The welfare gap: why the right advice at the right time matters more than we think

Thousands of dogs are relinquished to rescue centres every year in the UK alone.

A 2013 study found 48% of owners felt a single behaviour problem was enough to strongly influence their decision to relinquish¹, highlighting the importance of timely behavioural intervention, particularly given the risk of additional co-morbid behaviours developing once a problem emerges.

Dogs with behaviour problems face overwhelming odds when behaviour care is absent or unsuccessful. In a survey of 14 UK rehoming centres, 34.2% of relinquishments were attributed to owner-perceived behaviour challenges². Even when a dog is successfully rehomed, behaviour issues meaningfully affect long-term outcomes, increasing the likelihood of return, particularly when new owners do not seek advice³. With 65.6% of dogs in UK shelters euthanised due to behaviour problems in 2009⁴, the welfare implications of behavioural issues are substantial.

Despite established referral pathways, professional expertise, and owner concern, a “welfare gap” exists where owners, lacking clear or workable guidance, disengage from behaviour care or even the dog-owner relationship itself, worsening welfare outcomes. Crucially, many of these outcomes are shaped long before specialist referral is considered, at the earliest moments when owners seek, receive or struggle to act on advice.

Where the ‘welfare gap’ opens

Behaviour concerns commonly surface gradually.

Subtle changes can compound unnoticed until the problem becomes unmistakable. At the same time, the abundance of free, online advice can leave owners feeling overwhelmed and uncertain about what to trust, especially in cases where they’ve tried multiple options without success.

Owner disengagement rarely reflects a lack of care. More often, it results from breakdowns along the behaviour care pathway. Conflicting advice, impractical recommendations and a lack of awareness about alternative follow-up options all widen this “welfare gap”, accelerating disengagement and frustration.

Studies show that needing advice for a behaviour concern is associated with an increased relinquishment risk⁵. But with pet owners more likely to use free options, many dogs affected by behaviour problems never reach a behaviourist at all⁶.

Why the right advice at the right moment matters

While one study revealed that 69.2% of dog owners did not seek advice for their pet’s behaviour problems before relinquishment², when owners did receive helpful advice, particularly from a veterinary source, the risk of relinquishment decreased⁵.

Although behaviour change is rarely achieved through a single interaction, welfare can be influenced, positively or negatively, in a single moment. Early advice shapes owner confidence, risk perception, and willingness to stay engaged, reducing escalation and suffering.

This is why first-opinion behaviour interactions can be remarkably meaningful. Veterinary professionals remain a trusted source of advice, and behaviour help offered in practice can assist owners in prioritising concerns and provide them with concrete actions to improve behaviour outcomes.

Although this doesn’t replace the need for referral or deeper education in every case, it recognises that behaviour care exists on a continuum and that ongoing practice-owner relationships provide a pivotal opportunity for providing support to close this “welfare gap”.

Providing behaviour support in practice

Conversations with veterinary professionals highlighted access, not intent, as the primary barrier to behaviour support in clinical practice. Limited consultation time, uncertainty around what advice to give, and concerns about offering outdated or ineffective guidance all influence realistic delivery in first-opinion settings.

To address these challenges, Behavet recently integrated completely free-of-charge behaviour first-aid support in 406 UK vet practices, including training on what to cover in a 10-minute behaviour consultation and owner-signposted resources designed to provide clear, evidence-based guidance when time is limited. This forms just one part of their contribution-focused mission, “Behavet Impact”. As Tom Mitchell, MRCVS, Behavet clinical director and chief executive, explains: “We have a goal of integrating free behaviour advice into more than 1,000 practices in the first 12 months of our Behavet Impact mission and have already reached more than 400 practices in under 3 months, highlighting both the need and desire of the entire profession to plug the welfare gap in behaviour that currently exists.”

Consequently, first-opinion behaviour advice is a distinct, influential form of intervention filling this “welfare gap”. Recognising and supporting this early window may be one of the most effective and under-acknowledged ways the profession can reduce behaviour-related relinquishment and euthanasia.

Explore Behavet’s free behaviour resources created to support first-opinion conversations, available in our new Vet Portal here.

Victoria Phan AB, MPhil is the head of education at Behavet, leading the development of evidence-driven behaviour education. Educated at Harvard University and the University of Cambridge, her work centres on improving access to behaviour support and learning through creating scalable education and behaviour support models. With nearly eight years of experience in animal welfare, including with Woodgreen Pets Charity, she works at the intersection of education, access and welfare impact.