What does a Canine Behaviourist do?
If you’re a UK dog owner, you may have heard of canine behaviourists but aren’t sure what they do or how they differ from a dog trainer.
A dog trainer will show you how to teach your dog the skills it needs for the job you want it to do. Really good dog trainers have a great ability to understand how both dogs and people learn. If you want to teach your puppy or adult dog obedience work, a dog sport like agility or to work as a gundog then an appropriately skilled dog trainer is what you need.
If your dog is exhibiting unwanted behaviour of any type, then a good canine behaviourist will be able to help you. Canine behaviourists specialise in identifying the root causes of challenging dog behaviours and creating customised strategies to address them.
A good canine behaviourist will have as their aim to help you to help your dog lead a happy and fulfilled life and they can be especially helpful in helping resolve problems like:
Aggression – Whether towards dogs or people, a good behaviourist will work to address the underlying causes, which are either related to fear or territorial instincts, and then teach you how to give your dog the leadership he or she requires in order to relax and be more comfortable with the world around them
Guarding behaviours – if you have a dog that won’t let you sit in your favourite chair, or who growls or snaps when you try to remove your sock from his or her mouth, then a behaviourist can help you to help your dog to stop doing this.
Separation Anxiety – Behaviourists will assist in correctly identifying separation anxiety and will provide you with a programme to help your dog to manage comfortably when left alone for a few hours.
Fear and Phobias – If your dog reacts fearfully to noises, people, or other triggers, a behaviourist will help identify the reason for your dog’s behaviour and will provide you with a structured programme to manage your dog’s reaction and reduce his or her stress responses.
Obsessive Behaviours – Repetitive actions like tail-chasing or excessive licking are treated through tailored plans designed to redirect your dog’s focus and help you to manage these behaviours.
Behaviourists can also be very helpful in resolving embedded problems such as poor recall or pulling on the lead, which you might think of as a training issue. However, if these are things which your adult dog is doing then a good behaviourist will help you to put a structure in place to increase your dog’s focus and attention on you, alongside teaching you how to train your dog to walk nicely on a lead and come back to you when you call.
If you recognise any of these behaviours in your dog and want to know what you can do to help your dog to overcome them then please do get in touch.