A clinical animal behaviour counsellor is on a mission to help fearful and anxious dogs lead a less stressful life.

Caroline Clark first thought about how she could help dogs during the Covid 19 pandemic when it was predicted that there would be a rise in anxious puppies due to the related lockdowns and subsequent disruption to their socialisation.

Following on from that, the 2022 PDSA Animal Well-being Report (PAW Report) revealed that over one million dogs were showing stress when left alone and over two million exhibited fearful behaviours.

Caroline, a registered veterinary nurse (RVN) with over forty years of experience working with and helping pets, said: “ My keenness to write about this topic stems primarily from the work I do as a clinical animal behaviourist.

I routinely see a wide range of pet behaviour problems, yet the most common underlying emotions driving these cases are fear and anxiety.

In the dog this can manifest in a number of different ways including aggression, heightened reactivity and separation anxiety, all of which heavily compromise their welfare and put strain on the owner-dog relationship.

Caroline,who lives on a small holding in the North Yorkshire Wolds where she shares her life with her dog, two cats and horse, added: "Being able to reach out and share my experience and successes through writing this book seemed like an opportunity I couldn’t miss!

"As well as offering help for dogs that don't cope with being left home alone, other fear-related behaviour problems tackled in the book include fear of noises, going to the vets and reactivity towards other dogs and people. "

Caroline, added: "The specific challenges throughout the festive season are always particularly stressful for anxious dogs and their owners – therefore having the book launched now has come at a really good time”

Caroline's book: Fear and Anxiety in Dogs published by Crowood Press, is widely available at all good bookstores including Kemps General Store in Malton where she will be visiting early in the New year as part of her book tour. For details visit: https://www.kempsgeneralstore.co.uk/pages/events

Caroline’s other passion is feline behaviour and welfare and she is currently working on her second book: Demystifying Feline Behaviour, due to be published in late 2023.

She is a registered clinical animal behaviour counsellor achieving her post graduate diploma in companion animal behaviour counselling at Southampton University in 2006, where she studied under some of the world’s leading authorities in the field.