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Veterinary behaviour specialist Dr Sally Nixon wants more vets to recognise when behavioural problems are signs of deeper emotional, physiological, or medical issues. By Shane Conroy
Cases involving significant changes in behaviour are often first seen in general practice, where they can receive further investigation and appropriate care. However, some animals face delays in receiving treatment that would vastly improve their welfare and prevent serious behavioural deterioration.
That is the message Dr Sally Nixon wants more veterinarians to hear. She says behaviour problems in animals can be signs of underlying anxiety, fear, pain, illness, or chronic stress. When those cases are not recognised early, patients can spend months or years without the right care.
Behavioural medicine is complex and Dr Nixon believes the undergraduate veterinary curriculum does not provide the education needed for vets to feel confident with behaviour cases or to recognise when referral to a specialist is needed.
“Compounding the problem is that anyone with some knowledge of animal behaviour can look like they know quite a lot, so it is difficult for the general practice veterinarian to know who to listen to for their information,” she explains.
A veterinary behaviour specialist is much more than a trainer with additional qualifications. The role is closer to psychiatry for animals. It brings together veterinary medicine, emotional health, pain, physiology, medication, environmental management, and behaviour modification.
Dr Nixon is one of only five Australian specialists in veterinary behaviour. She is a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists in Veterinary Behaviour, a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists, and owner of Animal Progress, a veterinary behaviour practice providing in-depth behavioural assessments and treatment plans for complex cases.
She wants veterinary teams to recognise that behaviour is part of the health assessment, and how delays in care can make treatment harder.
In general practice, recommendations for the investigation and treatment of behaviour problems should be made early. For some cases, referral to a veterinary behaviour specialist should be offered.
Dr Sally Nixon, owner, Animal Progress
“When behaviour problems are treated as training issues or left to resolve on their own, they often become more entrenched and harder to treat,” she says. “In general practice, recommendations for the investigation and treatment of behaviour problems should be made early. For some cases, referral to a veterinary behaviour specialist should be offered.”
Experience builds understanding
Dr Nixon’s path into behavioural medicine began with a broad grounding in veterinary life.
Born in Melbourne and raised in western Victoria, animals were always part of her world.
After graduating from the University of Melbourne in 2000, Dr Nixon worked in mixed general practice in South Australia before locuming around Australia. She later volunteered overseas, helping dogs in the Cook Islands, colobus and vervet monkeys in Kenya, and street dogs in India.
That breadth of experience shapes how she approaches behavioural medicine today. She knows that understanding the complex environment around the animal is just as important as understanding the animal itself.
“The patient is never assessed in isolation,” she says. “You’re always looking at the whole picture. Families might be exhausted, worried, divided, or overwhelmed at the same time as trying to manage the animal’s behaviour. All of that affects what is possible and what will actually work.”
Dr Nixon’s professional turning point came after she heard veterinary behaviour pioneer Dr Kersti Seksel speak early in her career. Later, while working in the UK, Dr Nixon attended a behavioural medicine course in Luxembourg. It changed the way she understood cases that had previously seemed puzzling.
“It was mind-blowing to me,” she says. “It opened my eyes to things I had no idea about because we hadn’t learnt them in our undergraduate degree.”
She later completed postgraduate study through the University of Sydney’s Centre for Veterinary Education, passed ANZCVS membership exams in 2013, began her residency in 2019, and passed both her ANZCVS Fellowship and American Boards exams in 2025.
The truth about training
One of Dr Nixon’s central concerns is the assumption that behaviour problems belong with trainers. That does not mean trainers have no role. She believes good trainers can be valuable, especially when they use science-based, positive reinforcement methods and work collaboratively with veterinary teams.
“However, a dog trainer does not have knowledge of pathology, how pain works on the system, or the role medication can play in treating behavioural issues,” she explains.
In contrast, Dr Nixon says general practice vets and veterinary behaviour specialists are on the same medical pathway. Both should be considering the animal’s emotional and physiological state, environment, history, pain, illness, stressors, and the family’s ability to manage the plan.
“The general practice vet and the veterinary behaviour specialist are dealing with underlying emotional or physiological problems,” she says. “We’re considering how the animal is perceiving its situation and how it is responding to that.”
A trainer may help teach a dog an alternative behaviour, support muzzle training, develop consent-based behaviours, or help a patient learn to station for veterinary care. In the right case, that work can be an important part of the plan.
But Dr Nixon says the plan still needs veterinary oversight. Dog training is unregulated. Some trainers are excellent, while others may use outdated or harmful methods. The vet needs to know who is involved, what methods are being used, and whether the patient is progressing or becoming more distressed.
“Some dog trainers are absolutely excellent,” she says. “But because they are not vets, they don’t understand if there is pathology, illness, or pain underlying the problem.”
Collaboration is key
For Dr Nixon, age is one of the clearest referral flags. Very young animals with significant behaviour problems should be offered referral early. Waiting can allow fear, anxiety, aggression, or repetitive patterns to become more established.
Behavioural medicine is not simply about stopping unwanted behaviour. It is about understanding how the animal experiences the world, then treating behaviour as part of overall health. When we recognise behaviour as medicine, we give our patients the best chance at a better life.
Dr Sally Nixon, owner, Animal Progress
Other red flags for referral include aggression within the home, especially where people or other animals may be at risk; separation anxiety where destruction or distress is damaging the human-animal bond; chewing and swallowing objects; repetitive behaviours such as tail chasing; and self-mutilation.
Dr Nixon would also like to see animals with problems related to noises or storms receiving treatment. Clients may dismiss these problems as normal and so not mention them to their general practice vet.
“A dog that shakes, drools, hides or paces through storms is not simply disliking bad weather,” she says. “They’re terrified, and they likely need treatment.”
Running two-and-a-half to three-hour specialist behavioural consults at Animal Progress gives Dr Nixon the extended diagnostic time many cases require. As part of these appointments, she allows time to observe how the animal enters the room, explores, responds, and—critically—the more natural choices it displays once settled. She also assesses the behavioural impact of chronic pain, anxiety, stress physiology, or environmental triggers.
But she emphasises that referral does not mean handing the case over entirely.
She works alongside the primary veterinarian who investigates and treats the physical health conditions. She also supports the general practice veterinarian when they need help with their own cases, helping them formulate their treatment plan. “It’s really about collaboration,” she says. “We work together, so that the patient can receive the best possible care.
“Behavioural medicine is not simply about stopping unwanted behaviour. It is about understanding how the animal experiences the world, then treating behaviour as part of overall health. When we recognise behaviour as medicine, we give our patients the best chance at a better life.”
