*if you have any additional or alternative needs please do let us know so we can adapt to work together with the best success possible.

Pre-Consultation Questionnaire

Part of the initial assessment process is to complete a questionnaire which will give me basic information about your pet. The issues you’re having, your goals, and brief information about their social behaviour, diet, house rules and so on. We’ll also expand on some of these areas in the behaviour consultation.

Pre-Consultation Videos

You are also encouraged to send in any videos that you already have of the issue(s) prior to the behaviour consultation. This is not absolutely necessary, and if the issues involve aggression we would encourage you not to put your pet, or others, in a potentially risky situation in order to obtain video footage. In these cases we will delve into body language handouts and your descriptions.

In any case a range of short 20-30 video clips of your dog’s normal routine can be helpful to build a picture of their normal lives and behavioural approaches. For example a video of them getting ready to go for a walk, on a walk, having their breakfast, doing some training, playing a game with you and others in the household, interacting with other pets in the household, a tour of the house and garden, the problem behaviour if safe and appropriate.

Veterinary Referral

Another aspect is a veterinary referral form; this needs to be completed by your vet. Lots of behaviour issues can be set off or maintained by different medical conditions. Having a discussion with your vet and a thorough check up and relevant investigations are important. The vet referral confirms that at least on initial examination it seems most likely that either the symptoms are purely behavioural. Or it may that behaviour input is going to be a beneficial step alongside appropriate medical treatment.

It also means that I have your vets details to send them a summary following the behaviour consultation. This keeps them in the loop, and I check back in with them as needed to update them on progress. I may ask for further support in case further investigations may be indicated, or for the use of behaviour medication in some cases.

You can read more about the vet referral process here.

You’ll also receive Terms and Conditions, which I will assume you have agreed to upon commencing our work together.

After the initial behaviour consultation will be the follow up. Depending on your chosen package you will have at least one follow up session so that we can check in, make sure things are moving in the right direction and add further training steps as needed. As with any in-person sessions, in person follow ups may be subject to additional travel fees.

Behaviour Basics packages, for more straightforward issues, has one further follow up session with no support between sessions. The follow up session tends to be 2-3 weeks following the initial consultation, depending on the tasks we’ve set. This second session will last up to one hour and I will send further notes summarising the next steps we’ve discussed for you to work on.

Advanced Support Packages include two follow up sessions, usually 2-3 weeks apart, plus a private WhatsApp chat so that you can send in questions, updates and training videos between sessions. This means we can be in close contact to make sure that you aren’t left uncertain, and if things aren’t going as planned we can course correct quickly. You can also send in additional videos for continued assessment.

The Separation Anxiety Package includes 30 minute check ins as part of the four and eight week course, WhatsApp support between sessions as described above, and the shared document with daily training tasks.

Further follow up sessions can then be added as needed so you always have the support you need, when you need it. Follow up sessions can be 30 or 60 minutes if online, or 60 minutes only if in person.