If you found your way to this page, it’s likely because you are trying to figure out what solutions are available for you and your pet.
If you are looking to brush up on basic manners (sit, down, come, stay, good God don’t eat that), and your dog is not nervous, shut down, anxious, over-reacting to the environment, over-reacting to other dogs, or over-reacting to people, training is likely for you.
Training is often done in a classroom with other dogs, like a class (scent work classes, stop jumping classes, canine good citizen classes), or in a client’s home addressing the foundational skills, or advancing those skills.
Other training options might include agility, rally obedience, competition obedience, new puppy consults (assuming there isn’t any unusually challenging circumstances, like hard-staring, or serious resource guarding under 5 months of age).
The waivers for these classes will include some basic personality questions about your pup to ensure we are approaching you and your dog appropriately, and that you are in the right class/session for you as a team.
Behavior appointments are appropriate for dogs who might be growling, nervous around people, nervous around dogs, shut down around loud noises. Some of these dogs might make walks difficult by lunging and barking at other dogs, or people. Some pups might completely shut down, or hide whenever a loud truck goes by the house. They might shrink to make themselves small when company is over. Separation anxiety, sound phobia, leash frustration, and any dog who has a bite history without a management plan in place would all fall under the umbrella of Behavior Consultations. If you or someone you know has used the word “aggressive” or “reactive” in any way to describe your dog’s behavior, this would almost always be the path for you.
Behavior consults take longer as we would be conducting a longer, more detailed protocol, and take a deep dive into your individual pet’s history.
All behavior consults require a filled out intake form in addition to the waiver specific for behavior cases. Some of the questions might not pertain to you and your individual dog, but do fill out everything you can.
I once had a colleague say “Training is getting your dog to perform skills better. Behavior is getting you and your dog to feel better,” and in the broadest of broad strokes, that’s about where I land, too!
There is a lot of overlap between training and behavior, but as far as which button to click – do you want your dog to stop being Tigger the Tiger on amphetimines when guests come over? Regulate the impulse control on an enthusiastic greeter? Learn how the foundations of a new sport? That’s all training.
Is your dog growling, freezing, stiffening, snapping, ducking in fear when guest come over, lunging on leash at other dogs, peeing on the floor whenever FedEx drives by? I believe behavior is the right avenue for you.
Is there overlap? Of course! And dogs aren’t robots any more than we humans are! They are complex, there is nuance, there might be a day that a training case turns into a little bit of confidence building (behavior). There might be a day when the behavior client is using training to build confidence (like through an agility course).
And, of course, if you have any questions at all, feel free to reach out! We can chat about the best option for you and your pet!
Melissa McCue-McGrath 