Anyone used a dog behaviourist,

Hi Dougie,

Are you asking just out of interest, or are you asking because you are considering seeing one?

I saw a behaviourist about 4 years ago now, she was someone I knew and I wanted her opinion on the best way to tackle a problem with my dog. Sometimes it's best to have fresh eyes. It wasn't a "proper" consultation as she is a friend.

She gave good advice and suggested solving the problem by using advanced training to command an incompatible behaviour (my dog used to trip people up in play). The behaviour we trained was an emergency Sit which worked very well.

In this instance, for this dog, the advice was very good indeed.

I'm training to be a behaviourist and have shadowed several, so if I can help further do ask and I'll try

What I would say is that sometimes it can take trying a few to get the right personality and experience for your individual situation. Also some are simply more experienced than others with either hands on or learning theory, so a lot does depend on what the problem is

Wys
x

Hi thanks for your post, I am asking as Im often asked by dog owners about behaviourist and what to expect from them, I have never used one so cant really give an opinion. Most that I have heard of from people that have used them were unhappy with the results, but as someone who trains dogs I am fully aware that some people are looking for the miricle cure and are not really wanting to put the work or time in, therefore they are negative about advice given,
Can you tell me,
What should people look for in a behaviorist? what qualifications should they have? and what should they charge? this will enable me to give some info to people who are looking for a behaviourist.
Also how do you spot a fraud?

I have Rob Alleyne coming over on the coming Tuesday, for the very purpose that WYSIWYG hinted at -- to get new eyes on the issue of Blondi's dog-dog aggression.

I think when you live with the dog, day in and day out, you don't see the subtleties of the dog's behaviours.

What I'm expecting from Rob, and what he's already hinted at giving, is a third-party look at Blondi's overall behaviour's, telling me where I am messing up (and I have to accept that I might well be) and either making problems worse, or creating problems with behaviours which I've just "let happen" inadvertently.

From that, we draw up a practical plan of how I can work with the dog day in and day out, in an effort to resolve the issues, as best as is possible.

I've seen costs ranging anywhere from £50.00 to £350.00 for a home-visit. I can't really answer your question directly, as I chose Rob from Dog Borstal, based on what methods I'd seen him use there, and feeling completely comfortable with his approach, and my dog being able to gel with him and his methods. In that respect, I don't have any fears about wasting money.

I will be updating my original topic after he's been on Tuesday, so you can see how a "live" behaviourist visit went after that.

I think alot of people confuse behaviourist with trainer. A behaviourist is there to tell you what to expect from a dog and what kind of behaviour you need to use with your dog in order to get the best from it. So many people get dogs without a clue what they are letting themselves in for and the more inventive the dog the better the owner need to be. So many people seem to think their dogs do things out of spite or that muddy paws are the dogs way of getting back at them what they need to understand is a dog has no malice and they do not understand our world and our rules.

Can't wait to hear what Rob gets up to, good luck

thanks gsd lover I will look forward to hearing how it went, one of the main problems as far as Im aware is the costs I have heard from £100.00 plus petrol to £180.00 plus costs, it seems alot of money and is outwith many owners budget, One of the club members had called one who after giving the price stated " no promise of improvement" which put her off as she felt that the behaviouist was very negative about the problem,

I would agree with you that many people confuse trainers with a behaviourist, I often am asked about a behavioural consultations, although over the years I have learned alot about behaviour it in no way makes me qualified to help.

Hi Dougiepit,

I have never used a behaviourist but from talking to others I would recommend that people only sought advice from behaviourists who are members of either the APBC - The Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors or the UKRCB - The UK Registry of Canine Behaviourists

The APBC looks fairly good (Gwen Bailey is a member) and they have to have academic qualifications in addition to experience. However they may only take veterinary referrals.

Twice both as bad as each other i like to find a behaviourist that actually has knowledge of the breed as they can sometimes generalise in cases which arent right for us.......

I had one that went down the dog whisperer route on a severely fear aggressive bitch which resulted on consulting another behaviourist to undo the damage

The one that insisted i did clicker training??? (she was already obedient and did as she was told) i think they were out of depth and when they brought their very very dominant sheepdog out to put mine in her place pmsl pmsl she had to put it away for fear of knocking her dogs confidance as our girl went to floor it!! (no it wasnt funny at the time i was very annoyed)

I tend to stick with breed rescues recommendations now..

Joyce Stranger is in the Anglesey. I don't know if she's still working but reports of her work are pretty good