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Life on Four Legs understands how stressful living with a furry friend with problem behaviours can b

21/05/2025

Brilliant night presenting to the lovely vets and nurses of Norfolk on low stress handling and cooperative care. Big thank you to Dr Anna and the team for asking me to talk.

My passion for the topic started when I had an anxious cat of my own 🥰 He had high medical needs and kept the vets , .vets and very busy!

Seby was lucky as he had a brilliant team of vets working with him and I was able to control his environment in a way that he could be safely handled without stress. However, in the wrong environment he would be unhandleable & pretty unsafe for others to handle. This started my passion to make sure every animal had access to the care that Seby did!

02/05/2025

Looking for some free CPD? Come and join me in Norwich, Milton Keynes or Birmingham. I’ll be chatting about one of my absolute fav topic - cooperative care and low stress vet visits. If you can’t make those locations join my brilliant colleagues for dates all around the country!

Big thank you to for asking me to speak.

01/05/2025

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again! Team work makes the dream work. I’m super lucky to work alongside some amazing referring vets - both GP and specialists. Working together we can ensure that we get the best for patients!

I also have a wonderful network of brilliant small business owners and professionals that I work alongside to get the best for my patients. Most of the time we talk shop, but sometimes we get the chance to have a catch up in the ☀️! . (And the lovely Sarah who left before the photo was taken!)

30/04/2025

We adopted Hugo from 18 months ago, when he was withdrawn from training. He’s been my 7 year old’s best friend ever since ❤️

Guide dogs change lives. The trained dogs provide support for those whose sight loss means they need help navigating the world. Their buddy dogs provide emotional support and companionship to children too young for a guide dog. Their rehomed dogs who are unsuitable for training due to medical or behavioural issues provide companionship to so many people (like us!)

There are so many ways you can get involved to help - guide dogs need puppy raisers, homes for breeding dogs, fosters for respite care and homes for the dogs undergoing training. They also need help raising money. sponsors a guide dog puppy each year instead of sending a Christmas cards. Check out their website for ways you can get involved.

26/04/2025

Happy World Vet Day 👩🏼‍⚕️ (almost missed it!)

It seems a bit mad that it was 16 years since I graduated from 🫣 After all these years I’m still incredibly proud of being vet!

Each and every day I get to meet incredible care givers and their fabulous furry companions. The days are sometimes long & it can be stressful (especially when the traffic is bad 😂) but I can honestly say if I had my time again I’d choose the same path (and not sure many 40 year olds in other professions would say the same!)

So here’s so the next 16 (+) years!

31/03/2025

Hi All,

I’ll be out of office from this Friday 4th April. I’ll be overseas for my sister’s wedding with limited (if any) WiFi! I’ll be back in the office on Tuesday 22nd April.

If you need anything sorting before I go, do let me know with plenty of time please! 🙏

Picture of me and Hugo settling down for an afternoon of zooms!

21/03/2025

There is a growing body of evidence that owning a pet such as a dog is associated with better mental health outcomes for children. Dogs often are a non judgemental emotional support for our kids (and us), but their relationships always need careful monitoring.

Dogs are not teddy bears. They can be sore, stressed and need space. Expecting them to put up with anything a child decides to do to them is not OK.

However with careful management, watching a dog and a child grow together is such a rewarding experience ❤️

11/03/2025

Thinking about getting a puppy? Or know someone who is? Here are the top 5 things I’d be looking for as :

1. What breed would fit my lifestyle? Obviously variations occur within individuals of the same breed, but research into what the breed was originally bred for as that will give you some idea of what to except! If you get a dog from a working line, be prepared for what this may entail later on (same goes for cross breeds….)

2. What are the related individuals like? I’d want to meet a few dogs from the line, definitely Mum and ideally Dad too. Are these the kind of dogs that I would want to share my home with?

3. Where are the pups kept and what socialisation will occur before pick up? Remember, the socialisation period starts around 3 weeks. If your pup is being kept in an outbuilding between 3-8 weeks without much going on, think about all that important socialisation that they are missing out on! If you have kids and other animals at home, I’d give bonus points to breeders with similar set ups to your home. Ideally your pup should be gently exposed to new people, noises, surfaces etc before you pick them up.

4. What are the other animals like in the household? As well as meeting the dogs they are related to, it’s important to meet the ones they are spending time with. Puppies will socially learn different behaviours, so are these animals the kind you want your new pup to learn from?

5. What health tests do you perform prior to breeding and why did you choose to breed this bitch? A good breeder should do all the recommended health tests for the breed (the has a list if you search!) and should have an answer as to why they have chosen a bitch to breed from….

Remember, getting a puppy is a huge investment of both time and money. A lot of breeders will have wait lists and it’s worth waiting for the right dog to join the family.

Any other top (behaviour) questions I’ve missed? Add below 👇

28/02/2025

Super proud of my amazing colleague and friend Dr Jen Look what arrived in the post ❤️ She’s put together an amazing puppy resource for vets, trainers and behaviourists to provide to clients. The layout is beautiful and the info fab.

Follow Dr Jen for more info on where to order! (Not sponsored but Jen is a friend who I met when doing my vet behaviour exams 10 years ago!!! 😂❤️)

27/02/2025

Meet Doug the Pug (and his brother Otis who was all in for the treats on offer for a photo!)

I was referred Doug by the lovely Clare with a history of toileting in the house 🏠 I saw him for an initial appointment in November and we formulated a plan for him. Today at the recheck his fab owners reported just three accidents since then - two of which were when he was left a bit longer than he can normally hold on for 🙌 This is a huge improvement from the Pug who frequently toileted in the house when you weren’t watching him ❤️

11/02/2025

Domestic cats have evolved from a solitary species. Now this doesn’t mean they always have to live alone - they can flexibly live with other cats (and other species).

Cats that are bonded will show signs of wanting to spend time together. They will groom each other (relaxed grooming all over the body), sleep together (puddle of cat!) and rub each other to create a group scent.

Cats that aren’t bonded can live together too, one of the keys to creating harmony is to reduce competition. We want the cats to be able to avoid each other if they don’t want to spend time together (happy flat mates!)

One of the ‘pressure’ points we sometimes see are long thin corridors where one cat can sit and ‘block’ access (often passively by staring). A great way to avoid this is to increase 3D space (allowing them to go up and over).

Even if your cats are bonded, providing them with 3D space massively increases their world and ability to perch up high and feel safe. Just look at what my clients yesterday have created - I love it! I feel some DIY coming on at my house…..

30/12/2024

I’ve logged off for the evening and 2024 is now officially a wrap for 👩🏼‍⚕️

It’a been a big year. Personally I’ve had a really good year with family and friends, celebrated a big birthday and sadly said goodbye to my absolute heart cat Henry the Maine C**n 💔

Professionally it’s been another amazing year. I’ve had the pleasure of working with some truly special clients as well as amazing colleagues - vets, nurses, trainers, behaviourists and physios without whom my job would be impossible (you know who you are!)

So here is to 2025…. Can’t wait to see what you bring!

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