You know how there’s a ton of different fireworks and each of them shoot up and explode a little differently? Some shoot up in a massive steady stream, but then just fizzle out. Some shoot up with a faint jagged line, then explode in a massive flower, a boom whose impact resonates in our chests. Others explode in a canopy, the golden willow branches hanging forever in the sky, resisting decay.
If you’ll indulge me and my band director-style analogies, these fireworks are a lot like behavior. The events leading up to the impact may or may not match the explosion we see and expect, but we can’t take it for granted, it’s a part of the whole. It takes a knowledge of the whole firework choreography to anticipate, prepare, and create the firework display, much like it takes the knowledge of the whole pet’s and family’s life to create a behavior modification plan.
That means we pet behavior consultants have a lot of questions to ask you.
Look, we know our intake form at Pet Harmony is. . . a lot. . . but that form gives us an understanding of your voice, your concerns, your experience, your family, but it’s just a starting point. It starts creating the hazy constellation that makes up the lives of you and your pet–maybe the hesitancy of eating breakfast seems kinda normal, but it can brighten that dim star to better understand, say, why sounds can be scary.
So what do we, as pet behavior consultants, wish you would tell us during a behavior consultation? How can you bring it up in a proactive and professional way? I’d love to get the convo started. The sections that follow discuss a few things we want to know about your furry (or feathery or scaly or slippery…) besties and the ways you live together.
1. Your favorite things about them
Your pet is more than their behavior problem. Sure, that’s the tough thing that brought us together, but we know that they are more than that. Oftentimes, at some point in a bundle of sessions, my families will say something along the lines of “See! Why can’t he be this relaxed when Grandma comes over!” or “I wish the neighbors saw this side of Fluffy!” or “Isn’t he just a goober once the rest of the world calms down?!” and I want you to know that we believe you and we know.
We love to hear all the great things you love about your pet, even if it seemingly has nothing to do with the issues we’re working through because sometimes we can incorporate that into our plan, but at the very least, it helps us to understand our learners and build connections. If you love watching your pet hang out in their safe space during game night, but they’re skittish with every firework BOOM when it’s just you at home, we can see if there’s anything in that safe zone that we can transfer to firework prep.
2. The kinda annoying things too
Yeah, but those things matter too. A lot of times my clients worry about “bogging me down” with the things that aren’t huge pain points, but are kinda annoying. “Trembling during fireworks,” takes precedence over “steals my used tissues,” but when we’re creating a plan, those scavenging tendencies can help to shape our plan to reduce stress, meet their needs, and analyze when it’s being done to clarify if there is a function to the frivolities beyond just play.
3. When our suggestions sound good but don’t fit your lifestyle
You can expect that if you’re working with a behavior consultant, we’re going to come in with a host of different management tools and handling maneuvers that we’ve tried and had success with, but we’re humans too. We have biases and live our lives with personal experiences that shape our consulting. If sound masking is a good management tool to block neighborhood noise and summer firework events and you don’t mind the din of brown or white noise, WHOO HOO! If sound masking sounds amazing but brown noise makes your head spin (or makes your Opie Dog search for the “fly” that is actually the speaker’s vibration on the shelf…), tell us. If we don’t have an option that feels right, we have a team of incredible consultants that thrill in the craft of modifying enrichment strategies.
4. If you just want a management tool for now, or to work on a trained skill
So often I find myself assuming that clients are ready and expecting to build training skills once we’ve got our initial management plan ironed out and are reading body language, but sometimes that’s not the case. Maybe the management tool (e.g., baby gate) is serving the function it needs to right now and your household would benefit from maintaining that rather than building or scaffolding skills for future exposure to XYZ. Maybe you are going on vacation and this is the only time you could schedule a session, but you don’t plan on doing anything until you return. Maybe the medication protocol helps your pet get snoozy during the nights with anticipated fireworks and there aren’t residual effects, great!
You know your time, bandwidth, and availability better than we ever could, and you know your pain points better than we ever will. If a management tool is in place, doing its job, sustainable, and meeting everyone’s needs, that’s cool!
5. If the plan is having unintended consequences, good or bad.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again but if something can have an effect, it can have a side effect. Typically, when we start enrichment plans, we do so given the information we have and given the desired outcomes, but it’s all educated assumptions, people! Are the shreddables actually jacking them up? Tell us! Is the foraging getting in the way of resting? Tell us! Is the afternoon snacky causing some new attention-seeking behaviors? Tell us! Is something totally different popping up and you have no clue why? Tell us! We’re here to discover it together.
Where does that leave us?
There are so many things that I love about working with pets, but one of the top things by far is creating a connection with the families. You all know these furry creatures in and out– the things that set them apart from any other animal as well as the things that may set them off. You gush over their cuddles, or their cute play bows, or their floppy ears, or their bushy tails, and you talk about how even when they’re in the trenches with some tough feelings, they can melt your heart with one head tilt. You love these animals so much and want everyone else to see these sweet creatures that you live with (or get glimpses of).
However, once we, the pet behavior consultants, get on the team, it’s usually when some of their not-so-desirable behaviors are affecting the household’s quality of life. We start the deep dive into understanding the circumstances surrounding these behaviors to help improve the quality of everyone’s lives… and sometimes it feels like we need to examine all the things we need to “fix” and forget the things we need to celebrate.
Behavior is multifaceted—medical, environmental, emotional. Together, we assemble the puzzle pieces to make the picture. There are no “wrong” answers or “wrong” concerns, we’re here to synthesize it all and create a plan that’s right for you. Let’s work together to help your pet feel safer this summer.
Here’s to harmony,
Corinne
Now What?
A couple of thoughts as summer continues to speed on by:
- If you’re thinking about getting support, book a consultation now before the end-of-summer shenanigans ramp up.
- When prepping for your session, complete your intake form thoughtfully and honestly. We want to get to know y’all!
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Results are not guaranteed because behavior, human, canine, or otherwise, are not guaranteeable.
