This week, I asked friends online, many of them professionals who work with animals, if they have consulted with veterinary behaviorists for their own pets. How did that work out? I also asked the professionals if they recommend veterinary behaviorists to their clients, and why?
Here are some of their experiences with veterinary behaviorists.
Gwen Jones (California) My Hurricane Katrina rescue, Molly, developed severe anxiety—starting out as seemingly bad separation anxiety and turning into shaking and trembling for hours when I was with her. The UC Davis behavioral vet started Molly on low doses of meds and gave me some training techniques to use to teach her to settle and to go to a safe place. A month later the behavioral vet saw a different dog. (She was bummed that the intern who had assisted with the original visit wasn’t there to see the results!) She was amazed that we never had to increase the dosages and Molly lived the last few years of her life in relative safety and never went back to being so terrified.
Photo by Gwen Jones
Alisha Ardiana (California) As a dog trainer, I often refer my clients to a veterinary behaviorist. In general, I ask them to work with me for three months to see if we are able to resolve their concerns. But if we are not making headway with my recommendations and if the guardians feel that every day is a struggle, then I absolutely encourage them to work with a veterinary behaviorist.
Isabel Alvarez Arata (Texas) I interviewed Dr. Chris Pachel on my show and asked him many questions that novice pet parents may have about a vet behaviorist, their education, etc.
What does it take to become a Vet Behaviorist and what do they do? – YouTube
Micha Michlewicz (Maryland) I’ve both referred clients to veterinary behaviorists and used veterinary behaviorists for two of my own dogs. (Board-certified) veterinary behaviorists are like the psychiatrists of the animal world. They can help to recognize medical contributors to behavior, diagnose psychiatric disorders in animals, and either treat them themselves or recommend treatment (like an allergist, for example). They’re the best for managing psychiatric medication to increase pets’ quality of life. These medications can be complex, due to different doses, different combinations, side effects, or issues with mixing with other medication. Veterinary behaviorists specialize in this area, and are best suited to manage it for best results.
Summer Storm Kingery DVM (North Carolina) I had a rescue cat that was suckling on her own nipples, causing injury. We had enriched her life as much as we could, but this was a behavior that she did to fall asleep. I didn’t want to do anything that would offend her sensibilities, like bitter sprays, as I didn’t want her to displace (change to some other issue, such as scent marking) the behavior. We eventually needed to re-home her to a more active and attentive family, where the behavior faded because she wasn’t left alone and could be interrupted, and she tended to sleep with people present at all times (my household was two busy working professionals). I am a veterinarian, and find that veterinary behaviorists can cut through a lot of trial and error, and folks tend to take the environmental and behavioral modification advice that they pay a decent amount of money for—typically several hundred dollars—far more seriously than my advice.
Carol Duncan (Texas) In 2001, I adopted a fear-aggressive Border Collie. After he gave someone a minor bite, a friend told me about Dr. Lore Haug and I got a referral to her. It was an epiphany for me, as I had previously been training my dogs using aversive methods. A medication was tried briefly, but was discontinued when it did not have the desired effect. I was given a specific plan to teach the dog to relax and to desensitize and counter-condition him to various stimuli. I also learned how to manage him so that he could avoid many triggers. Eventually, I was able to use him as my demo dog in obedience classes I taught. Everything I learned has benefited the other dogs for whom I have cared, as well as the students in my classes.
Kathleen Huggins (Washington) We have had six schnauzers. Schnauzers are schnauzers and take consistent persistence in training. But one of our boys was beyond problematic. We went to a veterinary behaviorist because we were at the point we thought we would have to just put him down. He didn’t like anyone, except he was very sweet with us. Couldn’t trust him with kids ever. Hated other dogs. Couldn’t trust him not to bite people. We had raised him and trained him the same as all the others.
We sat with the behaviorist for almost two hours and he was a little prince. She was about to conclude that we had a problem, not him. At that moment, another dog walked by the low window in the door of her office. Our dog went ballistic. There was no reaching him when he got in that space, and she saw it. Her conclusion? He was the runt of the litter, and she said that sometimes the runt is starved for nutrients even in utero and it causes developmental delays. The portion of the brain that controls impulses develops last. She put him on anti-depressants and gave us some great training instructions.
The anti-depressant is not a cure, but it smoothed him out enough that we could work with him. He did get better, but we never could trust him with kids. Or with dogs he didn’t know. And when people came to the house we kenneled him until they got in and settled and he calmed down. One important thing we learned was to never allow others to approach him. Have them stand still until he goes up to them. Then all is copacetic.
All this was stuff we learned from the behaviorist, and we had him another six or seven years, after we had been so close to putting him down. She was a psychiatrist.
Rebekah Piedad (California) I haven’t used a veterinary behaviorist for any of my own dogs yet, though, in retrospect, before I became a dog trainer, I had a dog that absolutely would have benefited from the services of a VB, and I regret not giving her that help. Currently, I specialize in fear and aggression cases, and after working with thousands of dogs with severe behavior issues, I’m now very quick to refer my clients to a veterinary behaviorist. The sooner we can get their dog feeling better, the faster our progress will be. Also, these dogs are suffering. The anxiety and/or extreme arousal they experience that manifests in behavior issues like aggression significantly affects their quality of life, and I want to help them feel better as quickly as possible because it’s the kind thing to do. I’m grateful that we have some great VBs who work wonderfully with the team of dog, owner, and trainer to provide the best possible care and treatment plan.
Steven Cogswell (Colorado) We have two wonderful veterinary behaviorist offices in the Denver metro area. I’m also very quick to bring their existence into any conversation I have with current and potential clients. I’m starting to move toward specializing in Separation Anxiety and there’s quite a bit of science and a lot of anecdotal evidence that medication supported by a behavior modification protocol has a really good track record. VBs are pricey and in my area they have wait lists of three to four months, but I feel their advanced degrees in both veterinary medicine and behavior can end up saving folks a lot of spinning wheels, wasted time, and wasted cash. From my personal experience, I have generalized anxiety, and I talked to two general practitioners about it. I had to suggest the meds I thought might work based on my research, and they said “sure” and wrote me a prescription. Not exactly the nuanced, educated approach I was hoping for. Later, I talked with a psychiatrist and got a much better result. I felt the meds, the dosage, and the discussions of possible side effects were so much more on point. I feel the same way about VBs.
Kate LaSala CTC CSAT (Connecticut) I often refer to VBs. I find many general vets don’t have a broad depth of knowledge about behavior meds. I make the analogy to human medicine—sure, your GP can give you something to help you sleep or if you’re anxious flying, but if you have an anxiety disorder or depression, you’re likely going to see a psychiatrist because they are specialists and know better about cocktailing meds and the intricacies of behavior meds—better than a GP. VBs are the same. Of course there are a few exceptions if the general vet has an interest in behavior, but most don’t have the time to spend with complicated behavior cases. And just like with human medicine, some docs are better than others. I have a handful that I refer to and really have a good relationship with.
Eileen Anderson shared this important information about one condition on which veterinary behaviorists often consult:
Eileen Anderson (Arkansas) I really wanted pet owners to know what Veterinary Behaviorists do, so I did this interview and blog post.
How Vet Behaviorists Help Dogs with Dementia & Their People | Dog Dementia Help and Support
