Panel Discussion with Trish McMillan, Dr Helen Howell, and Daniel Shaw

In this session, Trish, Helen, and Daniel will discuss difficulties surrounding the assessment of aggressive behaviour in different contexts, such as rescue, legal work, foster and adoption assessments, and in behaviour consultations.

We will discuss some key issues including;

  • How to stay safe when assessing unfamilliar dogs
  • Issues around temperament tests
  • The risk of false positives (and false negatives)
  • When behavioural euthanasia is a consideration for aggressive dogs
  • How best to learn about the behaviour profile of an unfamiliar dog

Meet your Instructors

Trish McMillan

Trish McMillan is an internationally-known speaker and consultant on animal behavior and sheltering, who consults and lectures worldwide on animal behavior, sheltering issues, and defensive handling. She holds a master of science degree in animal behavior, and is a certified professional dog trainer who works with horses and cats as well. She wrote the defensive handling portion of the ASPCA’s textbook “Animal Behavior for Shelter Veterinarians and Staff”. Trish worked for the ASPCA for nearly 8 years and now has a behavior and shelter consulting business near Asheville, North Carolina Trish runs a popular online shelter dog and cat behavior mentorships and other courses through Shelter Behavior Hub, and is one of the founders of the behavioral euthanasia grief support group, “Losing Lulu.”

Dr Helen Howell BSc (Hons), ACDBC

Helen is a forensic behaviourist, researcher and leading UK expert witness. A former police detective with 16 years police service Helen, following her retirement from the police, pursued a career in behaviour. She graduated with a first-class honours degree in canine behaviour and management and is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Lincoln where her subject of research is the risk of human directed aggression in dogs. Helen has worked with dogs all over the world including street dogs in Sri Lanka and India, game bred pit bull terriers in the United States and Spanish hunting dogs at the Galgos del Sol Rescue in Spain. Helen is one of the UK’s leading expert witnesses providing expert evidence in respect of both breed type and behaviour for dangerous dog and personal injury cases across the country, including cases involving life changing injury and fatality. Helen has presented her opinion in Parliament regarding the dog bite crisis in the UK and the welfare of seized dogs, she delivers training for police officers regarding canine welfare and is a guest lecturer at a number of universities.

Daniel Shaw BSc (Hons), MSc, CDBC

Daniel Shaw MSc CDBC is an animal behaviourist with expertise in psychology, animal behaviour, and neuroscience. As the owner of Animal Behaviour Kent (ABK), he supports dogs and cats with behavioural challenges, provides expert witness assessments for legal cases under the Dangerous Dogs Act, and has contributed to Parliamentary discussions on dog bite reform. With a master’s degree in neuroscience, Daniel combines research with practical applications and has been featured on BBC Southeast Today, TalkTV, and LBC News. He teaches internationally on a range of topics, including aggression, frustration, and trauma in dogs, helping professionals enhance their understanding and approach to complex cases. Daniel also organizes the annual ABK Dog Behaviour Conference and runs ABK Learn, a platform offering science-based education in animal behaviour, training, and neuroscience.