Welcome to Katharine Anderson, our new postgraduate researcher
We're delighted to welcome Katey to our team and to start using SAVSNET data to investigate behavioural complaints in dogs funded by Dogs Trust.
A bit about Katey
I completed a BSc in Bioveterinary Science at University of Lincoln which is where I gained my interest in research. I went on to complete and MRes in canine health, behaviour and welfare in collaboration with the VetCompass team at the Royal Veterinary College! My research interests include all things to do with canine health, behaviour and welfare, in particular the ways in which owners and people may influence this, as well as epidemiology and data analysis!
Since finishing my MRes, I have worked as a researcher at Dogs Trust, working across a variety of projects. Behaviour problems play a crucial role in dog welfare, relinquishments and euthanasia and therefore preventing problem behaviour is a key area of our work and strategy. One key understudied area is the management of canine behaviour problems in veterinary practice. The veterinary clinic has been identified as having an important role to play as a source of credible information on behavioural husbandry, dog behaviour and behavioural medicine. However, there is limited understanding of how vets currently treat and manage dogs with reported behavioural problems. I am therefore conducting this new study in collaboration with SAVSNET, with the aim to understand the behavioural problems dogs are presented to veterinary surgeons for and how these are managed or treated by vets in order to improve the management of canine behavioural problems by veterinary surgeons in general practice.
My interest in helping dogs through research stems from owning many dogs of my own throughout my life, and I am really excited to get the opportunity to study a PhD in canine behaviour. This PhD gives me the opportunity to investigate an important area of dog behaviour, with the outcome of the study enabling us to develop interventions that can make a difference to canine welfare. It also gives me the opportunity to work with a world-renowned research group, as part of the SAVSNET team, and learning & developing my skills further as a researcher in areas such as epidemiology, data science and canine behaviour.