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Fears and Phobias

This covers all types of problem behaviour that appears to be due to fear, whether specific or general (anxiety). Examples include fear of fireworks, gun shots or traffic, fear of car travel and hesitancy/stopping on walks. Home visits can be undertaken throughout Northamptonshire, as well as around Banbury, Market Harborough and Milton Keynes.

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Feeling embarrassed, guilty, annoyed or just overwhelmed? If so, I can help!

 

Are you struggling with your dog:

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  • Panting, shaking or pacing during fireworks, storms or any other event;

  • Being reluctant to go on walks or refusing to walk once out;

  • Not settling in the home due to noise sensitivity;

  • General shyness in certain situations; or

  • Doing anything else related to fear or anxiety?

 

It can be very hard to live with a fearful dog and both management and rehabilitation is usually needed – for both safety and to protect the welfare of your loved pet.

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I can help you transform your dog’s behaviour to look more like this by giving you the tools to manage the bad times and re-train your dog to overcome their problems:

A behaviour consultation involves the following steps:

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  • Free initial telephone or Zoom call to discuss the help I can offer and to ensure you are happy with the process

  • Completion of a detailed history form and veterinary referral - this ensures I have a full set of information and that any underlying medical problems are taken into consideration and is in-line with my professional membership bodies’ Codes of Conduct

  • In-person or Zoom-based consultation, lasting between 1 and 2.5 hours – this allows me to fully assess each problem behaviour by clarifying details with you and takes into account the whole family’s experiences of the problem

  • Immediate intervention plan, discussed and agreed with you during the consultation – this allows immediate improvements to be made while keeping everyone safe and preventing further development of the problem(s)

  • Written report and additional resources, sent within a week of the consultation – details the assessment i.e. what is your dog feeling and why, and what is the immediate and longer term plan

  • Liaison with your vet, including written report – this ensures communication with the pet’s primary professional caregiver and is in-line with my membership bodies’ Codes of Conduct

  • Follow-up support for 8 weeks, including two 1-hour in-person sessions – this allows ongoing practical training support, as well as enabling me to tweak any bits of the plan that are not working for you or need further development (such as follow-on training exercises that can only be implemented once initial improvement has been seen).

 

Package options:

 

Standard package: Up to 2.5 hour consultation, with two in-person training support visits and 8 weeks of regular follow-up telephone or video calls and email support. £450

 

Premium package: Premium package: Up to 2.5 hour consultation, with three in-person training support visits and 12 weeks of regular follow-up telephone or video calls and email support. £595

 

After working with me, you should feel more confident and enjoy your dog again. No more dread as November approaches, no more daily struggles to exercise your dog – just happy times! And to top it all off, your dog will also be happier and secure in their world. You have the power to make this change! And all this can be done using scientific, proven and kind methods. My promise to you includes never using or recommending prong collars, e-collars or corrections of any kind.

“I have a very anxious cockapoo called Watty and enlisted the help of Victoria following a discussion with my vet. I liked the fact that Victoria contacted the vet for his medical history and reported back to them. It was important that she could work with him and train me at the same time…the biggest thing for me is that I started to see things more from Watty’s perspective and stopped treating him like a human. Thanks Victoria, I will be in touch if any more problems occur”. Angela, Northampton

​What should I do next?

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  • Book your appointment using the buttons on this page

  • Obtain a veterinary referral

  • Prepare the intake questionnaire

  • After the consultation you will receive the Behaviour Modification Plan in report form, with additional supporting materials

  • Receive ongoing support to continue to progress and restore harmony!​​

FAQs

How quickly can you solve the problem? Many dog behaviour issues require careful re-training over time. Sometimes you will see an improvement straight away, just by learning about the whys and hows, but usually it takes a few weeks to months to see a full resolution. There is often some level of ongoing management needed, especially where human safety is an issue. Can you guarantee to solve all my dog’s problems? Unfortunately, there are no guarantees as every situation and every dog is different. The Behaviour Modification Plan will take a significant amount of effort on your part but I will never ask you to do anything you cannot do, whether due to practical reasons or something else, e.g. lack of time. Having worked with many dogs over the years, with all sorts of issues, I can promise you I am in a great position to help you! What’s the difference between a dog trainer and a ‘behaviourist’? Basically, a dog trainer trains dogs to perform certain tasks, such as ‘sit’, ‘retrieve’ or more complicated behaviours, such as how to run an agility course. A behaviourist will take a full history of your dog to work out what is causing a behaviour problem and work with you to understand your dog’s behaviour and modify it as necessary. However, there is a lot of overlap in the real work and it is worth bearing in mind that anyone can call themselves a dog trainer or behaviourist, since these are not protected terms in the UK. My dog has multiple issues or doesn’t quite fit the profile described above That’s no problem! I will take account of everything that concerns you in the behaviour consultation, based on your priorities, as well as safety and welfare. My packages are largely the same in layout, apart from separation-related problems, which tend to require a different approach. You can either book a standard consultation or chat to me first here if you would like some reassurance. Why is a veterinary referral needed? Medical issues, including pain, can affect up to 70% of dog behaviour cases. It is also part of my professional Code of Conduct. It is therefore essential for me to work with the knowledge and support of your vet. Most vets do not charge for this and I can even arrange it for you. Can I claim on my insurance? Sometimes, yes, but it will depend on your policy. Please check your policy wording carefully and check with your insurer directly if it is not obvious what and who they cover. Unfortunately I am unable to offer direct claims at the moment but I am happy to work with your insurer to get your claim paid back to you.

​Case Study​

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I was contacted by a couple with a lovely young Labrador called Frankie, who was stopping and refusing to move on walks. They were understandably quite worried about him and stressed about the right thing to do, as he was an important part of their family. After a detailed history taking session, it was obvious he was suffering from some specific fears (motorbike noises), which had become more generalised to all loud noises, as well as anxiety – predicting that something scary would happen certain locations during his walk, such as where a noisy motorbike has previously gone past. After ensuring there was no underlying pain or discomfort (often the case with sudden onset fears), we set up a new protocol so he could choose whether or not to walk (i.e. when his anxiety levels were high) and when he did choose to walk, it was somewhere safe, where no further negative experiences could occur. Practical training support was given in multiple locations to ensure the couple were using the most appropriate handling techniques with Frankie. We also came up with strategies for if something unexpected did occur. Frankie was soon choosing to walk much more often and not freezing. We also undertook systematic sound sensitivity training for the noises he struggled with, including fireworks.  While this can take some time, his owners did very well at practising and were consistent in their approach, allowing the whole family to feel more secure and relaxed and much happier.

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