Training Philosophy
Does your dog experience anxiety or fear-based behavior when they go on walks? Maybe anytime they see other dogs or hear loud noises they stop in place, flatten to the ground, and tuck their tail between their legs? Our Houston behavior consultants are here to help! The main goal of our science-based fearful dog training program is to eliminate fear and anxiety from your dog’s daily life. Utilizing our Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior, our team will work with you to identify why your dog is engaging in fearful behavior and the severity of the behavior, which allows our team, under the guidance of our CAAB, to develop a step-by-step treatment plan, directly targeting your concerns. We want your dog to be calm and confident wherever they go around Houston! One of our Houston behavior consultants will work with you and your dog wherever they are exhibiting fearful behavior. Over the course of their fearful dog training program, your dog’s fear will transform into confidence.
We created a treatment plan exclusively for fearful dogs after 20+ years of experience in 4 markets treating thousands of dogs. The treatment is exclusive to Beyond the Dog and has your dog’s well-being in mind. Our goal is for your dog to conquer their fears and gain confidence. Maybe your dog is terrified of cars and bicycles? We treat fearful behavior with a combination of classical conditioning and positive reinforcement including teaching specific obedience behaviors to help manage your dog’s behavior around their triggers. Our Houston in-home dog training programs are scientifically proven to reduce and eliminate fearful behavior in your dog.
Training Programs
Our goal is to modify your dog’s moderate to severe fearful behavior and transform it into confidence. We will also teach obedience commands such as sit, leash walking, recall, and wait around previously feared stimuli. We treat fearful behavior including but not limited to:
After culminating decades of research based on treating thousands of fearful dogs, our unique system can reduce fearful behavior in any dog. Under the guidance of our CAAB, Dr. Echterling-Savage, our pre-training team utilizes our Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior to identify why your dog is engaging in fearful behavior and the severity of the behavior. This allows our team to develop a step-by-step treatment plan, directly targeting your concerns. Our function-based treatment plan is then put into action using the principles of classical and operant conditioning. In a 2020 study by Riemer, counterconditioning was the most successful treatment for fear-based behavior even with medication included as a treatment. “The change in a fearful dog’s behavior is incredible and the results amaze me each and every time” stated our resident CAAB Dr. Echterling-Savage.
The All-Inclusive Program for Fearful Dogs encompasses 20 training sessions across 5 intensive weeks with 2 follow-up sessions spanning a total of 22 training sessions over 8 weeks! After you submit your training contract and Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior, our pre-training team, led by Dr. Echterling-Savage, uses the information provided to craft your personalized dog training program. Then, your trainer will put your training plan into action! Your trainer will work with your dog one-on-one for three (1) hour sessions during the week. The fourth session each week is dedicated to your training! This structure is designed to produce seamless learning and long-term behavior change. After the 5-week-long training, there are 2 follow-up sessions to support your progress. Please note that our indirect behavior assessments will confirm the severity of your dog’s behavior and if deemed severe you may incur a small additional fee.
If you are a pet parent with an insurance policy covering behavior modification, our fearful dog behavior modification is likely covered. Most companies with behavior policies such as Trupanion cover behavioral training when under the direction of a CAAB or a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist.
We reduce your dog’s fearful behavior directly where it occurs. We address fearful dog behavior including but not limited to:
After collecting data from treating thousands of dogs over the past 20+ years, our unique behavior modification training approach can treat fearful behavior in any dog. Our trainers use counterconditioning also known as Pavlovian conditioning to treat fearful behavior in dogs. We use counterconditioning in our multi-element treatment to reduce or eliminate your dog’s fear-related behavior. According to a 2021 article by Hall et al., counterconditioning has been used as an effective method to treat fearful behavior in working dogs. Our animal behavior expert Dr. Echterling-Savage has treated fearful behavior in hundreds of dogs. She says, “Observing the behavior change that takes place over a few short weeks is incredibly powerful, especially when owners see confidence in their dogs that they never thought was possible.”
Our Executive Training Program for dog anxiety consists of 12 hours of training across four weeks. After we design your program based on your dog’s Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior, your trainer will work directly with your dog for (2) 1-hour sessions and with you for (1) 1-hour session per week. Please note that our indirect behavior assessments will confirm the severity of your dog’s behavior and if deemed severe you may incur a small additional fee.
Many insurance companies such as Trupanion will cover behavioral training when under the direction of a CAAB or a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist. Be sure to check with your provider to see if they will cover the cost of fearful dog training.
Interested in addressing your dog’s fearful behavior yourself with the guidance of our resident CAAB? During our 1-hour virtual consultations, we will create a customized training plan for you to address your dog’s fearful behavior and build confidence. Depending on the severity of your dog’s fearful behavior from the Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior, we will recommend one or multiple sessions with Dr. Echterling-Savage or with one of our other behavior consultants under her direct supervision. Pricing for 1-hour virtual consultations with Dr. Ectherling-Savage is $375. Pricing for a 1-hour virtual consultation with one of our Houston trainers is $150.
Reach Out
We’ll get back to you in two wags of a dog’s tail!
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