Dog Fear and Anxiety Problems – Understanding and Helping Your Dog

Contact us for a no obligation chat. After you have been referred by your veterinary surgeon, you can phone us on 0121 299 0188 to discuss the details and costs, or book online here. You can access the referral form here, or your vet can make the referral online here.

We will send you a referral form to give to your vet. Ask them to look at your dog and fill the form in. You should send this to us prior to the consultation, together with any clinical records that your vet may think are relevant. Alternatively, your vet may like to email, fax (0844 358 3201), or post their records directly to us. Note that they can also fill in their referral online. If you have already spoken to your vet, then this may be sufficient, but please double-check with them. Different vets have different ways of doing things. Some vets charge an extra fee for a referral.

Consultations are held on an appointment basis, either at one of our regional clinics or in your own home. If possible, all family members involved should be present. A history of the problem will be taken and your dog's temperament assessed. After this, the clinical animal behaviourist will explain the motivation for the behaviour and devise a treatment programme to help you modify your pet’s behaviour.

Treatment programmes vary according to the nature and severity of the problem. Sometimes only the initial consultation, remote support and some hard work on your part work are sufficient. Moreover, a detailed report outlining the therapy will be sent to you and your veterinary surgeon. Further advice and aftercare are provided via further sessions and email for at least 3 months. Where treatment dictates it, or if you would prefer face-to-face support, a follow-up appointment can be arranged online.   Alternatively, we can come to your home again.  As a dog owner, we offer extensive face-to-face support following the initial consultation as part of our standard service.

We cannot guarantee a ‘cure’ or work miracles, but if between us we can diagnose what is going on, and if you are prepared to work hard, dramatic improvement is not unusual.  The treatment plan is designed to be fluid.  If what we initially suggest doesn’t seem to have much effect, then we will reassess and make some other suggestions about what to do. 

There is no quick fix to any kind of behaviour problem. The treatment plan advised may produce results very quickly, but often it will take time, effort and commitment from all of the family to produce the improved behaviour. Always remember that your pet’s current problems may have developed over a long period of time, so it may take a particularly long time to improve. It really varies from individual to individual. However, support from us is ongoing, as you need it. Following your consultation, further advice is available by phone and email as you progress, or face-to-face if you require it. Progress is often faster with greater follow-up behaviour support within your own environment.

A strong link between the veterinary surgeon and the animal behaviourist is essential in all cases. In order to rule out any physiological causes for the problem behaviour and in accordance with the Fellowship of Animal Behaviour Clinicians‘ Code of Conduct, we only work on veterinary referral. Behavioural symptoms are often intertwined with some medical conditions. To provide a truly holistic solution to your problem, your vet needs to be involved at all stages of the process. The behaviourist will work closely with your vet, who often provides ongoing support from their end for various elements of the behaviour plan. 

We will send you a referral form to give to your vet. Ask them to look at your pet and fill the form in. You should send this to us prior to the consultation, together with any clinical records that your vet may think are relevant. Alternatively, your vet may like to email, fax (0844 358 3201), or post their records directly to us. Note that they can also fill in their referral online. If you have already spoken to your vet, then this may be sufficient, but please double-check with them. Different vets have different ways of doing things. Some vets charge an extra fee for a referral.

Second Nature Behaviour and our employees are fully covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance.

We offer limited availability on some weekday evenings and weekends. Please note that appointments are booked on a first-come, first-served basis. To find out more about our availability, you can check our booking calendar or give us a call (0121 299 0188).

If you need urgent advice and cannot wait for a behaviour consultation, you can book in a preliminary hour with our senior behaviourist over the phone. This hour is only intended to provide you with first aid, prophylactic management advice to help you and your pet cope until a full assessment is made. To make the most of the limited time in the appointment, we still require a completed behaviour questionnaire. We will expect a completed vet referral, and as always we will keep your vet in the loop about the outcome of our call. As with all our behaviour services, there are no quick fixes. To book, visit our booking page or give us a call (0121 299 0188).

The supervised consultation is led by one of our advanced student behaviourists, supervised by one of our senior behaviourists. A 2-hour consultation and a follow-up session is included – one will be conducted virtually, while the other is in your home or on a local walk. Other students may be virtually ‘sitting in’ via online video link. You also receive a tailor-made behaviour modification plan, plus 3 months’ of email and text follow-up.

A 'student behaviourist' is someone who has met the academic requirements, but not yet been assessed on their clinical skills to achieve accreditation as a Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CCAB) or Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CAB). A 'senior behaviourist' has achieved accreditation as a CAB or CCAB.

A veterinary behaviourist (VB) is more appropriate for cases involving complex medical components. VBs are qualified as both vets and behaviourists, so they have an understanding of how certain medical factors may influence behaviour. VBs can also advise your referring vet directly on specific medical investigations or treatment options - all of which our non-vet behaviourists are not qualified to do.

No, we won’t, although it often brings some complexity to the problem. For instance, if you have two dogs or a dog and a cat, we will charge our standard dog consultation price as we would for just one dog.

This is something that you need to discuss with your vet. Sometimes vets advise that neutering can make the behaviour problem worse, so it would probably be best to wait at least until after the behaviour consultation even if you decide with them to go ahead with it.

It is important to have realistic expectations for what can be achieved.  Behaviour problems take a lot of time and work to improve, sometimes never fully going away.  However, very often at least some management strategies and techniques can be put in place to help with the behaviour. Your behaviourist will be able to discuss the different options with you once they have fully assessed your pet and your situation.  The behaviourist will make a risk assessment as well as provide you with the treatment plan if necessary.