Dr Nicola Rooney

Summary

• Welfare state of pet rabbits in the UK and determination of factors affecting most affecting rabbit welfare;
• Hypoglycaemia alert dogs - their value to people living with diabetes;
• Development of indicators of welfare and quality of life for domestic dogs;
• Play behaviour as an indicator of welfare in domestic and captive animals (e.g. dogs, rabbits  and guinea pigs);
• The effects of different types of training method upon the behaviour and welfare of domestic dogs;
• Methods for assessing, and determining of factors affecting the ability of working dogs and their handlers;
• Determination of optimal rearing and housing conditions for companion species;
• The effects of exaggerated anatomical features upon the behaviour and welfare of breeds of domestic dog;
• Dog-dog and dog-human signalling, specifically play signalling and inter-breed differences;
• The effects of tourism upon the behaviour of wild animals.

Biography

Nicola graduated from Leicester University (Hons, 1st class), before completing a PGCE. After studying mink anatomy and diet, (WildCRU, Oxford University), she moved to Southampton University to complete a PhD, entitled “Play Behaviour of the Domestic Dog, and its Effects upon the Dog-Human Relationship”.She has continued to work in the field of human-animal interactions, running many research projects on working dogs: examining selection criteria, determining effects of rearing environment, measuring working ability, and assessing and improving the welfare of specialist search dogs. She’s supervised PhD, MSc and BSc projects, on various aspects of dog welfare, and has conducted research trips to Indonesia, studying and supervising research on rainforest-dwelling primates, and their interactions with humans.

Since 2003, Nicola has worked within the Animal Welfare and Behaviour Group (University of Bristol), and has pursued her interest in wildlife tourism, leading tours to Africa several times per year. She also works as an independent consultant to the RSPCA. She’s helped produce the RSPCA Codes of Practice for the care of both dogs and cats, the RSPCA Performing Animals Guidelines, has coordinated and co-authored an Independent Report entitled “Pedigree dog breeding in the UK: a major welfare concern?” and advises on racing greyhound welfare.

Memberships

Organisations

Farm Animal Science

Research areas

• Animal Welfare and Behaviour

Recent publications

• Rooney, NJ, Morant, S & Guest, C 2012, ‘The value of trained gylcaemia alert dogs to clients with Type I diabetes: a pilot investigation’. Brit Med J.
• Rooney, NJ & , S 2011, ‘Training methods and owner-dog interactions: Links with dog behaviour and learning ability’. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, vol 132., pp. 169-177
• Rooney, NJ & Sargan, D 2010, ‘Welfare concerns associated with pedigree dog breeding in the UK’. Animal Welfare, vol 19., pp. 133-140
• Rooney, N, Sargan, D, Calder, C & Evans, M 2009, ‘Pedigree Dog Breeding in the UK: A major welfare concern?’.
• Rooney, N, Gaines, S, Denham, H & Bradshaw, J 2009, ‘Response to a standardised psychogenic stressor as an indicator of welfare status’. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, vol 4(2)., pp. 77 - 78
• Rooney, N, Gaines, S & Hiby, E 2009, ‘A Practitioner's guide to working dog welfare’. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, vol 4(3)., pp. 127 - 134
• Rooney, N 2009, ‘The welfare of pedigree dogs: Cause for concern’. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, vol 4(5)., pp. 180 - 186
• Rooney, N & Sargan, D 2009, ‘Welfare concerns associated with pedigree dog breeding in the UK’. in: UFAW International Symposium, 22-23 June, University of Bristol, UK.
• Rooney, N, Gaines, S, Denham, H & Bradshaw, J 2009, ‘Response to a standardised psychogenic stressor as an indicator of welfare status’. in: 6th International Working Dog Conference, Ieper, Belgium 12-15 May.
• Rooney, N, Gaines, S, Hiby, E & Bradshaw, J 2009, ‘The welfare of working dogs’. in: 6th International Working Dog Conference, Ieper, Belgium, 12-15 May.

View complete publications list in the University of Bristol publications system