The consultation is a starting point for our training journey. In order to better address your goals I need to understand more about your concerns and your household. Training isn’t a simple one size fits all plan. Each dog is an individual with their own history, preferences and needs, just as each household has its own rhythm and varying team members. For training to be successful, it's very important that I understand your family’s capacity, experience and specific needs. Creating a training plan that doesn’t fit your life means that it’s less likely to be followed and therefore less likely to be successful in improving your current behavior challenges.
Prior to your Initial Consultation, you’ll complete a questionnaire so that I can better understand your situation. During the consultation we’ll discuss your past experiences and the steps for training. We’ll also discuss how to proceed with training. We can discuss if a program is a better option for your situation and what support structure would help your family best. Training begins during this initial consultation, so it is greatly beneficial for all family members to be present.
Who should attend?
In my opinion, the more the merrier. However, that doesn’t work for everyone or every situation.
Having children present or excluded can often be a stressful component, so I always suggest that you decide if you’d like them to participate. Young children can find consultations to be a bit boring at times but may also find the session and visitor extremely exciting. As I’ve said, each household is different! You’re more than welcome to have children participate for the entirety of the consult, a small portion or schedule to not have them present for the consult at all. I’m always happy to have children join, especially if they want to be a part of the training. This also goes for extended family who live in the home or are over often. If Grandma walks the dog weekly or your roommate cares for the dog while you’re away, they may benefit from the discussion of training.
If you feel you won’t be able to be as candid in your concerns or questions, or feel you may be distracted with managing them and less able to participate, then having someone over to keep them entertained may be more helpful. It may also be helpful to arrange a session for a time when they naturally wouldn’t be home, especially if you need to discuss things that are above their understanding or of delicate nature. Virtual sessions can be scheduled in the later evenings to accommodate for bedtime routines in households with very young children. For many families, the adults prefer to put babies to bed and then jump on a Zoom call when they can have their hands free and focus on the session.
Pricing and Types of Consultation Services
Puppy Consultation - $150 - Consultation for puppies under 6 months with a focus on potty training, jumping, mouthing and early socialization. One hour sessions with follow up homework and recommendations.
Initial consultation for Basic Challenges - $200 - This consultation is best for households struggling with behavior challenges of dog(s) over 6 months of age. Basic behavior challenges are the category that most clients fall into. Jumping, barking, mouthing, pulling on leash, coming when called, barking at dogs while on leash or behind a barrier, and mild chasing of small animals are all challenges that would fall into this category. Active aggression (charging or lunging towards people) would be better supported by the Complex Session set up. Basic Behavior Challenge Consultations are 90 minute sessions with a follow up session summary and suggested next steps.
Initial Consultation for Aggression and Complex Cases - $240 - If your dog has a history of aggression or extreme fear/avoidance of strangers or other dogs, this style of consultation may suit you best. This may also be the best option in cases with multiple dogs who have behavior challenges. Complex Cases can be cases where there are multiple training challenges that need to be addressed. This consult style will at times split the consultation into two, shorter sessions that allow for better information gathering and preparation.
For dogs whom visitors can cause extreme stress, it is often best to split the initial consultation into two portions. At least one portion of the initial consultation must be done virtually or via phone. By meeting via media and not in person, we can limit the stress to your dog, you and your household. When these initial meetings are done without preparation or communication, the session is often completely overwhelming for your dog and doesn’t benefit the humans or dog. Meeting in person, without initial discussion and preparation is not only stressful, but it’s inappropriate and unsafe. Your dog’s safety is my ultimate priority. If your dog is feeling unsafe, the quality and success of the training and experience will significantly be affected. By focusing the initial consultation on understanding what’s going on for your dog and what you’ve already tried, we can also put together a plan for working towards in person sessions - whether those be with me or with family/friends/roommates.
