Separation anxiety
Aggression
Digging
Jumping on people
Leash pulling
Noise phobias
Biting or nipping
Having accidents in the house
Territorial behavior
Jumping on people
Incidents at the vet, groomer, or daycare
Excessive barking
Stealing food
Begging
Chasing the cat
Destorying your home
Going nuts on leash
What is a behavior consultant?
The pet behavior and training fields are unregulated. Unfortunately, that means that anyone can use the terms “dog trainer”, “behavior consultant”, and “behaviorist” as they please without any qualifications or education to back it up. Sure, parts of the industry will reserve certain terms for people with certain qualifications, but that’s not a hard and fast rule and certainly is not consistent enough to trust title alone.
We call ourselves “behavior consultants” because we feel it best describes what we do. We consult on animal behavior. The certifications we’ve received are primarily called “Certified Dog Behavior Consultant” certifications.
We’re the ones that team up with you to help you understand your dog more so you can live more harmoniously lives together.
We’re the ones that help you work through dog behavior problems so you can live the kind of life you desire for you and your pet.
Here’s how we can help you correct course, find custom solutions, and get relief.
Will a behavior modification journey help with a dog behavior problem?
Yes! A healthy and communicative client-consultant team is certainly capable of making progress and we are committed to helping you through your pet’s behavior modification journey. That said, there are some things that you will need to bring to the table to ensure that your pet does make progress, including a willingness to:
- Learn new information that potentially conflicts with what you already know
- Adhere to your entire training plan and homework, not just the parts that are convenient or fun–or let us know when you’re having difficulty doing so, so that we can help you troubleshoot
- Communicate with your consultant: the triumphs, the setbacks, the confusion, and the frustration
- Treat our relationship and services as a journey, not a one-time thing
Please note that progress and goals may look different than what you originally thought it would look like. That’s because there are several factors affecting behavior that are beyond the scope of our control including but not limited to: prenatal environment, age, health, and genetics.
Learn more about how we can help you solve your dog behavior problems here.
What is involved in a behavior modification journey?
A behavior modification journey is about so much more than just training your pet. It requires dedication in the form of time and work from the household members as well, and the humans are as much a part of the process as the pets are. There’s a reason we call it a journey!
More specifically, your pet behavior training will include history taking, considerable discussion with your consultant to create a plan that is sustainable for you, management, education, and skill-building for you and your pet.
We will use scaffolding– splitting more challenging techniques into smaller steps and building upon already-learned skills– in order to help everyone learn successfully. That means we will not make you jump into the deep end until you’re ready.
How many sessions do need?
That depends on a lot of factors: the complexity of your pet’s case, your training skillset, how much time you’re able to devote to training throughout the week, how much back and forth is needed between parallel professions like your vet, and more. We typically can’t provide an answer until we’ve started working with you and gotten to know you and your pet.
Click here to learn more about the process.
Do online sessions actually work?
Yes! We have the same success rate with our remote sessions as we do with our in-person sessions. As we say, it doesn’t matter if we can get your pet to do something; it only matters if you can.
We understand that many people are skeptical about how remote sessions can help them. We’ve addressed the most common concerns in this blog post about remote pet consulting. And more information specifically about why we don’t need to see the behavior to help can be found in this pet training blog post.
I don't know if I'm ready to start.
That’s okay! That’s a normal part of the process. Check out our blog, our socials, like Facebook, and Instagram and our team’s bios to learn more about us and what we’re about. We’ll be here when you’re ready. You can also listen to our pet enrichment podcast to learn more about our expertise and hear us in action.
And of course, you can always book a discovery call if you need guidance on which service is right for you.
What do you need to know about me or my pet before scheduling with you?
Our team has been there, done that, and seen it all. Scared of leaves blowing by? Yep, solved it. Separation anxiety so bad that your dog has jumped out the second-story window? Yep, we’ve seen that more than once. Barking at your guests when they get up to go to the bathroom? We’ve solved this so many times that we’ve lost count.
So, unlike other companies, we know that we can handle your pet’s behavior whatever it might be. That means that we don’t require much information prior to booking to determine if we can help your dog or not.
After scheduling we send you a questionnaire that has all of the questions we’d like answered prior to meeting. Your consultant will comb through that questionnaire and then spend the first part of your initial consultation diving even deeper based on your answers. That way you both
get the information you need right from the get-go in that very first session.
When you’re ready, you can get help for your dog behavior problems here.