FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
REACTIVITY AND AGGRESSION
CAN YOU FIX MY DOG?
Behaviour is a symptom, and not an issue to 'fix'. Trainers who make guarantees as to their ability to resolve reactivity or aggression are selling you a false promise, and likely don't understand why these behaviours occur.
Dogs with reactivity and/or aggression challenges often have physical and/or mental health concerns which are causing or contributing to their behaviour. Our first recommendation is always to visit your vet for a thorough medical assessment to determine whether your dog may be in pain or discomfort or feeling unwell (often, behaviour is the only obvious symptom you'll see). During our initial consult, we will assess your dog's movement and gait and let you know if we identify anything which looks unusual so that you can further discuss this with your vet. We will also assess your dog's general behaviour, and if we identify that your dog is displaying abnormal behaviour we will refer you to a veterinary behaviourist for diagnosis and support.
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In a significant portion of our cases, a physical and/or mental health issue is ultimately diagnosed. Examples of ailments diagnosed in our client base include anxiety, dysregulation, hip dysplasia, arthritis, deformities, spondylosis, luxating patellas, and even cancer. These are issues which cannot be 'cured', and which you and your dog will manage and live with for the remainder of your dog's life.
Our role is to help you identify the underlying cause of your dog's behaviour concerns, seek appropriate medical treatment, and then teach you behaviour modification strategies based on principles of modern psychology to help your dog feel more safe and/or learn to better self regulate. Together we can make great progress, but it is rarely possible to eliminate reactivity or aggression completely due to its underlying cause. We are upfront and honest about this.
WHAT IS YOUR SUCCESS RATE?
We can’t answer this as we don’t know what your definition of success is.
Some people believe success is the absence of aggression/reactivity and seek to achieve this at any cost, with disregard for the dog’s wellbeing. This is often achieved by using harsh methods to frighten and silence the dog. We don’t consider this success as it doesn’t address the underlying cause of the problem, is unethical, and has further negative effects on the dog’s mental state.
To us, success is identifying and treating the underlying cause of the behaviour to produce positive behavioural outcomes for the dog and their family. In that regard we have a success rate of near on 100% (much depends on the commitment of the family and their compliance with our recommended actions).
HOW MANY SESSIONS DO WE NEED?
Each dog and handler team is different. It's therefore not possible for us to give an indication as to how many sessions will be required.
We also encourage you not to think this way, as the outcome is usually not complete resolution - you can work with us as frequently as you need to feel confident in your ability to work with your dog and modify their behaviour. As reactivity and aggression are often long-term challenges, we recommend keeping in touch with us, at least intermittently, on an ongoing basis.
I JUST WANT A 'NORMAL DOG' I CAN TAKE TO CAFES AND DOG PARKS. CAN YOU HELP ME ACHIEVE THIS?
At Thrive Canine we don’t sugar coat things or lead you down the garden path. The reality is that this is unlikely to be a realistic goal for most reactive dogs. Part of our role is to workshop what is and is not reasonably achievable for your dog, so you can set tangible and realistic goals. Our priority is the dog’s wellbeing and having them feel comfortable, and this means meeting them halfway.
I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION!
Please contact us as we would be happy to assist you.