If you think a pet behaviour  consultation would help you and your pet, please contact us for a chat.

AbbeyPet Animal Behaviour conducts all pet behaviour therapy consultations in line with the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors guidelines.  Consultations require a referral from your vet to make sure that there is no underlying medical cause for the behaviour.

---

Treatment programmes for animal behaviour problems vary according to the nature and severity of the problem. Most behaviour modification programmes will include reward based training (particularly for dogs) and may require you to change aspects of your day to day management of your pet.

Please be aware that changing a well established behaviour takes time and commitment from the owners.  Any training methods will be fully demonstrated by the behaviourist and you will have the opportunity to have a go yourself to ensure that you are happy and can fully apply any training required.

There can be no guarantees with behaviour modification. The success of any programme is affected by many factors including how long the problem has already been present, severity, environmental and genetic influences, compliance with the behaviour modification programme and other factors that could be contributing to the problem.

---

What is a pet behaviour counsellor and what do they do?

A pet behaviour counsellor typically works one-to-one with a pet and its owner. This may be carried out in the pet’s home, the practitioner’s office or the place where the pet is showing behavioural problems – or a variety of these locations for different sessions during the treatment time. By observing the pet and interviewing the owner, the behaviourist creates a working hypothesis on what is motivating and sustaining the behaviour.   A behaviour modification plan is then drawn up, in consultation with the owner, to address the issue.