The Authors
The DBR24© and DBR-T© were developed by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers and practitioners in animal behaviour, psychology, and violence risk assessment.
Dr Helen Howell
Dr Helen Howell is a forensic canine behaviourist, researcher and leading UK expert witness. A former police detective with 16 years police service Helen, following her retirement from the police, pursued a career in animal behaviour.
She holds a BSc(Hons) in Canine Behaviour and Management and the DBR24© and DBR-T© were developed as part of her doctoral thesis at the University of Lincoln.
Helen has worked with dogs all over the world including street dogs in Sri Lanka and India, game bred pit bull terriers in the United States and Spanish hunting dogs at the Galgos del Sol Rescue in Spain. Helen is one of the UK’s leading expert witnesses providing expert evidence in respect of both breed type and behaviour for dangerous dog and personal injury cases across the country, including cases involving life changing injury and fatality.
Helen has presented her opinion in Parliament regarding the dog bite crisis in the UK and the welfare of seized dogs, and is a guest lecturer at a number of universities in the United Kingdom and an international conference speaker.
You can find out more about Helen’s work at www.dogbehaviourexpert.co.uk.
Dr Ann Baslington-Davies
Professor Daniel Mills
Professor Daniel Mills is a global pioneer within the field of clinical animal behaviour. He was the first individual to be recognised by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons as a specialist in veterinary behavioural medicine, and has subsequently been further recognised by them by being made a Fellow in recognition of his contributions to this field (again the first individual to achieve this accolade). In 2026, he was listed within Elsevier/Stanford University’s global database of the top scientists in the world, ranking 25th in the world amongst all veterinary scientists.
He is also a European recognised specialist in veterinary behavioural medicine and CCAB-recognised clinical animal behaviourist. He is a practising veterinary surgeon and academic who has specialised in the management of problem behaviour and the human-animal bond for around 35 years. Prior to his retirement from the University he headed up the Animal, Behaviour Cognition and Welfare group within the Dept of Life Sciences at the University of Lincoln, UK and in 2026 was made Professor Emeritus upon his retirement from the institution but remains very active within the field through his company Companion Animal Consulting Ltd (companionanimalconsulting.com). He has pioneered a scientific transformation of our understanding of companion animal problem behaviour, through the development of a “psychobiological approach”. This is a synthesis of contemporary psychology and behavioural biology with neuroscience that facilitates a systematic, scientific framework for the assessment and management of problem behaviour in animals. Much of his work is transdisciplinary and he has around 250 full peer reviewed publications, and more than 60 books and chapters, for academics, professionals and members of the public.