1st behaviour consultion -any tips?

hi guys, as part of my coursework for my dog course i have to conduct a behaviour consultation. It was advised by the tutor to advertise myself locally to do them for free. anyway, i did this and i got a call today from a woman with what sounds like a seperation anxiety problem. Her dog howls and barks when she leaves the house or leaves him outside shops. Anyway, i have to right her a management plan thing, so does anyone have any tips on how to do this as im not sure. Ive got a good idea how to solve it, but writing up a plan... ive never done one before obv and i dont wanna get it wrong

Hey Jenny. Are you going to see the dog in action first? Might be best then you can see the dog himself, the set up, the owner's interaction and anything she might be doing that contributes to it.

yes i am im going to go see her on thursday to see him for myself.

Hmmm ... well I guess a description of the problem as she sees it (separation anxiety), your observations on his behaviour and what you think is going on, the set up and her interaction with him What she does to try and solve it and and your conclusions eg what you think is causing it, how (if at all) she might contribute to the problem and a well laid-out plan to put things right, plus any changes in exercise or diet and training methods? Perhaps a possible time line plus what to do if he regresses, eg go back to action point one, or whatever?

ok i got this consultation thursday (tomorrow) at noon and im ****ting myself now! im really nervous

Hi Jenny

Apologies for coming across negative but alarm bells are ringing for me here !!

IMHO I think it is wrong that you are required to go to another persons house who has a dog with a supposed problem and you give a diagnosis for what is wrong with their dog when you have no in-depth experience in doing this what if you get it wrong and the dog ends up worse, or is aggressive, how are you going to deal with that ?

I understand you're learning and you have to start somewhere but surely you should be required to have a qualified behaviourist/trainer (from a reputable organisation) with you (or you shadow them)

I think it is very irresponsible of the person who is running your course to ask you to do this

Also, the lady you are going to visit, does she know that you are not a qualified behaviourist ?

Im sorry if this comes post comes accross harsh Jenny, its not meant too.