The usual January trend of a spike in behaviour cases continues this year! I even received enquiries for behavioural support for dogs on Christmas Day. One dog had bitten a child on the face, and another had weed all over the presents under the tree! Both emails were from very upset and concerned owners who wanted help as soon as possible for their dogs.
Sometimes when I get urgent enquiries, especially bite cases, people aren’t very happy when I explain I cannot start working with them until I receive the necessary paperwork.
Asking for a vet referral and completed pre-consult and consent forms isn’t just me trying to make your life difficult. There is a good reason why I need these things completing.
As a full member of the APBC and a registered Clinical Animal Behaviourist on the ABTC register, I can only take these cases on after getting the OK from the vet.
But why do behaviour cases need a vet referral?
Research by Mills et al. (2020) from the University of Lincoln found that up to 82% of behaviour cases seen by clinical animal behaviourists like me had a health component linked to them. Of these the most common is musculoskeletal pain. This may be things like hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, luxating patella’s, osteoarthritis and so on – the list is pretty much endless due to the huge range of health conditions that impact our four-legged friends. Actually in dogs the prevalence of osteoarthritis is staggering with 80% of dogs over the age of 8 thought to struggle with this excrutiatingly painful condition. But please don’t think that if your dog is young then they wouldn’t be struggling with this – some research suggests up to 35% of dogs under the age of 1 already struggle with arthritis! Being in pain is higihly likely to impact on your dog’s behaviour even if you don’t spot any physical signs that they are struggling (as a side note – dogs do not need to limp or yelp to be in pain their signs of pain can be so much more subtle and I suggest you check out this amazing FREE resource from CAM to find out more: Is My Dog in Pain? | Canine Arthritis Management (cameducation.co.uk))
Here’s an example from one of my previous cases as to why I insist on your dog getting a thorough health check at the vets before your first behaviour cases session with me:
Bobby is a young Bichon Frise cross. When she was adopted her new family noticed she was shy, she barked quite a lot, particularly at other dogs (reactivity) and she couldn’t be left home alone (separation anxiety). It would be easy to think that as a rescue dog these problem behaviours stem from a lack of socialisation, or bad experiences with other dogs and perhaps a fear of being abandoned again as after all – she had ended up in the rescue for a reason.
Bobby’s owners got in touch for help, and I sent them to the vet with their vet referral form.
The vets suspected a problem in her hind legs, so she went to see a specialist. They diagnosed her with a health condition that when she was adopted just a few weeks earlier, no one was aware of. She needed surgery to prevent this condition from worsening as she ages and to hopefully reduce the amount of pain she was in on a daily basis.
Our plan then changed dramatically. Instead of being booked in for a 2 hour diagnostic assessment to look at behaviour modification for her reactivity and separation issues, our initial sessions were based around getting her ready for the prolonged crate rest she requires after surgery. The operation required Bobby to rest for 8-12 weeks post operation and if you have ever tried telling a young dog to stay still for even a short amount of time you can imagine how tricky this was going to be!
After Bobby’s surgery there may well be some further training and behaviour modification work to do as just like how humans form habits, dogs can develop fixed behaviours even when the underlying motivation (in this case likely pain!) has been addressed. Her reactivity to other dogs may remain due to being rehearsed and practiced, so she may need some help to learn how to behave in a more appropriate calm way with other dogs, but the key thing here is that without a vet check this pain could have gone undiagnosed.
The vet form may seem a “faff” but it is a vital part of ensuring that your dog gets the right help and support.
If you have been trying to work through a problem behaviour with your dog and the canine professional you have been working with has not asked for a vet referral and copy of your dog’s medical history then please take great care. No amount of training (whether positive reinforcement or otherwise) will over come problems that are being caused by ill health. Our dogs deserve to be happy and healthy, so please visit the ABTC website to find a clinical animal behaviourist to support you OR click here to book in with Nose to Trail.
All vet referral forms, pre consult forms and consent forms can be found here: Behaviour | Nose To Trail
Please only make a booking after a short discussion with Rachel to ensure she can take on your case.
I hope you have found this blog helpful! If there’s anything else about Nose to Trail classes or services that you would like me to explain in a blog post, then please do let me know by emailing info@nosetotrail.co.uk