A. L. Roshier

Veterinarians' perceptions of behaviour support in small-animal practice.

Veterinarians are professionals considered to be at the forefront of animal welfare, including behaviour medicine. However, concerns raised, both within the profession and without, highlight that the support offered is not optimal, due to deficiencies in veterinary training, which focuses on physical aspects and overlooks psychological aspects. This preliminary study explored the experiences and perceptions of six veterinarians (three male, three female, age range: 23–55 years) in two UK small-animal practices. Seventeen annual booster consultations were videoed and conversations thematically analysed for welfare topics discussed. Both veterinarians and clients completed questionnaires to gather demographic information and perspectives. All veterinarians recognised behaviour as a component of their caseload, and acknowledged that clients expected them to provide behaviour support. Veterinarians varied in their experiences of and confidence in providing behaviour support. Five felt unable to meet client expectations; four did not feel their training had prepared them sufficiently. Only one provided dedicated behaviour consultations, the others referred cases. All provided suggestions for behaviour skills needed for new veterinary graduates. The study has afforded an insight into the experiences of a small opportunistic sample of veterinarians. The data indicated important limitations regarding time available in general consultations to discuss behaviour concerns, and practitioner knowledge and skill in detection, anamnesis, assessment and provision of appropriate behaviour information. Suggestions for veterinary training in behaviour are provided.

A Report on the First International Workshop on Research Methods in Animal-Computer Interaction

Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI) is a new and quickly developing discipline, which is closely related to HCI and is making reference to some of its theoretical frameworks and research methodologies. The first edition of the Workshop on Research Methods in ACI (RM4ACI) was co-located with the Third International Conference on Animal-Computer Interaction, which took place in Milton-Keynes, UK in November 2016. This paper presents an overview of the workshop, including insights from discussions on some of the challenges faced by the ACI community as it works to develop ACI as a discipline, and on important opportunities for cross-fertilization between HCI and ACI that the HCI community could consider.