Misbehaviour or Misunderstood? Season 2

Following the overwhelming success of our 2024 series, we’re thrilled to announce the return of Misbehaviour or Misunderstood? – a webinar series exploring the complex world of companion animal behaviour.

Presented by accredited behaviour consultants and veterinary behaviourists, this season continues the conversation: Are we misinterpreting our pets' actions? What truly drives their behaviour? And how can we better support their emotional and behavioural needs?

Webinar 1 - 16 July 7pm

“Managing Recall Gone Rogue”

Maria Alomajan, Certified Dog Behaviour Consultant and Accredited Trainer

This talk explores key milestones in your dog’s development and how each stage can impact their recall. From that magical first moment when your tiny puppy chooses to come to you - and why capturing that choice matters so much - to the sudden shift during adolescence when your once-responsive pup seems to develop selective hearing.

Even with a solid foundation, recall can fall apart. You might have adopted an adult dog with no previous recall training, or a dog who’s had negative associations with being called. Whatever the backstory, Maria offers a clear, structured approach to building (or rebuilding) recall in dogs of any age or stage.

Alongside practical strategies, Maria will also demystify common terminology used in recall training - like competing reinforcers, reinforcement history, and single-event fear learning - so you can better understand what’s really going on when your dog doesn’t come back.   

  • Maria is a Certified Dog Behaviour Consultant and Accredited Trainer (IAABC, CANZ), Fear Free Certified Professional, and author of the book ‘Dogs in Action – Working Dogs and their Stories’. With over 15 years of experience, she has trained and rehabilitated dogs worldwide, from pet puppies to feral and high-risk cases, using force-free, science-based methods.

    Maria was engaged as the dog trainer for the UK production of ‘Annie the Musical’ which was on tour in New Zealand and ‘Legally Blonde - The Musical’. She’s collaborated with Department of Conservation, PD Insurance, and Southern Cross Pet Insurance on national education and safety campaigns. In 2025 Maria has devoted time to sharing her knowledge via free educational talks to the public and the vet industry.

Webinar 2 - 30 july 7pm

“Harmony at Home: Optimising Family Life with Kids and Dogs”

Angela Fletcher

The relationship between babies, toddlers, and dogs requires a significant adjustment for everyone involved. Discover how to ease the transition, reduce stress, and help build a lifelong bond between your child and your dog—ensuring they can live together safely and happily. 

  • Angela has worked as a vet nurse since 1999. She started her behaviour journey in 2003 starting with puppy preschools. She finished her Fear Free training at elite level, then started her qualification in the Delta level IV certificate in animal behaviour.  She has an IAABC-ADT and is a CANZ-accredited animal training instructor. She joined Kiwi Vet Behaviour in 2022 in New Zealand’s first veterinary behaviour referral centre. She now continues to help bridge the veterinary and behaviour world with her training of nurses, vets and pet owners. 

Webinar 3 - 13 August 7pm

“Older Pets: Understanding New Habits and Cognitive Quirks” (cats and dogs)

Dr Jess Beer

Advances in veterinary care mean our pets are living longer, bringing age-related health challenges. This talk covers how to support the physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing of older pets - through early disease detection, pain management, enrichment, and practical tips for improving their vet visits. Learn how to help your ageing dog or cat live a happy, comfortable life.

  • Jess is an accredited veterinary behaviourist and the Founder and Director of Kiwi Vet Behaviour, a team of qualified vets and  trainers who provide compassionate and science-based services including veterinary behaviour consultations, training packages, educational workshops, and classes for dogs of all ages. Jess recently (January 2023) opened the first veterinary behaviour clinic in Auckland, NZ, a facility where companion animals and their guardians can come together with professionals in a safe environment.

Webinar 4 - 27 august 7pm

“Reading Animal Emotions - Short Talks by Leading Experts” (cats, dogs, horses)

Gabriel Lencioni, Britt Florkiewicz, Holly Molinaro  

In this session, three leading experts explore the fascinating world of animal emotions and communication across horses, cats, and dogs.

Our speakers will share practical, science-based strategies to help us recognise emotional cues in horses—enhancing safety, compassion, and connection. We’ll then dive into the complex world of cat communication, uncovering how facial expressions are used to interact with both humans and other cats. Finally, we’ll take a closer look at dog emotions: what science tells us about how dogs feel, and how our own perceptions can shape what we think we see.

Whether you're a pet owner, animal care professional, or simply curious, this webinar offers valuable insights to help you better understand and respond to the emotional lives of animals.

  • Brit is a a comparative and evolutionary psychologist who conducts research on the properties of animal facial signals and their implications for the evolution of sociality, gestural communication, and human language. She is also an applied psychologist conducting research on human-animal interactions to develop training tools and materials that help zookeepers, veterinarians, pet owners, and others provide the best possible care for their animals.

    She works closely with numerous zoos, conservation centers, sanctuaries, shelters, and rescues to conduct non-invasive research through behavioral observation.

  • Holly Molinaro received her B.S. in Biology with a minor in Psychology from Stetson University, where she studied the behavior of pygmy rattlesnakes. After working for Disney’s Animal Kingdom, she graduated with her M.S. in Biology from Sonoma State University. There, she studied social behavior of hamadryas baboons at Oakland Zoo. She received her PhD from Arizona State University where she studied dog emotions and human perception of dog emotions. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post and even Good Morning America. Currently, she is an animal welfare consultant, assisting industry partners on better understanding animal behavior. 

  • Gabriel Lencioni is a Veterinarian and is now pursuing his Ph.D. in the field of animal behavior and welfare at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, under guidance of Prof. Adroaldo Zanella. His research primarily explores the application of artificial intelligence to identify pertinent indicators associated with affective states in horses.
    Gabriel is a Certified Equine Behavior Consultant (CEBC) with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) and a Fear Free Elite Professional for dogs, cats, and horses.

Webinar 5 - 10 September 7pm

“Effective Strategies for Working with Fearful, Shy, or Anxious Dogs”

Debbie Jacobs

If you’ve ever found yourself struggling to help a dog feel safe and be safe in their home, whether it’s a transitional foster home, shelter or forever home, this webinar will provide you with foundational information for getting started and/or increasing your knowledge. In 2005, Debbie brought home Sunny from a 477 dog hoarding site. What she discovered was that most of what she thought she knew about training was either inadequate or wrong when it came to training a fearful, shy, anxious, reactive or aggressive dog. Her journey to find answers led her to the science of behavior that provides us with evidenced based strategies to address challenging behavior and skill deficits in the most vulnerable and at-risk dogs. 

In this webinar you’ll be introduced to principles of behavior that will give you the information you must have to address any behavior challenge effectively and humanely. Learn how you can be part of the chain of caregivers that lead to improvements in a dog’s behavior. Gain insight into why popular games, protocols or methods are safe to use, or should be avoided. 

  • Debbie is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer and has been certified as a Registered Behavior Technician by the Behavior Analysis Certification Board. She is the creator of fearfuldogs.com and author of A Guide To Living With And Training A Fearful Dog.

    Her online course The Essentials of Applied Behavior Analysis for Serious Animal Trainers is available here. She lives in Vermont in the U.S. and routinely offers workshops and seminars at Lemon’s Hope, a domestic farm animal sanctuary. Besides offering in person training for dogs she also offers online consultations for owners, other caregivers, and animal welfare advocates.