{"id":347,"date":"2013-02-18T17:49:32","date_gmt":"2013-02-18T17:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/?p=347"},"modified":"2018-07-19T14:26:18","modified_gmt":"2018-07-19T14:26:18","slug":"top-10-tips-for-choosing-a-pet-behaviourist-how-to-find-a-dog-or-cat-behaviourist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/top-10-tips-for-choosing-a-pet-behaviourist-how-to-find-a-dog-or-cat-behaviourist\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 Tips for Choosing a Pet Behaviourist \u2013 how to find a dog or cat behaviourist"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

With so many people offering dog training or cat behaviour services and with seemingly every other pet owner who has an opinion, it can be a really daunting place to be when looking for help with a pet behaviour problem. That\u2019s why Animal Behaviour Specialist\u00a0Jez Rose\u00a0has put together this Top 10 Tips for Choosing a Behaviourist:<\/p>\n

1: Choose someone you like.<\/strong>\u00a0Pick up the \u2018phone and call them because the person you choose for you and your pet are likely to be spending some time with you, so it\u2019s important that you trust and get on with them. You\u2019re likely to be welcoming them into your home and will need to talk to them and ask questions through the rough and the smooth.
\n2: Check out their testimonials.<\/strong>\u00a0Other peoples\u2019 experiences\u00a0are important so do your research to find out what other people thought. Ring around and get some word of mouth recommendations about them.
\n3: Professionalism is key.<\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a0quality of the information\u00a0the produce and their website is important because it is likely to reflect the professionalism of the individual overall. First impressions count for a reason and attention to detail is everything.
\n4: Qualifications aren\u2019t everything.<\/strong>\u00a0The old addage that\u00a0\u201ccredentials on a wall don\u2019t make you a decent human being\u201d<\/em>\u00a0is true in every walk of life, so consider experience, knowledge, mentoring and professionalism, as well as qualifications. I know plenty of great Doctors but I\u2019ve also met a few who I was less than impressed with.
\n5: Guarantees.<\/strong>\u00a0Guarantees\u00a0are everything when embarking on correcting your pet\u2019s problem behaviour. It\u2019s important to ask how long it is likely to take and what guarantees the behaviourist offers. Ask if they will guarantee to keep working with you to ensure improvement in your pet\u2019s problem behaviour. Ask if the plan they offer, their service and improving the problem is guaranteed.
\n6: Speak to your vet.<\/strong>\u00a0All good behaviourists will come\u00a0recommended by veterinary professionals\u00a0and work closely with them, so if in doubt, ask your vet or someone you know for a word of mouth recommendation.
\n7: Support and back up.<\/strong>\u00a0All too often I hear of pet owners paying their money and the never hearing from the behaviourist again, unable to get replies to questions or further support. In many cases problem behaviours don\u2019t correct themselves overnight so it is important that the behaviourist you choose to work with you provides a\u00a0support service.
\n8: Insurance.<\/strong>\u00a0Check that they are insured to work with animals (and children if applicable to you) and have adequate public liability and indemnity cover, just in case. If you do have children, we would suggest that a CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) clearance is important, too.
\n9: You are just as important.\u00a0<\/strong>Although the behaviourist\u2019s job is to work primarily with your pet, they should also be working closely with you, so consider their customer service and how long it takes to reply to your enquiry, for example. If they aren\u2019t bothered before they\u2019ve been paid, it\u2019s not looking good for after!
\n10: Don\u2019t get confused by clubs.<\/strong>\u00a0There are a daunting number of memberships clubs for animal trainers and behaviourists, but membership of them doesn\u2019t guarantee efficacy or success. Look instead for results-led recommendations and choose someone who uses positive behaviour modification techniques, avoiding those that mention or use any of the following:
\n– Shaking a can\/bottle\/container of stones
\n– Spraying water
\n– Shouting
\n– Rolling over or pinning
\n– Check or choke chains
\n– Physical or verbal punishment<\/p>\n

The Behaviour Company\u00a0offers a range of solutions for pet behaviour problems. For more information and for free resources and tips, visit\u00a0www.thebehaviourcompany.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With so many people offering dog training or cat behaviour services and with seemingly every other pet owner who has an opinion, it can be a really daunting place to be when looking for help with a pet behaviour problem. That\u2019s why Animal Behaviour Specialist\u00a0Jez Rose\u00a0has put together this Top 10 Tips for Choosing a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[21,22,37,23,15,30,19],"class_list":["post-347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-miscellaneous","tag-animal","tag-behaviour","tag-behaviourists","tag-dog","tag-pet-health","tag-therapy","tag-training"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1778,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347\/revisions\/1778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}