What should I expect during an in-person visit?

The first step in helping to modify the problem is to assess the problem. It is critical to understand the history of your pet’s overall health and behaviour and what you have been doing about it. This is why animal behaviourists will typically work through veterinary referral to ensure that medical issues have been ruled out. Once a veterinary referral is received, the behaviourist will ask you many questions about your pet, your family and your living situation. Your management plan, skills, understanding of animal behaviour, and your relationship with your pet all play crucial roles in the development of an effective and humane behaviour modification plan.

Next, it is important to determine the family's skill set, abilities, expectations and goals as they relate to the behaviour modification plan. A behaviour plan that can't or won’t be implemented by the family isn't worth very much, so a behaviourist will work with the whole family to determine where they want to go, how to get there given the current level of skills and abilities and help identify obstacles that might be getting in the way. Behaviour change can be challenging and learning to stay the course even when it’s hard is the goal. Families learn and change along with their pet as they become more psychologically flexible and, thereby, more effective behaviour managers!

Then, a written description of the plan will be provided to each client and progress will be monitored closely via follow-up check ins. The elements of the behaviour plan will be demonstrated as needed, and family members will be carefully monitored as they implement the plan.

Finally, since behaviourists work closely with veterinarians to ensure that behavioural problems are not due to underlying medical problems, a copy of the behaviour assessment and program will be forwarded to your veterinarian as necessary.