I wish I could tell you honestly that I get asked this a lot. The truth is, no one asks this. Most people that reach out to me find me after looking for a dog trainer, or have found me on dog trainer referral lists. Which, sweet! I’m thrilled you did! But I do secretly (maybe not so secretly) wish that dog behavior consultant was just as familiar of a term.
We know this industry is truly a mind field to parse through and any term that a collective of like minded professionals starts to use is quickly taken over and it’s meaning diluted to nothing. (this might be another post, but like “Science-based” is the newest to be hijacked! blarg!! Can I add an emjoi here of a head exploding? well picture it). So maybe I haven’t thought it through and rather like that they haven’t taken this term. Although, one thing I have noticed is that people who give themselves titles without any educational backing tend to use the term “behaviorialist” which um, isn’t a word. So go figure.
So, behavior consultant?
It sounds so formal, which maybe that’s good. Just because I don’t see myself as a formal person, I do know that when I’m at work, we are typically talking through some serious topics that have some real weight and consequences, not just to the dog, but to their family and community at large. The role of a behavior consultant is not just a dog trainer. They need to look at the big picture. We need to understand what all is going on that has affected the dogs’ behavior, get to the root issues, and go well beyond simply cue training or tricks. We’re also coordinating with your dog’s team – helping to build that team out and keep digging deeper and making sure no stone is unturned. So while I am not a vet, I make sure to educate my self of behaviors that typical show up due to various medical issues. I don’t *and can’t!* diagnose medical issues, but am sure to communicate to my client what I am observing and what I think needs to be discussed with their vet or other care specialist.
We’re also bringing on new team members as needed, making sure that you as the pet guardian are supported and not made to go it alone. As a behavior consultant, I am here to support you, reach out to other pros and make sure that we are taking care of the guardian just as much as we are the dog. I speak a whole lot about enrichment and management to make sure we are meeting the dogs needs and reducing triggers. But this is just as important for the guardian. I can’t expect you to drop everything in your life and become a full time dog trainer (hi, that’s me… a story for another time). I want you to live your life, damn it, enjoy that life. It’s short and we need to make the most out of it. That means taking part in those activities that fill your cup and meet your needs (sound familiar?). It also means making sure that when you are working with your dog, we’ve mapped out various scenarios of what you can do based on your capacity at that time. Seriously, I make plans for the days we are exhausted and have nothing in the tank, I also make plans for those ambitious bursts of energy when everything seems to fall in line. You are not failing your dog by going out and not working on training. You are doing both of you a favor and filling your cup so that when you show up for your dog, you’re giving them your best.
I digress (that should be the title of the blog, let’s be honest)… So as a behavior consultant, I am wanting to learn everything that is going on with the dog. I want to learn about it’s home life and environment, what it’s background is all about (and most of the time, we don’t have a clear understanding of the dog’s full past), medical factors that are known and suspected, what it’s daily life looks like, as well, what the dedicated guardian’s life is like and when and how those two intersect. If you’re still with me, you’ll understand how each dog and person are so wildly different from every other dog and why I don’t just throw a one-size fit’s all training program on dogs. It’d be pretty useless really. After I gather as much info as I can (and add and continue to dive deeper) I create a game plan. I suppose you could call it a training plan, but that seems so limiting. I do try to parse it out into my four pillars (medical, exposure, enrichment and training), but of course, I don’t stop there. My goal in the first plan is to give some quick meaningful relief to everyone and cut through all the info to discover what might have the greatest impact with lowest barrier of entry. Typically we are looking at some management strategy, but again, not everyone is the same.
I’m looking at where there might be gaps in the dog’s needs, focusing one how to help reduce triggers overall, and build out the dogs enrichment menu. I want to give a path for what needs to be focused on now and make a plan of what the future might hold. And as we know, no plan will stay the same. It just can’t. We adjust and make changes, add or take away things as life comes up, and make room for new surprises. There are always new surprises! And this doesn’t happen in a bubble, the time frame of each plan will be wildly different for each individual. Often times we are working with other care pros and waiting on appointments, results, for things to take effect. Along the way, we are taking data and seeing how things are going. [Yes, taking data! I know, I’m not formal and believe you me, my scattered brain struggles with admin tasks. But data collection is made to work for the guardian. I include a digital logbook as part of my intro package, but I recognize not everyone wants to enter data in an excel sheet (or something that kinda looks like that). That’s fine! I truly want people to track how they want. Some it’s a notebook, others a whiteboard in the kitchen. I had one very creative client use emojis in her notes app and it was truly a very effective measure for us].
I am also big on dispersing information and further educating anyone that will listen or shows even the slightest interest in literally any dog topic. I have a crazy amount of resources on a good variety of topics and will gladly share with all. Why would anyone want to gate keep legit, reputable dog info is beyond me. And again, if you’re still with me reading here, you know that I have a hard time editing myself when I’m passionate about something. I’m sure some of my clients are taken aback by the response emails they get after asking a “simple” question. teeheehee… sorry! Verbose for sure. Passionate about dogs, absolutely. short and to the point…eh, not so much.
Do we do any training though?
Yes! for sure. Like I don’t want you to think all I do is chat, send off long winded emails and detailed plans to work through on your own! I really am here to help support you through it all. And yes, that does actually mean we are doing some skill building. Well, I mean, most of the time. Everyone is different! When we are doing any type of training (what I call capital T Training), my role is to help you the guardian so that you can teach your dog. I do not want your dog to perform for me and then be confused when I’m gone. I want to make sure you understand how to help your dog and what training options you might want to use (and feel empowered to know if it’s a training thing, maybe an enrichment thing or something you want to deal with in management). I want you to have the skills on board so that you are able to recognize the subtle changes in your dogs body language, and know what would be appropriate given the situation. And for most, this is a brand new skill! That’s hard! You shouldn’t be trying to figure out the mechanics on how to train while also trying to train a difficult skill with a highly emotional being that has those sharp pointy teeth and isn’t afraid to use them. When we are doing skill building, I really focus on laying a super solid foundation for each learner. While every person and their dog has unique needs, the one universal thing that I really emphasize with everyone, is dog body language. That will be another whole post because, truly, it’s the most important thing. But those foundation skills are worked on together, often times with out the dog at first. We’re mindful of setting up the environment and clearing up any confusion and answering questions around the hows and whys.
I’m big on working with people long term. I know some people want “quick fix” dog training and are marketed asinine things like “no reactivity in two days” or “guaranteed no barking in just two weeks” or something crazy. But we know that doesn’t work. We’re not trying to suppress behaviors and not deal with the underlying emotions. We want your dog to genuinely feel better, more regulated (is that the right term?), more comfortable, feel safe and secure and not feel the need to react or use it’s teeth. This takes time. I almost wrote this “can” take time. but no, this does take time. It’s emotional, it can be really challenging on both the dog and the human. It can be taxing and takes patience and empathy. While I wish all the progress would be linear, we know that’s just not the case either. For those roadblocks, hurdles or whatever other metaphor works for you, I want to be there to support and help guide you both. Yes, sometimes it’s just nice to vent to someone that gets it and won’t judge them. Other times it’s resetting, taking another look and changing course. I have a phenomenal network of other dog pros and mentors that we work on cases together and bring in fresh perspective to. As much as I want to learn everything (and take all the courses, read all the books, attend all the webinars, etc.), I know I will not know it all. That’s why I collaborate and bring on others. At the end of the day, we all want you and your dog to succeed, however that looks. So know, you are not alone on this journey, my work with you continues long term. And you know I love a good check-in and report on how things are going from past clients!