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I have a soft spot for Sighthounds.
Just ask my Greyhound Del Boy when he gets extra scratches at night!
Hi! I’m Becca Sommerville, expert sighthound behaviourist, and I have a whole lot of letters that go after my name. Basically, they mean I’m obsessed with sighthounds and that I’ve done a whole lot of training, education, and scientific research to prove it.
Choosing a behaviourist can be tricky because right now, you can legally call yourself an animal behaviourist in the U.K. without proper accreditation but hopefully, that will change soon.
“We thought our nervous, rehomed dog Buddy was hopeless. Thanks to Becca, we turned it all around!”
We were skeptical to hire yet another dog trainer because we’d already spent so much on other “generic” dog trainers who weren’t able to make a difference to Buddy’s extreme anxiety. A few sessions with Becca brought improvements in Buddy’s extreme happiness right away! Easier walks, easier nights, and more peace in the home. Her approach was so tailored to us. Right away we realised she had mountains of knowledge and more importantly to us, a real, practical programme we could follow.”
Sophie - Owner of Buddy, former anxious-pup
If you want to get a deep understanding of your dog’s psyche and see long-lasting changes in their behaviour, then you need to hire someone with serious credibility.
Here are a couple of surprising things I’ve helped my clients do:
- I’ve helped a rescue dog who used to bark at everybody she saw overcome her fear of strangers so much that she now asks them to cuddle her!
- I’ve helped a former-racing greyhound ditch her bad habit of barking at other dogs. Now she runs up to new dogs with her tail wagging to say hello!
- I’ve shown a whippet how to relax and wait quietly on the sofa for their owners to return. This same whippet used to howl and bark as soon as their owners left the house, causing deep distress in their home. Within a few weeks, the issue had drastically improved.
And here is a list of my credentials:
- BSc in Animal Behaviour
- MSc in Applied Animal Behaviour & Animal Welfare
- Postgraduate module in Clinical Procedures
-
Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CCAB)
by the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour -
Publications in Royal Society Biology Letters, PLoS ONE, Animals, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Animal Welfare, Journal of Veterinary Behavior Clinical Applied Research
- My Dissertation >> Sommerville, R. Play and attachment in future guide dogs (Canis Familiaris). 2012. The University of Edinburgh, MSc dissertation.
- Volunteer, Dog walker at Wimbledon Greyhound Welfare
- Trustee, The Humane League UK
- Trustee, The International Society for Applied Ethology 2016-2020
- Former Behaviourist & welfare advisor for 3 leading international charities, including Dogs Trust
- Fully certified member of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors, Fellowship of Animal Behaviour Clinicians & Animal Behaviour and Training Council
Some fun facts about me & my work:
- I grew up with labradors who had a particularly funny habit of sneaking out of the house & taking themselves for mischievous walks around our village. (Thankfully, they’d always come back on their own!) I’ve loved dogs all my life.
- Before I worked with sighthounds, I worked with farmers. Once I visited a herd of Jersey cows who had bonded with their farmer so strongly that they would frequently “ask” him and his wife for scratches behind the ears! As a greyhound owner, I’m very familiar.
- I’m deeply passionate about rescues and animal welfare. My dream is that one day, every dog on Earth has a loving home and we no longer need to rescue dogs because they’re all taken care of, loved, and understood.
- I used my own expertise to slowly coax my dog Del Boy out of his general anxiety. I adopted him after he retired from his racing career, and although he was a tricky one at first, he now happily rides the tube, stretches out on the floor, takes up the whole carriage, and only slightly smooshes the other passengers.
This is my life’s work and passion. Please don’t hesitate to reach out and book a call regardless of your situation or budget. I’m here to help.
