Behaviour Consultation
We do a deep-dive into the issues you are having with your dog to best understand them and the underlying reasons for the behaviours. This involves a four part process that includes video data, remote and in person sessions along with a gait assessment analysed in conjunction with the behavioural data.
Process
What is involved in a behaviour consultation?
Initial Assessment Form
To start with we ask you to fill in an online form describing your dog's day-to-day life, the issues you are having, how they impact all of you, and your dog's history. This includes a request for your dog's medical history and some short videos of everyday life.
Remote Consult
Based on the form content and other details you submit, we will then have a one hour remote consult, typically via Zoom. In this session, we will put safety and management strategies in place, to prevent the behaviour getting any worse, and start some simple work on communication and interaction. This is a 60 minute session.
In Person Consult
The in-person consult is a 60 minute session at our training field just outside of Prosperous. We run the session here for the majority of cases to remove any existing stressors from your dog so they can work with our team without unnecessary baggage or distractions. In this session, we tweak any management strategies if required and get started on some simple training exercises. This allows us to get to know your dog as an individual and to see how they like to learn best.
Gait Assessment
Ideally, at the same time as the in-person consult, we spend an extra 15-20 minutes to gather a large amount of video and photographic data of your dog in motion and in static positions. Analysing this, in conjunction with the behavioural data, allows us to see if there might be a physical component to these behaviours. If we think there is, we liaise with your veterinary team so they can work on the physical end while we get going on the behavioural.
Outcome
What does this process get me?
Behavioural assessment
The main aim of the assessment is to understand the specific issues you are having, to detect other unrecognised issues contributing to the problem, and to put short- to medium-term strategies in place to prevent further deterioration. Getting to the root of the issue allows us to adjust our behaviour or the environment to best help your dog make progress.
Behaviour modification & training plan
This process results in a full plan for moving forward that takes into account both your, and your dog's, day-to-day needs. The plan may specify the need for one-to-one sessions, group work, stooge dog/people work, remote sessions or other approaches, depending on the issue. While this plan will be as detailed as possible, it is subject to change as we progress through it. We will skip over elements if we can, but we may also need to add some small elements, depending on how much time you can dedicate to the behaviour and training work.
Gait assessment report & vet correspondence
The gait assessment results in a full report with video and photographic evidence. This is written in a format targeted at veterinary professionals to speed up your dog's access to care and minimise return journeys needed to the vet team. You will also be provided with a letter summarising the requirements. Once this has been sent to you, we will arrange a short phone call or Zoom session to walk you through what all of the elements of the assessment mean.
Cost
The process costs €250 in total. When completing the form, you will be asked for a €50 deposit so our team can review your data and fully prepare for your sessions. The remaining balance is due before the in-person session. The costs of implementing the plan are detailed within. For rates of possible individual components, please visit our one-to-one training page. Please note, we are due a price increase to €265 from February 1st 2026.
Questions?
Frequently asked questions
Here are some common questions about the behaviour consultation.
Even though your specific issue may seem obvious, such as not barking at other dogs, often we have other supporting behaviours that need to be worked on before we can address your main issue. For example, if your dog has previously had a bad experience with dogs, we may need to change their emotional response to the other dogs before we can start asking them to do logical work, such as moving away or asking for help. Remember, emotion always wins out over logic. These supporting behaviours can be very unique to a particular dog's needs. We want to set you and your dog up for success and avoid any emotional turmoil for you or your dog. Unfortunately negative emotions cause large learning events which we may have to undo first.
There is a surprising amount of supporting information needed to build a behaviour modification plan suitable for an individual dog. This requires not only a description of the issues you are facing but also getting to meet your dog, seeing how they respond to different training approaches, observations of their various handler-dog relationships and their personality. How your daily life is set up also has an impact on the current issues and the solutions we need to develop.
We aim to get your training plan out to you within 7 working days. However, at very busy times of year this can require up to 14 working days.
Typically, the plan requires doing classes with a trainer or behaviourist. These may include one-to-one sessions, group work or remote work. The main function of the trainer is not just to set the exercises but to tweak them as proceed through them. Our trainers are highly educated in making changes to exercises to best suit you and your dog, to recognise when a dog is struggling, or getting bored if progress is too slow, and to set the training pace so that we work through the plan as quickly as possible without sacrificing reliability of the resulting behaviours and training.
While your trainer will design a training plan just for you and your dog, how quickly that plan will be completed fully depends on how much time you can dedicate to doing the homework between sessions, your engagement with the inter-session video submissions, how your dog learns, and how well the whole family implement the control and management strategies. We will always aim to get you through the work as quickly as the case allows.
This will be fully detailed in your training plan but one-to-one sessions are priced at €100 for a 90 minute session, which also covers your mid-week video check-in and feedback. A 30 minute session in person costs €55 which, again, includes the mid-week video check-in and feedback. A 45 minute session in person then costs €77.50, including the video feedback. Remote sessions cost €65 for one hour including the video feedback. The unit cost of sessions is the same across the board as is the cost of the feedback and help during the week. This allows us to set the best plan for your dog and their needs.