The 25-year-old received the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Undergraduate Research due to her dissertation, which offers fresh insights into this increasingly common behavioural challenge.

Inspired by her lifelong love of dogs and early experiences with her own pet, Velvet, Natasha’s research addresses the rise in separation-related behaviours since the COVID-19 lockdowns – a trend that continues to affect countless pets and owners.

Natasha, from Disley in Stockport, pursued her BSc (Hons) in Animal Management (Behaviour) at UCR with a focus on separation anxiety, hoping to contribute practical strategies to help anxious dogs and their families. She dedicated months to recruiting participants willing to film their dogs’ reactions when left alone and tested techniques for calming pets remotely.

Her study revealed a subtle but intriguing insight: while there was no statistically significant difference in the time dogs spent on various behaviours when receiving interaction versus no interaction from their owners, there was a slight increase in specific activities like exploration, locomotion, and jumping when the dogs heard their owner’s voice. This shift in behaviour suggested that dogs were potentially more active and engaged when receiving some form of interaction, even if only audibly.

“I wanted to carry out a dissertation project that could make a difference to the lives of pets and owners that are still experiencing the after-effects of lockdown,” she explains, sharing that her goal was to support both dogs and their owners through this common issue.

Conducting her research required Natasha to recruit participants who would meet specific criteria and provide video footage of their pets during episodes of separation. Though ethical guidelines meant she could not include dogs already diagnosed with separation-related anxiety, she was able to observe a wide array of behaviours in the dogs studied, including exploration, howling, barking, whining, sleeping, tail wagging, grooming, and play.

A particularly surprising finding from her research was that dogs engaged in more exploratory behaviours, on average, when they could hear their owners speaking to them, compared to when they were left in silence. While the difference wasn’t statistically significant, this trend provided a fascinating hint at how owner interaction—even indirectly—could impact dog behaviour when they’re left alone.

“Through persistence and determination, after months of posting about my project, I managed to recruit a sample of participants which allowed my study to go ahead!” she explained. 

Her hard work ultimately paid off, and her dedication to thorough and ethical research led her to achieve an impressive 84% on her dissertation.

Reflecting on the academic journey, Natasha expressed how her research process helped her grow professionally and personally. “Carrying out this research project helped me to understand what I am capable of through my dedicated, hard work,” she said.