Webinars
Join us for our monthly webinar series in which we hear presentations from leading experts in animal behaviour, human-animal interaction, and animal-assisted services!
Webinars are FREE to SCAS members and £5 plus booking fee to non-members. Please see our event page to register and book your tickets.
Professor James A. Serpell, Emeritus Professor of Animal Welfare, University of Pennsylvania – 24th September, 7-8pm (UK time)
Ethology by Proxy: Using Citizen Science to Study Dog Behaviour
Abstract
Studying the behavior of domestic pets is difficult due to their habit of living in private homes where they are relatively inaccessible to direct behavioral observation. To help overcome this difficulty, we developed the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ), a validated survey instrument originally designed to investigate the frequency and severity of behavior and behavior problems in the dog population by tapping into the knowledge and experience of dog owners and dog handlers. Since its publication in 2003, this survey has found multiple scientific and clinical uses, far more than we could have anticipated when we created it. In this presentation, I will review some of the more fascinating and intriguing discoveries that have been made using this proxy measure of dog behavior.
Professor James A. Serpell
James Serpell is Emeritus Professor of Animal Welfare at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. He received his BSc degree in Zoology from University College London, and his PhD in Animal Behavior from the University of Liverpool, UK. His research focuses on the behavior and welfare of dogs and cats, human attitudes to animals, and the history and psychology of human-animal relationships and interactions. He has published more than 200 articles and book chapters on these and related topics, and is the author, editor, or co-editor of several books including Animals & Human Society: Changing Perspectives (1994), In the Company of Animals (1996), Companion Animals & Us (2000), and The Domestic Dog (2016). In 2003, he created the C-BARQ—currently the world’s most widely used canine behavioral assessment instrument (http://www.cbarq.org), and, many years before that, helped to establish both the Society for Companion Animal Studies (SCAS) and the International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ).
Coming up next
Clare Thomas-Pino, University of Hartpury, UK
Wednesday 5th November 2025, 7-8 pm (UK time):
An Update on the SCAS Code of Practice for Animal Assisted Services
Registrations will open soon.
Anita Franklin, Flinders University, Australia
Wednesday 3rd December 2025, 7-8 pm (UK time):
Unhousing the Norm: Disability, Pets, and the Politics of Home
Registrations will open soon.
Past Webinars
Missed these or any of our past webinars?
The recordings are available to purchase for £5.
Contact us for details at info@scas.org.uk
Phil Arkow, National Link Coalition, USA
Wednesday 2nd July 2025, 7-8 pm (UK time)
The ‘Dark Side’ of the Human-Animal Bond: Animal Abuse, Human Violence, and its Significance for Human-Animal Interactions
Professor Daniel Mills, Animal Behaviour Cognition & Welfare Group, University of Lincoln Wednesday 18th June, 7-8pm (UK time)
Relationships and the Dog-Owner Bond – a psychobiological perspective
**This Special Webinar is FREE to everyone**
Professor Carri Westgarth, University of Liverpool, UK.
Tuesday 13th May 2025, 7-8pm (UK time)
The challenge of “Just Old Age” and the development of the Ageing Canine Toolkit
Watch the recording here.
Jade Statt, Co-Founder & Clinical Director at StreetVet, UK.
Wednesday 30th April 2025, 8.15-9.15 pm (UK time)
StreetVet – Protecting the Human-Animal Bond
Shirin Dhabhar, Founder of Canines Can Care, India.
Wednesday 6th February 2025, 6-7pm (UK time)
How Religious and Cultural Influences Shape Canine Behaviour Work in India
Dr Anindita Bhadra, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, India.
Wednesday 8th January 2025, 6-7pm (UK time)
Dogs and Humans, A Story of Co-existence