Dr ORLA DOHERTY

BUSINESS OPENING HOURS

MONDAY TO THURSDAY 9:30AM TO 4PM

Email: info@animalbehaviourclinic.ie



The animal behaviour clinic was founded by Dr Orla Doherty. Orla qualified as a Veterinary Surgeon from UCD in 1992 and completed a Master’s Degree in Animal Behaviour and Welfare at Edinburgh University in 1993. She subsequently carried out further research and study into animal behaviour and learning at Edinburgh University and also at Cornell University, New York and Auburn University, Alabama in the US. Orla founded the Animal Behaviour Clinic in 1994, while initially also continuing to work in general veterinary practice. Since 1994, she has been treating behaviour problems in animals throughout the country. Orla is an Associate Lecturer in Animal Behaviour in the Veterinary College at University College Dublin and lectured in the University of Limerick until 2016.

She delivers regular presentations to groups of Veterinary Surgeons on the treatment of behaviour problems and on the latest research findings within this area. In addition, a core part of Orla’s work involves consultations with individual pet owners on a one-to-one basis. She has worked with horse owners and riders at clinics in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Canada, and has organised equine behaviour and performance workshops and clinics in Ireland with visiting international experts for the past 10 years. Orla continues to research and study animal behaviour, and completed an Australian Diploma in Equitation Science through the Australian Equine Behavior Center (2017).  She completed her PhD through the University of Limerick in 2016, studying horse – rider interactions, training methods and the impact of equipment used in training horses.

Internationally, Orla has presented her work to advisory groups for the British Horse society, the Equine Behaviour Forum (UK), the Swiss Society of Veterinary Behaviourists (Switzerland), the Progressive equine behaviour and training forum (USA) and been a participant of the Havermeyer Horse Welfare Workshop (Canada). Orla is currently the Hon President of the International Society for Equitation Science. Orla is currently the Senior Vice President of the International Society for Equitation science.

COVID-19 UPDATE

The Covid pandemic has brought about several changes to our practice. The required social distancing and restrictions in place for many months resulted in modifications to how we conduct our behaviour consultations. In response to some emergency situations, the Animal Behaviour Clinic carried out our first zoom consultations during March 2020, and were very pleased to find that the experience for owners has been equally good if not better than the face-to-face consultations. Consultations were previously conducted in busy practices, often at unfamiliar locations, requiring owners to travel with their pets to settings that increased anxiety in the pet, and was often stressful for the owners. Enabling owners  attend the consultation from the comfort of their own homes has been a welcome outcome for the team at the Animal Behaviour Clinic.

The demand for help during the recent pandemic has exceeded that ever previously experienced during the previous 27 years of the Animal Behaviour Clinic, but the reduced time spent travelling has allowed us to offer more appointment times for owners needing help. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Orla Doherty travelled from Donegal to Dublin to carry out face-to-face consultations at a number of locations in Dublin. The pandemic has resulted in a much higher number of cases requiring help as a result of increased pet ownership numbers. Unfortunately, travelling to different locations is extremely time-consuming and reduces the amount of time available to respond to requests for help. In order to offer consultation time to the increased number owners requiring help, extra clinic dates have been scheduled, made possible by the reduced amount of time spent travelling between Donegal (Orla’s home) and Dublin.

Some owners have expressed anxiety that the experience will not be as good as a face-to-face consultation. We are committed to providing an excellent service, and have managed to do so throughout the pandemic. We fully intend to continue with this model, given the outcome achieved, thereby making the service available to a greater number of pets and also to pets and pet owners located in locations outside of the Dublin region.

For those owners who feel that they absolutely need to have a face-to-face consultation, we advise that you seek advice elsewhere as we will not be able to provide this service.