behaviourists & Dog Trainers
Our dog trainers and behaviourists help owners with dog behaviour problems across the West Midlands, including Staffordshire, Shropshire, Birmingham and Coventry.
Hannah Dawes
Vet Behaviourist
Hannah is a Veterinary Surgeon who graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2008 and has worked in companion animal general practice ever since. She works part-time at a veterinary surgery in Stourbridge. She has a General Practitioner certificate in Small Animal Medicine and a postgraduate diploma in companion animal behaviour.
Hannah is passionate about improving pets’ mental health, as well as their physical health, and is particularly interested in the effect of medical conditions on behaviour. She is an active Candidate Member of the Fellowship of Animal Behaviour Clinicians. When she is not helping other people with their pets, she is looking after her own dog, “Noodle”.
Zoe Demery
Clinical Animal Behaviourist
Zoe has a doctorate in animal cognition and behaviour, and she is an independently accredited clinical dog behaviourist (CCAB). She is also a Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society, registered with ABTC, and certified by IAABC as a dog behaviour consultant. Zoe is a proud committee member of FAB Clinicians.
Since starting practice in 2012, she has helped hundreds of dogs and their caregivers better understand each other. Zoe also mentors budding dog behaviourists.
Megan Richardson
Clinical Animal Behaviourist
Megan graduated from Harper Adams University with a first class BSc (Hons) degree in Animal Behaviour and Welfare, then grew her busy clinical canine behaviour practice. She has many years of experience and is an independently accredited Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CCAB).
Megan is an active member of various organisations, including FAB Clinicians, APBC and PACT. Last but not least Megan is registered as a CAB and ATI with the ABTC.
What our clients say about our dog behaviour and training 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.
Luke, Harry & Trixie
I have two German Shepherds who are extremely anxious around other dogs. Zoe accompanied me on dog walks to give practical help and advice for challenging situations! She is great at giving tips and tricks, training suggestions and food recommendations for my boys. Not only is Zoe amazing with the dogs but she is a lovely person to work with and made me feel at ease. The best service you can get for a reasonable price.
Thank you Second Nature,
Trixy
Benji, Dawn & Paul
The walks with Zoe, in particular, have provided what we need to stop Benji’s chasing. We know it is going to be a long process for Benji’s problems, but we now know how to go about trying to change the behaviour with consistency. We know that it is fear that is making Benji chase. We would definitely recommend Second Nature and would use you again if required in the future.
Many thanks for your help,
Dawn and Paul
Ted, Rob and Michelle
Really pleased with the outcome and what an enjoyable experience meeting with you – Ted has calmed down a lot now!
It’s great that I can cuddle Rob now without worrying! Ted is much calmer when people visit, but we’re still working on him tolerating strangers approaching me. Nonetheless, on the whole fantastic!
Thank you for all your help!
Michelle & Rob
Gracie
Gracie came to live with us from the Retired Greyhound Trust. Gracie was finding life very difficult as she was incredibly anxious and her inability to sleep through the night, cope with anyone other than us coming to the house and her extreme nervousness on encountering other people on walks was making us doubt if we could keep her. This was extremely upsetting for us as she is a very loving dog. As a result of Gracie’s issues and the stress, it was causing her and us, we were referred to Second NatureBehaviour by our vet.
Zoe visited us at home and spent over three hours observing Gracie and talking with us about our experiences with her. This consultation was very successful and almost over-night enabled us to improve the ways we approached and helped Gracie, through:
Diagnosing Gracie’s condition as generalised anxiety disorder and gaining a full understanding of the implications of this condition;
Working in partnership with our vet to create a clinical as well as a behavioural plan;
Teaching us how to “address” Gracie in order to reduce her stress levels – this technique we were able to share with visitors and had a great calming effect;
Using treats to reward small steps forward that quickly grew into lasting improvements;
Recognising some of Gracie’s stress triggers and developing a regime that reduced them / where possible avoided them; and
A behavioural programme that helped Gracie during stressful times.
Gracie has now been part of our family for 15 months. There is still a lot to be done to continue to help Gracie, but thanks to Zoe’s input, when she is at home with us she is now a happy, playful, confident and very affectionate dog. During walks she is nowhere near as scared of traffic, people, noises as she used to be, and no longer ‘freezes’ as she used to at times.
The coaching we have had from Zoe through the initial visit and follow up has given us confidence that we can, over time, continue the progress Gracie has made so far to help her live an even fuller and happier life.
We would absolutely recommend Zoe to anyone who has an animal struggling with behavioural problems, as the progress we have seen Gracie make is wonderful, and has made our lives much better, too.
Thank you,
Anette and David
Echo
Echo shows nervous aggression whenever people come near him. The overall consultation process has helped us as a family to understand Echo a lot better and why he acts as he does at times. The behaviour plan is always on hand to help us in certain areas with Echo and it works so long as we all stick to it, which we do.
Without Zoe coming to see us and organising a behaviour plan for our border collie, I feel I would have had to rehome him. We still have a long way to go, but we now know Echo and how he reacts in situations and why so we can quickly defuse it.
A wonderful service from Second Nature knowing we can call Zoe at any time is so reassuring. Thank you Second Nature and Zoe – so friendly and understanding!
Thanks for all your help!
Claire
Chip, James & Sarah
Very helpful after the home visit with follow-up emails and other offers of help to ensure we had all the support we needed. Would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a professional behaviourist.
Regards,
James and Sarah
If you are looking for expert advice for your dog’s behaviour problems, contact us to get started.
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