Musings about animal behaviourists

[fankino04]

I did a dog assessment for a german shepherd rescue whose current owners were looking to re-home her due to her aggressive nature towards other dogs (it was fear aggression after she had been attacked as a puppy), these owners had been working with a behaviourist for 3 months to try to resolve things but things weren't improving hence the re homing. This behaviourist had charged £90 consultation then £35 per week for training sessions and also convinced them the dog needed more exercise so was walking it Mon - Fri for £12 per day. In the 3 months the behaviourist had not tried to socialise her with the resident dog or any other dog and was still actively avoiding other dogs when out walking. Now obviously I think this lady was milking these owners for all she could but the owner absolutely adores her so she's clearly very good at self promotion. This visit did start me wondering how many sessions with a behaviourist would you expect to need for most issues, obviously I know it will differ from dog to dog and depends on the issue but as an average how many is too many?

 

[Dobiegirl]

Well that is the question isnt it, it reminds me of one of my foster dogs who lived with my dogs quite happily and mixed well with my friends dogs 3 of which were entire.

The dog was rehomed and we kept in touch via phone calls. after about a month she told me he had started to be very aggressive towards other dogs when walking, this really surprised me as he had not shown any of this behaviour prior although he was a bit guardy.

The adopter told me she had rung a behaviourist(very well qualified) who was happy to come out with a stooge dog this was going to cost about £200, she then told me the stooge dog was a stuffed dog which this behaviourist used all the time, I didnt stop laughing for several minutes.

I said I would come over not with one of my dogs as the foster dog knew mine well but with a friend and a dog she had in for training and was not known to this dog. I took the foster dog and did a bit of paralel walking with my friend and her dog and my foster dog didnt react at all, we ended up walking side by side with no sign of aggression at all. The adopter then took over the dog and we started to go for a walk and I noticed this dog was being jerked everytime we saw another dog. Long story short, the adopter didnt realise she was doing this and it was obvious she was revving the dog up unintentionally of course and being a bit guardy he thought hello why is my owner so nervous. Anyway this took about an hour and the dog has never done it since

How many sessions would the behaviourist of got out of this which in essence was really a handling error and easily fixable.

 

[fankino04]

I forgot to add that after 5 mins walking the dog I sent my partner back to get one of my dogs who is a perfect stooge and it took only a few passes to get her to stop reacting and they walked side by side happily after 5 minutes so I tend to think that as any trainer should be training you to Train your dog that really if you are putting in the work between sessions then if you need more than 3-4 sessions you have got the wrong trainer....

 

[JillA]

When I was doing behaviour consultations if I hadn't made a difference on day one and be well on the way to a resolution by a third visit I would think I had failed. But I would leave a "treatment plan" with careful instructions for the owner/handler. Some of the changes were quite subtle so to convince the client I always ensured there was a small difference by the time I left on the first visit.
I did know someone who paid time after time for someone who came and fed treats. A good reason to ensure a basic level of competence and training by finding someone through the APBC

 

[Alec Swan]

OP, you raise an interesting point. It would be entirely problem-reliant, but I would expect to see an immediate improvement even if only minor. Old fashioned and often unpopular, but I believe that dogs (and horses too) tend to react favourably to a change of direction or at least a different approach. The dog which refuses to walk to heel in a courteous manner for it's owner, will often be obliging to a fresh approach and insistence and often from the outset with a fresh approach.

The dog which is aggressive towards other dogs may well take a while for reality to settle in and that the owner/handler simply won't tolerate such rudeness. In the case of the behaviourist who you describe, they either hadn't a clue what they were doing or they were, as you say, milking the situation.

Alec.

[edit] I've only now read JillA's post, and I agree, I would expect to see an improvement from the outset, not perhaps total compliance, but at least a step in the right direction.

 

[jumbyjack]

I had two behaviourists to see my poorly socialised Parson Russell. She was a rescue dog and although near perfect in the house was a nightmare outside, she clearly had never or rarely been taken out. The first behaviourist was initially helpful but her written report left a lot to be desired, half a page of how to teach the dog to stay in the house on her own, that was after clearly telling her this was not one of the problems, she also twice used the wrong name for the dog in the report! The next idea was to go onto the beach to teach the dog recall and that was after me telling her the dog had no recall and an extremely high chase drive and there was no way I would let her loose on the beach.

Second behaviourist was brilliant, went through the (many) problems with clear instructions/ideas to deal with the issues. She then sent me a superb and detailed training plan. I did see immediate improvement in lots of areas and I can see deterioration fairly rapidly if I loose focus. The dog will never have a good recall and will only ever love cats for lunch but the rest is good thanks to a good behaviourist.

 

[planete]

Mixed experience of behaviourists for me as well. From the one whose stooge dog slipped his too loose collar when working with my dog aggressive foster to the one who managed to turn around for good (I have still got her) a human aggressive bitch in three visits. All members of nationally recognised bodies.

 

[Fellewell]

I would suggest this is part poor breeding and part mismanagement, not due to being roughed up as a puppy. Has she attacked the resident dog or has she been, as I suspect, dominated by it? Somebody probably suggested letting them sort themselves out which is a mistake IMO. With multiple dogs you need to run a dictatorship, you can be benevolent if you like. What she needs is an experienced owner with a trained dog who has access to several other experienced owners with trained dogs. In a situation like this she could be sorted within minutes (not days or months!)