Emily Blackwell

An established research scientist, teacher and Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist, Emily is the Director of Companion Animal Population Health at Bristol Veterinary School. She leads a programme of research into companion animal behaviour and welfare, including the internationally renowned longitudinal study of feline health and welfare, ‘Bristol Cats Study’. Emily shares the benefits of her work through extensive public engagement, working with pet owning members of the public, charities and regulators. She lectures on the Veterinary Science and Veterinary Nursing programmes at Bristol Vet School and has supervised numerous postgraduate researchers and clinical training scholars during her career, many of whom have gone on to be leaders in the field themselves. As a Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CCAB), Emily combines her research and teaching with clinical work, helping owners to deal with a wide range of problematic behaviours, with particular expertise in the treatment of dogs that become distressed when left home alone. Her applied research informs her clinical work and consultancy and she has published papers on a wide range of subjects, including the development of separation-related behaviours and noise fears in dogs, and the most effective and humane training methods for dogs and the relationship between stress and disease in cats. Emily is passionate about communicating research findings to the general public and has dedicated her career to improving companion animal owners’ understanding of their pet’s behaviour, working both on and off screen on numerous television series across a range of audiences. Emily is proud to have been a member of CCAB Accreditation since 2012, working towards professionalisation of the clinical animal behaviour field via independent accreditation. With 21st Century lifestyles and owner expectations arguably placing more psychological pressure on pet dogs than ever before, Emily feels that enabling vets and owners to obtain advice from appropriately qualified and experienced clinicians is more important than ever