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Quick Facts:
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Do you want to work 1-on-1 with us but an in-home consultation isn’t for you? Maybe you’re outside our travel radius, maybe your pet would be too stressed to work if we were there, maybe it’s not yet safe for your pet to interact with visitors, or maybe you just don’t want to get out of your PJs (we don’t judge!) That’s where our remote consultations come in. These are still behavior consults– private sessions where we work together to address your pet’s behavior issues– but are performed via video chat.
Can remote really work?
People often wonder whether we can be effective if we only meet online – how can we help you if we don’t even meet your pet in person? – but the answer is yes! Remote consulting is growing in popularity worldwide, and we have clients all over the country and even in other countries. We have been just as successful collaborating via video chat as the clients with whom we’ve collaborated in person. We can consult on the same issues as our in-home sessions, including but not limited to:
- Fear/ anxiety
- Aggression/ biting/ scratching
- Reactivity
- Resource guarding (people, places, or objects–either from people or other animals)
- Intra- or interspecies conflict
- Integrating pets in a household
- Separation anxiety/ separation distress
- Boredom-based destruction
- Escaping
- Inappropriate elimination
- Inappropriate vocalization
- Self-destructive behaviors
- Functionless repetitive behaviors
- Nuisance behaviors
- Jumping on people
- Mouthing
- Pulling on leash
- Counter surfing
- Learning cooperative care for vet visits, grooming, taking medication, etc.
- Not listening to basic manners cues
What to expect: Booking a session
We offer online booking here. If you need additional help narrowing down your consultant, check out the consultant recommendations directly in the online booking services, visit our Meet Your Consultants page or email us at [email protected]. After choosing your package, the date and time of your initial consultation, and paying, we will send you some paperwork to fill out online before we meet. It will come with instructions on how to fill it out and instructions for our session.
What to expect: The technology
We use Zoom for our remote consultations. Zoom is free and easy to download; it usually takes about 5 minutes. We chose Zoom as our primary platform because it allows us to record your session and send it to you afterwards. If you’re more comfortable using a different program, like Skype or Google Hangouts, you’re welcome to speak with your consultant but know that it will be limited to programs that we already use and there will likely not be a recording function.
The only other technology you’ll need is a webcam that can be manipulated so we can see around your house and your pet while you’re working with them.
What to expect: The Initial Consultation
Initial consults usually last about 1.5 hours, and it is predominantly a lot of talking. We will discuss the information you provide in your paperwork. Your consultant may have follow-up questions based on that information. Then we will discuss the causes of the behavior issues, how we might address them, and why those strategies work. During that discussion we will decide together on a plan of action, and we’ll start practicing some of those skills together so you feel confident in how to implement the plan before we leave. We email your training plan and session recording to you afterwards so you know exactly how to work through the steps to help your pet.
What to expect: Follow-ups
Follow-up sessions are about 1 hour long. We typically meet weekly or every other week for the first month or two for follow-up sessions, or however long it takes for you to get into a good rhythm with your training, then as needed until your pet’s behavior issues are resolved to your satisfaction. The package you choose may dictate how frequently follow-up sessions are. During these follow-up sessions we work more through the exercises outlined in your training plan and tweak them to fit your situation better. We don’t expect to see a human therapist once to fix everything nor should we assume one visit is all it takes for our pets!
What to expect: Help in between sessions
You will have access to your training plan for years to come and can refer back to your plan and resources contained within whenever you need help. Additionally, your consultant will be available to answer simple clarification and troubleshooting questions via email between sessions so you never feel like you’re alone in this process.
