Linda Ryan: Inspiring Pet Teaching - Cat & Dog Behaviourist & Trainer

19/04/2026

On Friday, we said goodbye to our darling Evie - we are heartbroken 💔

She was the most amazing friend, beautiful inside and out - so sparkly, cheeky, clever, independent, brave, and joyful. She was an incredible teacher, & such an inspiration.

We were so blessed to have been her people, & to be the lucky ones to share her life & love her 💝

We have unashamedly thrown ourselves into loving her from the day we met her - she has been the centre of our world, the honey of our hearts 🥹

What an adventure we had! We lived a wonderful life together, & every day was a good day with her by our sides. She led an empowered life, full of choice and control, fun, love, learning, respect, and so much more. We told her how much we loved her so many times every day 🥹

Being her “plus one” has been the honour of my life. I always joked that no one knew what I looked like from the knees up because all eyes were always on her! She stole the show, she was loved by so many, & has created such a legacy 💖

11.5 years have gone by in a flash… We are so sad that she is no longer with us, that we will not get to love her into her old age (this was not what we agreed 😢), and that our life together has come to an end…

Thank you Evie. We will cherish you, celebrate you, miss you & be grateful for you forever 🧡

For work stuff, please be patient with me - I will be with you when I can… thanks for your understanding.

31/03/2026

🗣️ I am really looking forward to the in Wales in June 😻

💖 I am always delighted & honoured to be part of International Cat Care projects & events, & am grateful to be speaking! 😸

🥺 Due to our current situation with our beloved Evie, I have been very selective about which in-person CPD events & invitations I commit to, but this is one I would not want to miss! It’s always a brilliant conference, with an amazing & inclusive atmosphere, & incredible speakers & CPD 💪🏻 💚

🩺 This year I am presenting two lectures in the respiratory & cardio streams alongside the wonderful Sarah Caney, & am really enjoying this collaboration - bringing physical & mental wellbeing together in caring for our feline patients 🤝

Who else is going? Who will I see there?

Very much looking forward to catching up with friends, making new ones, networking & learning lots 🤓

18/03/2026

The shiny new 2nd Ed of the Vet Nurses’ internal medicine “bible” is out!
I am excited and honoured to have been part of it, particularly in bringing the importance of consideration for the mental well-being & behaviour of our patients in practice as we care for them - it is such a passion of mine, and wonderful to see that this has reached the “mainstream“ and will help to form a cornerstone of best-practice veterinary nursing care 💚 💪🏻 🐾
Congratulations & thanks to for facilitating, coordinating and making this happen! A huge achievement from all involved 🥳
I am looking forward to diving in and reading all of the new and updated content 📕 🤓

29/01/2026

🙀 Goodness – it’s almost Feb, & I have been barely present here! (TBH, I’m never all that fantastic on socials…! 😹)

🌀 The end of 2025 was BUSY, but the last half of the year was also quite sad & stressful as my beloved Evie has not been right 🥺

🤓 I like my social media to be filled with useful content to support, educate, & augment pets’ welfare 🐾 I rarely post about personal stuff… 🫣

Outside work, which I love & am privileged to do - every spare scrap of mental energy & emotion has been taken up with worrying about & caring for Evie ❤️‍🩹

🧡 I know many who follow me here have known & loved her – either in person or from afar - she is a special one 💝

🏥 For the last 18+ months, we have been trying to work out what is wrong with Evie - it was clear something wasn’t right, & she was getting worse. The signs we were seeing were physical, cognitive & emotional, waxing & waning, & we did not know if she was ill, in pain, or what? 🤷🏻‍♀️ It took us a while to find the care team who really listened to & heard us, & thought about her in a whole-dog way. It has been a lesson in advocating for your pet & never settling…

💚 Balancing diagnostics with what she would choose, & doing everything in as individualised, dog-centric way as possible was challenging. After extensive investigations, because her presenting signs were not obvious, we have diagnosed her with cognitive dysfunction (CDS): canine dementia 💔

😢 I find this heartbreaking – her bright, beautiful, clever, brave, creative little brain - the mind that has been such an extraordinary part of our 11 years together - is changing, & the darling girl I have known & loved is fading out 😶‍🌫️

We are grieving the loss of who she was, & coming to terms with how she is now… It is really tough 😔

💝 We are making the most of every little joyful moment, & life is revolving around her!

So, I’m here. Please bear with me 🙏🏻 I am going to try and be better at social media & be more present…! And, needless to say, you can expect content related to supporting the physical & mental needs of our beloved older pets 💪🏻 🐾

➡️ For now, please enjoy her gorgeous little old lady recall! She’s still got it! 😉

08/01/2026

19/12/2025

🤶🏻 To all of my friends, clients, veterinary, training and behaviour colleagues and students, my social media followers, and – most importantly – the pets we love - I wish you all a very happy festive season, Merry Christmas 🎄 (to those who celebrate it), and all the very best for 2026 🥳

👏🏻 Thank you to all of you I have worked with over 2025 for continuing to fuel the passion for what I do & how I do it, and for trusting me to be part of yours/your pet’s learning journey 💖 Your continued support is so appreciated!

It’s been a busy year, so I am now stepping away from work for a long and much-needed break – see you on the other side! ➡️

(Thank you to our wonderful friends at International Cat Care for the gorgeous Christmas e-card, and for everything they do for cats and the people that care for them 💪🏻 😻)

08/08/2025

😻 Happy International Cat Day! 🎉

(😸 Although, of course, every day is a day to celebrate cats! 💝)

🤗 Our wonderful friends at International Cat Care , who do so much to advocate for & educate on cat welfare, are custodians of & their theme for 2025 is all about “being cat friendly every day”❣️

💡 This theme explores individualising ways to meet the social & physical environmental & care/health needs of all cats, no matter what their circumstances or lifestyle, to offer great wellbeing for cats 😺

🏡 I thought I would share just a few of the MANY ways we are cat friendly to support Olive’s wellbeing every day 😻

🖤🧡 Olive is a human-social pet cat, who lives with us in our home, & is adored. She is a senior lady now, & so we tailor how we support her as her needs evolve 🫶🏻

💭 As a baseline, we ensure that she always has free & immediate physical & emotional access to safe places, multiple & separated resources, opportunities to predate and play, & plenty of cuddles – which she loves! We aim for the home environment to be respectful of her amazing senses, including sight, sound & especially smell 👃🏻
✅ We have introduced ramps & steps to allow easier access now that she is older, & have large, low-sided litter trays with soft litter, as well as raising her food & water bowls 👍🏻

🐱 Here you can see some specific examples -
👉🏻 A large, warm comfy floor-level bed, which happens to be her cat carrier! 🧺
👉🏻 Double whammy - her carrier is an accessible bed, but we have also trained for it to be a safe place, making vet visits & travel better! 💚
👉🏻 Opportunity to deposit scent in places which are important to her – please don’t clean up those greasy little marks at nose height!
👉🏻 Easy access to high places where she can comfortably perch & surveil (& be safe & in the right in a busy kitchen!)
👉🏻 Access to outside; cover to see, but not be seen; & steps to make access easy 🪜
💓 And SO much more… 😊

🤔 Do you have cats in your care? How do you individualise what you do to give them great wellbeing? And how will you be celebrating cats for ❓👇🏻

04/08/2025

🥳 Today we are celebrating 11 years of our beloved Evie in our lives! 🎉💝🥰

🥹 We love her more & more, & we are so grateful & happy to share our lives with this amazing friend❣️ 🧡🤍

🕰️ ❤️‍🩹 Time takes its inevitable toll on her little body, but we are privileged to care for her into senior years, & have the best team around us - supporting her in the most Evie-centric way 💚💪🏻

😘 HAPPY GOTCHA DAY my darling! Here’s to many more happy days & years together 🤞🏻🤗

🚶🏻‍♀️🌧️ 🥂 A lovely pub walk for my girl today - her fav 😊 🐾

31/07/2025

💔 Goodness, I feel sad & mad when I see dogs & their caregivers who've been through the hands of "balanced" trainers 😡

😔 Yesterday, I worked with a gorgeous young dog who's struggling in various situations, inc. around people & dogs, & has situational fears, esp. around loud noises 💥

🐶 Her caregivers love her but are so distressed, & the advice they've received from unqualified aversive “trainers” has been very harmful, likely contributing to the current issues 🥺

❌ From puppyhood, they’d been advised to:
* Yank their puppy back if she approached someone (to the point she was injured once! 😖)
* Set up scary & noisy "b***y traps" to frighten her if she did something "wrong"
* Shake loud metallic objects near her for unwanted (normal puppy) behaviours
* Ignore her for long periods
* Withhold food & WATER
* Confine her, distressed & screaming, to a crate overnight for weeks
* Use punitive equipment 😣

⁉️ It’s unsurprising that this poor dog has issues with people approaching her & is sensitive to sound 😠

❗️Not only does aversive training damage emotional wellbeing & the human-animal bond, it causes trauma, & it’s completely unnecessary!

👎🏻 It’s so sad that people, in good faith, pay their money, follow advice, & subject their dogs to abuse…..

📢 We have compassionate, science-based positive reinforcement methods to set people & pets up for success! These problems don't have to happen & can be helped!

🤷🏻‍♀️ How, in 2025, is this still happening?!

💪🏻 Protect your pup! Advocate for them! 🐶

📖 Please do your research! 🕵️‍♀️ ✅ Make sure anyone you work with is properly qualified, experienced, & voluntarily regulated by a reputable, ethical professional body. Ask questions. If trainers use aversives, &/or are not shouting about their positive reinforcement credentials, be concerned… 😱

💡 And hire the right pro: trainers for training, & clinical behaviourists for anything other than “normal”, ensuring they collaborate with your Vet team & ask for a referral.

👿 It's the Wild West out there – please be careful people!

💡 PLEASE just say NO to harmful animal training practices 🐾 Choose positive reinforcement & compassionate teaching ❤️

19/07/2025

🐾 It’s the weekend 🥳

😻Olive says - ENJOY! 😉 🧡🖤