Guide to Selecting a Behaviour Consultant
The following advice is written specifically
for U.S. pet owners, where there is no organization of behaviourspecialists,
counsellors or trainers which has adopted codes of practice that specify
treatment techniques anddevices which
the membership considers cruel and/or inhumane, and pledges not to employ
such methods.
Fortunately, this is not the case in many
parts of the world. Specifically, the Association of PetBehaviour
Counsellors, the APBC, organized in Britain but with international membership,
has clearlydefined standards: For membership,
humane treatment techniques and referral. Along with the APBC, theBritish
based Association of Pet Dog Trainers makes a stand against training devices
which areinhumane or cruel. Some of
these devices are: electric shock equipment, choke chains and check collars,
highfrequency startle devices, etc.
A trip to the APBC and APDT home pages, available through our main pageindex
to other sites, will be a refreshing and enlightening experience for any
pet owner.
Excerpted from: the New "Better Behaviour
in Dogs," 1999,
A Guide to solving all your dog problems,
(Direct Books - (800) 776-2665).
Sometimes an animal's behaviour problems seem so involved that they defy our ability to see themobjectively, which is when the services of a behaviour consultant can be invaluable. The following guide willhelp ensure that you select someone who will work with you in a way that allows you to gain the insightneeded to correct the problem. The little extra time required is well worth spending, compared to the risks ofchoosing someone based on the size of their Yellow Pages ad or the appeal of their titles.
Selecting a Pet Behaviour Specialist
Have Your Pet Examined
Take your problem-pet to your veterinarian
for a complete physical examination. Take along a fresh stoolsample
for a parasite check. My records of more than 2,000 cases show that more
than 20% of dogs withbehaviour problems
who had not been checked in more than 6 months also had a health problem.
There is no
use wasting money on a behaviour problem
when there may be a contributing health factor.
Get At Least Two Referrals
After the physical examination, ask the doctor about the behaviour problem and whether you might benefitfrom professional consultation. If the answer is "yes" and a consultant is recommended, ask what sort offeedback has been received from other clients so referred. Make notes about each specialist.
If any of those clients are acquaintances of yours, talk to them before telephoning any specialists on the list.
Many veterinarians themselves are getting involved in consulting about problems, so if your pet's doctor hassome ideas, listen to them. If they sound reasonable and appealing, you might be well advised to follow theveterinarian's suggestions before contacting anyone else. But, give the advice time to work and follow theinstructions carefully.
Qualifying the Consultants
The telephone call to the specialist is aimed at gathering vital information about how he or she goes aboutworking with owners and their problem pets. But keep in mind; just as you are qualifying them, they are alsoqualifying you!
If they are operating on the highest ethical standards, they will want to know a great deal about you, yourpet and its health history, plus the history of the problem from the beginning to the present time. Theyshould be especially interested in what steps you may have already taken to solve the problem yourself orwith other assistance.
Give them all the facts. This will allow them to decide if they can really help, or if they should refer you tosomeone more specialized in the problem.
On the other hand, if they show no interest
in the history of the problem and simply press you for anappointment,
count your blessings, thank them nicely, hang up and contact the next consultant
on the list.
Anyone in this profession who does not
extend the courtesy of qualifying his or her clients through a fewminutes
on the telephone falls into one or more of the following categories:
They lack the necessary
experience and/or training to do it. Why pay them to educate themselves
onyour animal?
They subscribe to the
new-car dealer's "system house" approach, which states: "You can't get
theircheck and close a deal on the phone."
This is not very professional.
They are too acutely
dog- or cat-oriented to appreciate your role in the problem, especially
if they usethe old story that they must
"see" your pet before anything can be decided.
They may be too far
up in some ivory tower to feel a genuine "empathy" with you as the owner
of aproblem pet.
Any of the above types display a lack of understanding about the emotional state of someone sincerely seeking help for a pet. They fail to respond as a well-trained consultant should respond, which is withempathy. Add this to the fact that they do not qualify their clients in order to save time, effort and money forall concerned.
Get the Facts and Understand Them
If the specialist offers a description of
the programs available, listen carefully and make notes. Be sure all ofthe
following questions are answered to your satisfaction. While you are gathering
this information, don'thesitate to interrupt
to ask for an explanation of any term or procedure you do not understand.
Unfortunately, many competently trained
and well-educated behaviour specialists tend to use jargon and suchterms
as "bonding" and "separation anxiety." These are fine for professional
seminars but tend to confusepet owners.
Questions To Ask
Where and how long will the appointments be? 60-90 minutes is usual for appointments.
Who
must attend? Make sure everyone involved in the problem and correction
procedures can attend.
What will we be doing? Get "operational descriptions," such as sitting and talking, training the dog, etc?
How many appointments will be required? Six weekly meetings usually suffice, even for severeproblems.
Will any special equipment be required? If so, what? This will reveal whether or not shock collars,spike collars, hanging nooses, hobbles, ultrasonic devices, etc. will be used. If so, get descriptions of howthey will be used.
What is the most severe physical treatment that may be required? This lets you know if ear biting,kneeing, kicking, hitting, jerking or shaking are part of the program.
If the problem persists after the program is completed, what happens? This will prepare you forfurther meetings and/or charges if things do not go as expected.
How much will it cost?
With these questions answered, you can qualify the specialist on three accounts:
1. The humaneness of the methods to be employed, which is up to your own, personal tastes.
2. The cost of the program in terms of the money, time and effort you will be investing.
3. What sort of rapport you and the specialist establish. If you and the consultant cannot communicatesmoothly during an explanation of the programs, you're apt to have even more difficulty later, when it comesto understanding the causes and corrections for your pet's problem.
When you are satisfied that you have reached the "right" specialist, your chances for success are almost asgood as they can possibly be. However, after 28 years of consultation work with dog owners, I would befailing you (and my conscience) if I didn't mention a few more precautions.
There are some impressive "silver tongues"
in this field. They are exceptionally good at using the telephoneinterview
to gain a pet owner's confidence and a preliminary meeting. To avoid getting
involved in somethingthat may not be
satisfactory for you or your pet, hark back to the consultant's description
of the actual
programs and watch out for the following:
Beware of anyone who says that they can
"do it for you." Ask them to meet you at the local lake orriver
to make sure they also walk on water. If they can, check for barely submerged
rocks.
Watch out for anyone who says you will
be meeting with their "assistant," and that they (thespecialist)
will supervise.
Watch out for people who lead you to believe
the program is going to be "easy." Solving a petbehaviour
problem is rarely simple. It requires your mental effort and often some
emotionaladjustments on the part of
all family members.
Watch out for someone who tries to make
you feel guilty about your pet's problem. The problem isthe
result of interactions between your pet and its people, plus other elements
in our environment.
Anything you have done that helped create
the problem was done without harmful intent. No guiltfeelings
are warranted, only a resolve to eliminate the problem.
After you have used this guide and worked with your consultant, please let us know how the programworked out. Report on the nature of the problem, the dog's breed, sex, neuter status, age, weight and anyother physical conditions you think apply to the problem. Give us a description of your family, house, etc.,and other environmental situations that are important. We'll enter the results in the data base and other petowners and behaviour professionals will benefit from your experience.
