David Okafor
David is a certified applied animal behaviourist (CAAB) specialising in separation anxiety, reactivity, resource guarding, fear responses, and inter-dog conflict. His guides help owners understand the function behind their pet's behaviour using humane, science-based modification strategies, drawing on CAAB, IAABC, and Fear Free Pets research.
- Credentials
- CAAB, PhD Animal Behaviour, Fear Free certified
- Focus
- Behaviour
Authored Guides
How Dogs Behave in Hotel Rooms and Holiday Rentals: Managing Territorial Marking, Noise Sensitivity, and Unfamiliar Scent Anxiety Away From Home
Hotel rooms and holiday rentals confront dogs with a convergence of olfactory, acoustic, and territorial stressors that can trigger marking, vocalisation, and anxiety far beyond simple nerves. Understanding the root causes of these behaviours and applying evidence-based management strategies makes the difference between a stressful trip and a settled, enjoyable one.
Reading Pond Fish Behaviour in Spring: What Increased Surface Activity, Spawning Chases, and Flashing Mean for Your Water Quality
As water temperatures rise each spring, pond fish display a cascade of behaviours that range from entirely normal to genuinely urgent. Learning to distinguish thermoregulatory surface positioning from hypoxic distress, reproductive chasing from harmful aggression, and incidental flicking from a parasite crisis is the foundation of proactive spring pond management.
How Dogs and Cats Behave in the First 24 Hours With a New Pet Sitter: What Owners Should Communicate Before Leaving
The first 24 hours with a new pet sitter represent the most behaviourally volatile window of any care transition for dogs and cats. Understanding species-specific stress responses and communicating the right information before departure can make the difference between a settled pet and a welfare crisis.
Why Your Cat's Self-Grooming Changes in Spring: What Increased Licking, Patchy Coats, and Reduced Grooming Can Indicate
Spring triggers a range of grooming changes in cats, from normal seasonal shedding to stress-driven over-grooming and medically significant under-grooming. This guide explains the behavioural and physiological roots of each pattern and when professional assessment is needed.
Managing Overstimulation in Group Play: A Behaviourist's Guide
Learn to identify the subtle signs of arousal and stress in dog parks and daycare. Professional strategies for preventing trigger stacking and ensuring safe social interactions.
Sundowning in Seniors: Recognizing Nighttime Restlessness and Cognitive Decline
Nighttime pacing, vocalization, and confusion in aging pets often point to Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome. This guide explores the behavioral mechanisms behind sundowning and offers environmental management strategies for senior companion animals.
Adopting a Retired Greyhound: A Behavioural Guide to the Track-to-Home Transition
Transitioning a retired racing greyhound to a home environment requires understanding their unique background and sensory thresholds. This guide outlines evidence-based strategies for managing sleep startle, freezing, and isolation distress during the decompression period.
Dog Park Etiquette: Recognizing Healthy vs. Bullying Play Styles
A certified applied animal behaviourist's guide to distinguishing reciprocal play from predatory drift and bullying. Learn the critical body language signals that require immediate intervention.
Recognizing Separation Anxiety in Boarded Pets: A Behavioural Guide
Differentiating between normal adjustment stress and clinical separation anxiety in kennel environments. A professional guide to physiological signs, threshold management, and intervention.
Boarding Kennel Preparation: A Behavioural Wellness Guide
Minimise transition stress through systematic desensitisation and environmental familiarity. A professional protocol for ensuring psychological safety during owner absence.
Feline Scratching Solutions: The Behavioural Science of Posts vs. Mats
A certified behaviourist's guide to understanding feline scratching preferences. Learn whether your cat needs vertical posts or horizontal mats to protect your furniture.
Recognising Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (CDS) in Senior Cats: A Behaviourist's Guide
Is your senior cat howling at night or forgetting the litter box? Learn to distinguish normal aging from Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (CDS) and how to manage it with environmental scaffolding.