Ep36 Daniel Mills on looking at individual animals, solving behaviour problems, and studying animal emotions

Daniel Mills is a professor at the University of Lincoln in the UK. He currently consults at the University Animal Behaviour Clinic. In 2020 he was recognized by Stanford University as part of the top 2% of all scientists globally.

Daniel dives into his research world of problem behaviour, and his studies to understand individual differences in animals that reflect emotions. He remarks that animals are often not using human mechanisms to solve problems, rather they do it their own way and we have to understand that in order to assess animals’ emotions more systematically. 

He tells the story of how he started in the field of animal behaviour and talks about his career as a veterinarian while being involved in different research with dogs and horses. His greatest piece of advice to get there is to ask questions, explore and be curious. Daniel and Sabrina discuss what it means to be scientific or have a scientific attitude. He also shares how information can come from lots of different sources, including Victorian books!

Daniel shares his findings during his Ph.D. with repetitive behaviours in horses and some other interesting studies on the left gaze bias in domestic dogs. For Daniel, the key to understanding animals is observation and careful reflection.

Daniel talks about welfare, wellbeing and behaviour in dogs and ways of making choice and control meaningful for the animals. He shares some of his latest findings in human-animal relationships and interactions during the COVID-19 lockdown phase in the UK and finishes with a childhood story.

Find out more about Daniel and his research HERE

Learn more about the Animal Behaviour Clinic HERE

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