What Do I Look For In A Behsviorist:

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earthboundmisfit929

New member
My vet is referring my dog and I to a veterinary behaviorist for some issues and my vet is recommending we discuss various training programs we’re looking into with her. Her name is Dr. Amanda Florsheim.

I read the info on her site, and I’m seeing words like force free and fear free. I went to a positive trainer(not a behaviorist) years back when I was having trouble with my other dog. Let’s just say, it was not successful, and my dogs could not do all positive training. They needed the ability to be told they’re doing something wrong.

The dog I’m being referred to a behaviorist for, a seven year old herding dog/working dog mix, is on an ecollar. He can’t not have it. It’s the only thing that helps with his fixation, and he’ll k$ll bunnies and possums if given the chance.

Should I pursue an appointment with this person that my vet personally knows and is recommending? Also, does anyone have any idea on how much a 2 hour introductory session with s veterinary behaviorist costs? I’ve heard it’s pricey but I don’t have a figure.
 
@earthboundmisfit929 Hi, Dr. Florsheim is veterinary behaviorist, meaning she is a vet with a specialty in behavior. She will look at the behavior of your dog and will suggest a training, she may also suggest meds.

There is a big difference between a behavior consultant and trainer. By definition positive reinforcement works for all dogs and if it didn’t work, then the trainer may not have had the skill to help you implement it correctly.

There is an even bigger difference with vet behaviorist and trainer. She is very skilled and very good.

I actually work for Dr f as a behavior consultant. I’m happy to answer any questions that you may have.
 
@godly_wife Thank you so much for reaching out. My vet wants my dog and I to do a consult with you guys to discuss training options for my dog. What is a typical appointment like? Do you guys suggest training at the appointment? Someone told me that all a veterinary behaviorist does is dope a dog up on Prozac. Is that true? How do you deal with dogs who are nervous at the vet’s office? What does fear free mean?
 
@earthboundmisfit929 Hi. The appt with Dr F is roughly 2 hrs in length and she will do a thorough history of your dog. Asking you questions about her, your goals and what you want to accomplish.

Her room is two relatively large offices put together, your dog will be on one side and Dr F on the other. She will not force your dog to interact, but may toss treats and will observe her behavior. We deal with dogs that are both nervous, as well as have human aggression on the daily. Dr F and the team will not stress your dog.

Dr F will suggest a training protocol and may pair you with one of the certified behavior consultants that work for her, like myself. She does not suggest meds for every dog, nor will she force them on you if that is route you do not want to go and that is a logical fallacy that all VB’s do is drug dogs.

Here is what a fear free vet clinic means: https://www.fearfreehappyhomes.com/who-we-are/

The office is open tomorrow and the front office staff is very knowledgeable and very kind. I believe the cost is around $250 per hr but I do not know for sure.
 
@godly_wife Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. I probably won’t reach out to you guys for another week or two. My vet gave us a lot of tips and training protocols to work on. I want to work on that first and see if it helps some. We will probably still reach out.
 
@godly_wife I’ll definitely consider that. That might be a good idea. Do all the behavior consultants have a lot of experience with dogs? I know anyone can call themselves a dog trainer these days. Not that you guys would, but I’ve run into my fair share of trainers who didn’t know what they were talking about last week.

I had two separate trainers last week tell me I should put my dog down without ever meeting him. One of the trainers told me I was living with an undomesticated animal and that it would take seeing someone every 10 days to fix the behavior. I had another trainer tell me it would cost $4,500-8,000 just to learn to manage the behavior and that it wasn’t fixable.

When I told my vet what those previous trainers said, he thought they were ridiculous and basically told us they didn’t know what they were talking about, and that there are about 1,000 steps before behavioral euthanasia, and that we should try those. All because my dog had started getting worked up when the amazon guy and the yard guy come.
 
@earthboundmisfit929 We are all very experienced and have certifications and credentials. We would never suggest euthanasia unless for serious aggression.

My credentials are in my bio, as well as over 25 years experience.

I’m happy to chat further by dm if you’d like.
 
@earthboundmisfit929 Yes a vet behaviorist will have certifications and a degree. It’s hard to find a fear free vet sometimes! It’s a newer principle. The force free dog training world is changing every day. There’s plenty of entry level trainers that don’t quite know what they’re doing just yet. There’s more that goes into positive reinforcement than just giving the dog a treat. Timing, threshold, antecedent arrangements, biological fulfillment.
 
@airamnire Could you tell me what fear free is? It’s a newer term to me. Also, the all positive trainer we worked with claimed she’s been training for over twenty years, but all she could do for the problem of my Chihuahua mix being resource aggressive to my herder, was recommend adaptil collars, work on place, and recommend crate and rotate. None of those worked out, but one session with a balanced trainer, and I had the tools I needed to fix the behavior. It was essentially money wasted. I guess I’m hoping that the session with this lady won’t be a waste of money.
 
@earthboundmisfit929 Here’s the fear free site with info for pet owners! https://www.fearfreehappyhomes.com

It is a certification program with a code of ethics that involves following the most up to date, humane and ethical methods to handle animals to ensure comfort and safety.

While I would also suggest those management tools that trainer you worked with suggested, I would also work on a thorough counter conditioning plan. If I felt like it was out of my scope I have plenty of colleagues I can refer out to. Any reputable and responsible trainer has a list of colleagues they can refer clients to. So sorry you wasted time previously :(
 
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