Behavioural referral services for dogs and their families
in and around Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire & Hertfordshire.
Remote services available nationwide. ​​​​​
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Why choose Veterinary Behaviour Support?
The fact you have found yourself here, reading this, means it is very likely that you feel in need of help. Are you struggling to cope with your pet's behaviour? Maybe you simply cannot understand why it is happening, or how you can help them?
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If you are looking for help from someone well qualified, experienced and supportive, you are in the right place. I am here to help your human and animal family live together happily and safely, to ensure your pet can live their best life and finally help you understand why they behave the way they do. It won't be a quick fix, there will likely be ups and downs along the way, but you can be reassured that you will be supported throughout our time working together.
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I am not in the business of telling you what you have to do, unless there is a genuine welfare or safety concern. Instead my aim is to help you make informed decisions about what is right for you and your pet. To change an animal's behaviour, the first step is often changing the behaviour of the people around them. To do that I need to understand your beliefs, family dynamics and environment just as much as I need to learn about your pet. The advice you receive will be truly unique and personalised.
I am lucky to have developed a huge breadth of experience working with people and animals from many different walks of life and cultural backgrounds during my time in veterinary practice and the charity sector. Regardless of your views or previous choices you will be treated with respect and compassion, as will your pet. My aim is to help you regain your confidence, enjoy spending time with your pet again and build a strong and meaningful bond with them. I want to give you the tools to be able to continue your journey independently when you are ready.
Your pet won't be disappointed with your choice either... I firmly believe in force free, fear free methods, rooted in up to date scientific research. Each animal will be respected as an individual and have their welfare carefully addressed; ensuring their physiological, emotional and behavioural needs are met throughout the behavioural modification process.
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We now have Leigh-Ann on board to provide 1-2-1 training support. She is working towards her ABTC Animal Behaviour Technician qualification and is already a skilled and experienced trainer.
Leigh-Ann started her training career working with zoo animals, before taking on a behaviour and training role at a large dog charity nearly 5 years ago. We have worked together before, and have a very similar approach and style.
Sophie White
BVetMed MSc MRCVS
- ABTC registered Veterinary Behaviourist
- ABTC registered Clinical Animal Behaviourist
- Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
- Full member of the APBC
- Member of TCBTC
Areas of specialist interest:
Human directed aggression, handling issues & cases with complex medical histories.
Hello, I'm Sophie. I am a veterinary surgeon with over a decade of clinical experience, and the founder of Veterinary Behaviour Support.
Why am I here, not still in general practice?
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Well, it just sort of happened... in first opinion practice I had a keen interest in chronic pain management and undertook extra training in acupuncture and soft tissue massage. It became apparent that my patients' pain was impacting more than just how they moved, it was impacting how they felt and how they behaved too.
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I also spent a lot of time crawling about on the floor offering everyone squeezy cheese. Over time I acquired a growing list of clients who specifically wanted me to see their pet because of my willingness to accommodate their preferences and try to minimise their stress.
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By this point I was already becoming increasingly interested in behaviour, but the final piece of the puzzle came in the shape of Teddy, our second rescue dog. Ted arrived, all cute and bouncy and full of adolescent attitude. It became quickly apparent that he had some big feelings about a lot of things and wasn't one to keep his opinions to himself. I was out of my depth! Thankfully a wonderful dog trainer took me under his wing and pointed me in the right direction. I started learning to help Teddy, and quickly realised I should be learning for all my patients too!
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From there my passion grew, a Masters Degree followed, then a year working in the Behaviour Team at Dogs Trust. I knew that in the end I wanted to bring all of this together to provide high quality veterinary care to as many pets as possible, helping them and their people through whatever behavioural challenges they faced.
Leigh-Ann Bedding
Dog Trainer & Client Coach
Areas of specialist interest:
Cooperative care and handling issues
Hello, I'm Leigh-Ann. I joined VBS full time in September '24. I have just completed a Level 5 Advanced Diploma Applied Animal Behaviour which will allow me to progress to soon achieve the ABTC Animal Behaviour Technician accreditation.
I have worked with animals for over 12 years with a huge range of species from dogs to macaws to rhinos. My interest in animal training and behaviour started as a child joining my Gran in dog training classes. This led to studying animal management when I left school.
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I spent the first 7 years of my career working for the Zoological Society of London. Throughout my time working with wild animals there was a huge focus across the industry on cooperative care and husbandry training. I spent a lot of time training the animals under my care for veterinary procedures, hoof care, claw clipping and beak trimming. This opened my eyes to how different things could be for our own dogs when they need veterinary care and grooming.
I adopted my own dogs and fostered many greyhounds over a few years and my interest in dog rescue and behaviour increased. This led me to Dogs Trust where I met and worked with Sophie. I started as a dog trainer and worked up to Training and Behaviour Advisor in the 4 years I spent there. This position allowed me to build my training and behaviour knowledge. Bringing my knowledge and experience of working with dangerous wild animals allowed me to bring some totally different ideas for training the dogs in our care. But like most who work in rescue, I wanted to do more to help before the dogs ended up in kennels. This is what brought me to work with Sophie and help better the lives of the dogs in our homes, helping family stay together, safely and happily.