Initial Consultation!
Initial Consultations are a 2hr introductory sessions for dogs with either behavior issues, known training challenges, or owners who just want more guidance with their dog.
What does the Initial Consult look like and what happens?
You and your trainer will sit down for a very in-depth conversation about your pup and the struggles you are experiencing. If in-person, we’ll casually observe your dog as they explore the space, play with toys, or just do what they feel comfortable doing (*if safe to do so). We learn a lot through observation while the humans chat.
Why is the consult largely a conversation?
Think of this like us doing diagnostics–you don’t just rush in to surgery without knowing what is actually wrong. There are a lot of reasons for a dog to be doing behavior “x” and knowing more about the situation allows us to pick the right training plans more quickly to address the issue because we have more details on where behavior “x” is coming from. We can also find out if there are things in their daily life that are contributing to the issue that we can address those things quickly for fast improvements.
So, what do I get at the end of the 2hr session?
1. A professional’s feedback about your dog’s behavior, their struggles, and an empathetic ear to listen thoughtfully to your concerns.
2. A packet of handouts with information related to your dog’s behavioral concerns. Some handouts provide training instructions and some just information about behavior, but a huge amount of information (*digital packet if you meet digitally)
3. An Initial Action Plan! This is the most valuable part of the consultation for most people. You will leave with a detailed plan for you to implement over the next few weeks. The plan will include a management plan, daily life changes plan (if needed), and generally 1 or 2 training activities to implement.
4. A follow-up plan. We fully expect there to be improvements if you dutifully implement the Initial Action Plan. We give you 3 weeks to implement the plan and we’ll then check in via email to see what’s worked, and what hasn’t worked, what things have improved and by how much. We don’t keep hitting things with a hammer if the hammer isn’t working.
All of our training decisions are data-based, so we’ll give you our recommendation for next training package to meet your goals once we know how much improvement happend from the initial action plan.
Let’s Get Started!
1. Fill Out Appropriate Behavior History Form
There are two form options, you’ll fill out the one that applies to your dog:
Behavior Modification–for dogs who are struggling with things like reactivity (barky/lunging), aggression, resource guarding, arousal issues, overly fearful, stranger danger, dogs with a bite history (if you also have basic training issues, still fill out this form)
Basic Training– for dogs who are struggling with normal training issues like jumping up, counter surfing, pulling on leash, sit/down/stay (basics), polite greetings, inappropriate chewing, house training stuggles, struggling ot settle, etc.
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2. Schedule your Initial Consultation
AFTER you’ve submitted your form, you can get scheduled with one or our awesome trainers.
Tena is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant and sees ALL of the dogs dealing with more serious fear, aggression, or reactivity issues, including dogs with bite histories to humans. She also specializes in training for multiple dog sports
Kelly, Coleman, and Katherine are all Certified Professional Dog Trainers who see puppy/adult basic training challenges, dog sports*, plus moderate level behavior issues like reactivity, resource guarding, etc. They do not see dogs with bite histories to humans. *Coleman (rally and scent) and Katherine (flyball)
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