The science of helping dogs overcome fear and anxiety

Evidence-based and personalised solutions to solve behavioural problems.

If you want to solve dog behavioural problems, you’ve come to the right place.

We’re Amazing Animal Minds, and we deliver solutions to animal welfare problems that make an impact. We’re experts in ethology, stress physiology, cognition and emotion in animals. Dr. Else Verbeek, the creator of Amazing Animal Minds, is an animal welfare scientist with over 15 years of experience studying animal behaviour.

So whether you’re a dog owner who’s tired of all the misinformation online, and need a personalised solution backed by science for your dog’s behavioural problem, we can help. Or if you’re a professional wanting to increase your knowledge about canine science so that you can help your clients better, we have a solution for you. Let’s make it happen!

Looking for a dog behaviour specialist?

To find out how I can help your dog overcome fear or anxiety, or if you are interested in one of my lectures, fill in the form below and schedule a 30 min free consultation (no obligations) to put together a plan to get you started.

Services for owners:

How can I help you and your dog?

Separation anxiety

This is for you if you get a tummy ache just by thinking you may have to leave your dog for a minute.

Teach your dog to be confortable without you. Get your life back and go do something fun without feeling guilty.

Fears and Phobias

This is for you if you want to help your dog to overcome their fears.

Help your dog overcome their fears in a gentle and loving way, and make lasting changes to their behaviour.

Stress and general anxiety

This is for you if your dog is easily stressed and over-stimulated.

Calm down your dog in any situation. No more feeling embarassed about your dog's behaviour.

What other people say

“I just listened to your seminar and first of all just want to say how very interesting it was and that I am always so impressed when you present because you do it in such a professional way yet manage to make the listener feel a real personal connection to you as an individual (and not just researcher) and your experiences. It's thoroughly enjoyable and you are one of my role models in this area for sure! "

“I really appreciated the effort to bring evidence based knowledge to a field that is so unregulated and suffers from it. Thank you! I hope there is more information that can be given to the different dog owners and clubs in the area."

“I loved the opportunity to ask questions and found her responses to not only be informative and helpful but also encouraging and passionate. Else explained complex behaviours and emotions in an easy to understand and very pedagogical way.”

"Else explained everything so that it was easy to understand. She also used many examples and was engaged with real life situations. Else is very professional but also warm, personal, and passionate. She gave many examples that made it easier to understand how I could help my dog."

"Thank you very much for explaining separation anxiety in a very understandable manner. Your research is light in the tunnel with all these “so called dog trainers” around who most of all seek the money but don't understand the dog."

Services for professionals

Because we should never stop learning.

Lectures

Get the latest knowledge about dog behaviour, emotions, stress, the gut-brain axis and the underlying neuroendocrinology.

If you would like me to organise a lecture for your organisation about dog behaviour and welfare, please contact me.

Workshops

A highly effective and engaging way of getting new knowledge, learning new practical skills and learning from your peers.

If you would like me to organise a workshop for your organisation about dog behaviour and welfare, please contact me.

Science-based support

Specific behavioural problems. Improved data use.

Improve your own skills, and you will be better able to assist your clients. Please contact me and we will discuss your needs.

About me

Hi, I’m Dr. Else Verbeek and I am an animal welfare scientist specializing in behaviour, physiology, anxiety and stress (see my publications).

I also teach animal cognition, affective states (emotions) and animal welfare at Bachelors, MSc and PhD level at the agricultural and veterinary medicine university in Sweden (Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, SLU). For the complete list of my current and previous lectures and courses please see here.

I’ve spent more than 15 years studying animals and applying the latest cognitive and behavioural methods to get a deeper understanding of animal emotions. I believe that being a scientist is the most thrilling profession in the world!

My research is focused on bringing about meaningful change to dogs’ (and their owners’) lives. Unfortunately, scientific advances can take years if not decades to reach the people that need it the most. My mission is to bring you the latest scientific knowledge to help you reach a happy and anxiety free life with your dog.

My ultimate goal is to create a world where no dog has to endure anxiety.

Another unfortunate fact that I’ve found during my research, is that there is a lot of misinformation. A lot of well-intentioned but inaccurate advice can be found all over the internet. The problem is often caused by misinterpretation of scientific results by people with very little to no formal scientific training. This well intended advice can often perpetuate the anxiety problems in dogs and in some cases (such as when aversive training is recommended) lead to worsening conditions for the dog.

To combat misinformation and “quick-fixes” that are bad for dogs, my goal is to interpret the latest scientific literature and provide you with practical advice so that no dog has to unnecessarily suffer from anxiety and stress. My intention is that by making science based solutions easily available and free for all, you can focus on helping your dog starting today, rather than spending weeks trying to interpret complex scientific and technical language to extract solutions to help your dog.

If you’re struggling with your dog’s behaviour, and feel you need more help, book a free 30 min consult to put together a plan to solve your dog’s behavioural problems (no obligations).

Latest dog behaviour articles

Professional and Reliable
Service And Advice

Doctoral degree

Tailor-made solutions

Animal welfare friendly

15 Years Of Experience

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The science of helping dogs overcome fear and anxiety

Evidence-based and personalised solutions to solve behavioural problems.

Looking for a dog behaviour specialist?