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Human-directed aggression or reactivity in dogs

This covers all types of problem behaviour that appears to be directed towards humans, whether family members or complete strangers. Examples include lunging and barking at people on walks and growling when trying to retrieve an item from your dog.

 

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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  • Growling at people approaching them or moving around them;

  • Growling at people approaching while eating;

  • Refusing to give up items, such as a bone or favourite toy;

  • Reacting (including barking, lunging and seeming out of control) on walks; or

  • Doing anything else related to aggressive or uncertain behaviours around people?

 

It can be very hard to live with a reactive or protective 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: 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 be able to enjoy your dog again. No more embarrassing moments in the park, with your dog lunging towards kids with skateboards. No more running around after your dog steals the TV remote! 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.

Ready to get started?

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  • Book your chosen package type via the links below

  • 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!

“We were referred to Victoria to help with our dog’s hostility towards handling and socialisation. Our experience working together exceeded our expectations; she was incredibly supportive throughout and made the changes we needed to make easy to understand and follow. We have also completely re-learnt how to approach our dog’s behaviour and we can tell how much happier she is as a result. Overall, the knowledge that we gained from Victoria was invaluable and has dramatically improved our relationship with our dog. I would highly recommend her service to anyone looking for support”. Gayle, Northampton​

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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Ruby was referred to me due to using aggressive behaviours (including growling, snapping and biting) during handling and as people entered her personal space. This occurred at the vets, groomers and at home. Her owners were understandably very worried that their friendly, happy young dog, was having such problems and exhibiting potentially dangerous behaviour. After a thorough medical examination to ensure pain was not the cause, we put safety measures in place to ensure no-one would be hurt and Ruby’s welfare was not compromised. This included setting up a ‘safe space’ for Ruby, where she could retreat when feeling uncomfortable or just wanted some space, and introducing separation from visitors while we were working on her behaviour. We introduced a protocol for touching to ensure this was pleasant for Ruby, and slowly re-introduced consent-based grooming. Ruby was soon back to her happy self, knowing that she could fully trust her caregivers not to push her too far or do anything inadvertently unpleasant for her. Gayle said: “Our experience working together exceeded our expectations; she was incredibly supportive throughout and made the changes we needed to make easy to understand and follow. We have also completely re-learnt how to approach our dog’s behaviour and we can tell how much happier she is as a result”.​

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