Current Position

Veterinarian – Behavioural Medicine San Marco Veterinary Clinic

Education and Experience

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

30/09/2016 – 2021
Diplomate European College Animal Welfare and Behavioural Medicine European College Animal Welfare and Behavioural Medicine

31/12/2014 – 30/06/2016 Parma, Italy
Postgraduate Specialisation in Behavioural Medicine University of Parma
Behavioural medicine

31/08/2011 – 18/12/2012 Cordoba, Spain Master in Ethology University of Cordoba
Thesis: Behavioural activities of female reindeer (Rangifer tarandus, L 1758) during the rutting period: effects of harem older age, group composition and sex ratio. Supervisor: Prof Juan Carranza and Prof Oystein Holand

09/2008 – 09/2011 Sassari, Italy
PhD in Reproduction, production and welfare University of Sassari
Thesis in Veterinary physiology VET/02
Thesis: Reproductive biotechnologies: a new approach to Cervids conservation. Supervisor: Prof Sergio Ledda

09/2003 – 06/2008 Sassari, Italy
Veterinary Medicine University of Sassari
Interniship and thesis in: Veterinary physiology VET/02
Thesis: Population structure of Sardinian Red deer (Cervus elaphus corsicanus Erxleben, 1777) in a repopulation enclosure: management and welfare evaluation. Supervisor: Prof Salvatore Naitana; co-supervisor: Dr Lidia Fleba.

WORK EXPERIENCE

01/01/2020 – CURRENT Veggiano (Padova), Italy
Veterinarian – Behavioural Medicine San Marco Veterinary
Clinic
Behavioural consultation, Cat advocate, Low-stress clinic Research on behavioural medicine

31/12/2017 – 30/12/2019 Budapest, Hungary
Post doc fellowship MTA TKI (Hungarian Academy of Sciences,
Office of Supported Research Groups) MTA-ELTE Comparative E Research on Cat Ethology and Human Animal relationship

27/07/2017 – 30/12/2018
Principal investigator Nestle Purina Sponsorship for Human Animal Bond studies
Measuring improved reading practice and cognitive abilities in children with pervasive developmental disorder attending reading session with dogs.
In collaboration with University of Milan, Italy

31/12/2016 – 31/05/2018
Principal investigator American holistic veterinary medicine foundation sponsorship.
Behavioural responses of shelter dogs during a Cognitive Bias test after olfactory stimulation.
In collaboration with Vetethology, Belgium and University of Pisa, Italy.

31/12/2014 – 30/12/2019 Overijse, Belgium Researcher Vetethology
Research on cat and dog ethology, animal welfare

06/10/2013 – 30/12/2016 Oristano, Italy Veterinarian Clinica Veterinaria Duemari
Behavioural medicine, General practice

Other

PUBLICATIONS

UCCHEDDUS S, PIERANTONI L, VENTURA L, TONNA M. Compulsive Disorder in Companion animals: An ethological approach. . Journal of veterinary behaviour. 2024
UCCHEDDU ET AL. Comparing Pears to Apples: Unlike Dogs, Cats Need Habituation before Lab Tests. Animals 2022, 12 (21)
UCCHEDDU S., ET AL. Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) grieve over the loss of a conspecific. Scientific Report (Nature) 2022; 12
CAMPIGLI M., STRIZZOLO G., FURLANELLO T., UCCHEDDU S. Pet owners’ feedback on psychological support service in an Italian veterinary hospital. Acta veterinaria Hungarica 2022, 2
UCCHEDDU S., BIGGIO F., GALLUCCI A. Compulsive right circling in a cat: Obsessive-compulsive disorder or primary neurological diasease. Vet Record case report, 2021
UCCHEDDU S., Improving vet-client communication through understanding the client perspective. Veterinary record 2021, 188 (9)
PYARI M., UCCHEDDU S., LENKEI R., PONGRACZ P. Inexperienced but still interested – indoor only cats are more inclined for predatory play than cats with outdoor access. Applied animal behaviour science 2021
UCCHEDDU S., ET AL.Post-mortem recovery, in vitro maturation and fertilization of fallow deer (Dama dama, Linnaeus 1758) oocytes collected during reproductive and no reproductive season. Reproduction in domestic Animal 2020, 55
PIOTTI P. UCCHEDDU S., ET AL. Management of specific fears and anxiety in behavioral medicine of companion animals:punctual use of psychoactive medications. Dog behavior 2019
UCCHEDDU S., ET AL. Pet Humanisation and Related Grief: Development and Validation of a Structured Questionnaire Instrument to Evaluate Grief in People Who Have Lost a Companion Dog. Animals 2019; 9(11) HAVERBEKE A., UCCHEDDU S., ARNOUT H., SANNEN A. A Pilot Study on Behavioural Responses of Shelter Dogs to Olfactory Enrichment. Veterinary Science Research 2019; 1 (01)
UCCHEDDU S., ET AL.. The Impacts of a Reading-to-Dog Programme on Attending and Reading of Nine Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Animals 2019; 9 (8)
UCCHEDDU S., ALBERTINI M., PIERANTONI L., FANTINO S., PIRRONE F. Assessing behaviour and stress in two dogs during sessions of a reading- to-a-dog program for children with pervasive developmental disorders. Dog Behavior. 2018; 4 (3).
UCCHEDDU S., ET AL.. Behavioural and cortisol responses of shelter dogs to a cognitive bias test after olfactory enrichment with essential oils. Dog Behavior. 2018; 4 (2).
UCCHEDDU S., ET AL.. Tail chasing in a dog with brain atrophy: a case report. Journal of veterinary
behaviour. 2018; 25:52-55.
UCCHEDDU S, BODY G, WELADJI RB, HOLAND Ø, NIEMINEM M, Foraging competition in larger groups overrides the benefits of harassment avoidance during the rut in female reindeer. Oecologia. 2015; 179:711-718.
PINTUS E., UCCHEDDU S., ROED K.H., PEREZ GONZALEZ J., CARRANZA J., NIEMINEM M., HOLAND Ø. Flexible mating tactics and associated reproductive effort during the rutting season in male reindeer (Rangifer tarandus, L. 1758). Current Zoology. 2015; 61:802-810.