FAQs
- What types of customers have you worked with?
We see pet owners at veterinary specialist appointments to workup their pet's behavior issue(s) using detailed behavior history, evaluation/examination and laboratory testing when appropriate to develop a working diagnosis regarding why your pet is misbehaving. We then make a detailed treatment plan to help owners resolve and/or manage the behavior problem with their pet and help the owners move forwards with the plan including making recheck appointments as appropriate. Resolving behavior problems almost always involves cooperation of the team that includes the people living with the pet and the behavior clinician managing the case.
- What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?
Look for credentials since the words "behaviorist"; "animal whisperer"; "dog behaviorist"; "pet psychologist", etc. are simply marketing terms and have no standard qualifications associated with those terms (you too can be a "dog whisperer" or "behaviorist" by just making a website, starting a blog, offering your services and making claims that rarely need to be substantiated so "buyer beware"). Look for academic credentials (for example Masters or doctoral level training such as MA, MS, DVM, VMD, PhD) that document actual advanced learning/training in the fields such as animal ethology, canine behavior, learning theory, veterinary specialty training, animal-related psychology since these are the underpinnings of working with animals with behavior problems. Look also to see if the provider is a licensed professional (some level of regulation by the government that "vets out" provider claims and holds license holders to a documented "standard of practice"), is an active member of a national professional group such as the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists and, of course, can document sufficient local experience to demonstrate their competence "in the field" not just "book smart." Also find out if the provider carriers insurance appropriate for their business (for example professional malpractice insurance) and perhaps even check out their state license for problematic and frequent complaints by users of their services. You can also check with the BBB to see if they have substantiated and repeated complaints.