Dr Jacqui Ley

Behavioural Specialist

BVSc (Hons), FANZCVS (Veterinary Behaviour), PhD DECAWBM

Dr Jacqui Ley was the inaugural Hills TM Resident in Veterinary Behavioural Medicine.  She graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1995 and worked in companion animal practice in metropolitan Melbourne.  While studying, she recognised veterinary behavioural medicine as an area that brought together her interests in animal behaviour, animal training and the functioning brain.  She obtained her membership to the Veterinary Behaviour Chapter of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists (ANZCVS) in 2000.  Dr Ley completed her PhD, through Monash University, describing a model and building a questionnaire for assessing canine personality.  She has also described the factors that affect the relationships between an owner and their dog.  Other research interests include the human-animal bond and factors affecting this, tests for measuring fear and other behaviours in dogs and the social relationships in dogs and cats.  She was a tutor for the Graduate Certificate in Animal Welfare at Monash University.

In 2011 she became a diplomat of the European College of Animal Welfare and Behavioural Medicine – one of two people to hold this qualification in Australia.  Jacqui was awarded a Fellowship to the ANZCVS in the Chapter of Veterinary Behaviour at Science Week 2013.  She sees behaviour cases on a regular basis at MVSC.