Behaviourists & vet referral

[JudyN]

I'm asking this for a friend who is fostering a very traumatised rescue dog...

Any respectable behaviourist will only see a dog with a vet referral. However, this dog is so tramatised that my friend can't get a collar & lead on him, and a trip to the vet would set him back a long way. In this situation, would a responsible behaviourist visit the dog without a referral? Or would a vet who knows the person and her pets give a referral based on her description alone? Or would the answer be for the vet to visit to see the dog and then give a referral?

[Erica]

I would find a few behaviorists you like, then call them up or email and ask them what they would recommend in this instance. They may know a good vet who will do home visits, or may decide that in this case it's more important to see the dog than get the referral...I think with how dog training is unregulated, the answer will depend on the behaviorist you're asking!

[JudyN]

Yes, that would make sense, thanks. I was also surprised that my friend didn't realise that a few letters after a name doesn't make someone a good, reliable behaviourist and that they may even advise aversive methods.

She's pretty experienced with rescues, including those considered impossible to rehome, so I'm not sure just how much a behaviourist will be able to help in this case. She's had the dog several weeks and can still barely touch him, despite never pushing to go further than he's comfortable with.

[Shalista]

Can't hurt to ask, the one i worked with with Bax's barking issues never mentioned a vet referral

[Nettle]

As a professional, I do come across this, and I will visit on the understanding that the dog will need to see the vet at some point. There is a lot I can teach in how to de-sensitise a dog to vet visits, and also owners who have taken on such dogs can be right out of their depth and need an experienced professional to give them support. Very often they need their hopes and fears adjusting to fit the art of the possible.

IMO it would be wrong of me to insist on a vet visit for a dog that is just not ready for it, not just for the dog and owner but for the vet staff - who are rarely trained in how to manage severe trauma in dogs.

[JudyN]

Thanks Nettle.

I was thinking about level of trauma last night - I wonder if there's a clear cut-off point between dogs who are completely 'normal' and have issues that are really just a matter of training/desensitisation/countercontitioning etc. - e.g. fear of men carrying sticks, learnt overexcited behaviour because they need more exercise, etc,. and those issues which could be classified as 'mental health', and equivalent to PTSD, ADHD, ODD, OCD etc. in humans.

Plus in humans, early maltreatment/neglect can have a lifelong impact that on occasion can never be overcome.

You can't treat, say, ADHD in a child just by treating the behaviour as 'naughty' or 'unwanted', and I do wonder how many behaviourists have the experience to deal with dogs who have such deep-seated issues, and how many dogs are permanently 'broke'.

[Nettle]

Certainly many dogs ARE permanently broken, and it makes me so cross that such a lot of fluffy dog rescues foist them onto unsuspecting people who would be able to offer a perfectly good home to a normal dog. A lot of dogs are honestly unrehomable except to experts who already have enough dogs of their own. Such dogs IMO need a good meal and euthanasia.


How to tell which can be helped and which not - that's where people like me earn our salt.

[JudyN]

Such dogs IMO need a good meal and euthanasia.

Yes, I've a feeling this dog is in that category - and I think she knows this too really, but isn't ready to give up on him. Not yet, anyway.