Training Philosophy
Is your dog scared to go outside? Does your dog frantically try to get back inside after going on walks? Is your dog terrified of loud noises? Our Kansas City dog training program designed for fearful dogs is here to help! Our science-based dog training programs are crafted 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 on all of their adventures around Kansas City. Your Kansas City behavior consultant will treat your dog’s fear-based behavior directly at the source. By the end of your dog’s Kansas City dog training program, their fear will transform into confidence.
After over two decades of experience in four different markets and working with thousands of dogs, we’ve developed a specialized treatment plan tailored exclusively for fearful dogs. This unique program, available only through Beyond the Dog, prioritizes your dog’s welfare above all else. Our objective is to help your dog overcome their fears and build confidence. Whether your dog is frightened of cars or bicycles, we address fearful behavior by employing a blend of classical conditioning and positive reinforcement. This approach includes teaching specific obedience commands to manage your dog’s reactions to their triggers. Backed by scientific evidence, our in-home dog training programs in Kansas City are proven to effectively reduce and even eliminate fearful behaviors in dogs.
Training Programs
Our goal is to modify your dog’s moderate to severe fearful behavior and transform it into confidence. We treat fearful behavior including but not limited to:
Drawing from decades of research and experience in assisting countless fearful dogs, we are experts at mitigating fearful behavior in all canine companions. Guided by our Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, Dr. Echterling-Savage, our pre-training team uses our Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior to pinpoint the root causes and severity of your dog’s fearful behavior. This comprehensive assessment informs the creation of a tailored treatment plan, addressing your specific concerns. Utilizing a function-based approach, our treatment plan leverages the principles of classical and operant conditioning to enact positive change. Research supports classical counterconditioning as the most effective treatment for fear-based behavior in dogs as seen in a 2020 study by Riemer in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior. According to our resident CAAB Dr. Echterling-Savage, “There is nothing quite like watching a fearful dog become confident. The results of treatment truly amaze me.”
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. When behavior training is under the direction of a CAAB or a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist, most companies with behavior policies such as Trupanion will cover behavioral training.
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.
If you are a pet parent with an insurance policy covering behavior modification, our fearful dog behavior modification is likely covered. When behavior training is under the direction of a CAAB or a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist, most companies with behavior policies such as Trupanion will cover behavioral training.
Want to help your dog overcome their fears but live outside of our Kansas City service area? Our virtual dog training consultations are here to help! Speak directly with our resident CAAB Dr. Echterling-Savage or one of our Kansas City behavior consultants under her direct supervision. 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 Kansas City trainers. Pricing for 1-hour virtual consultations with Dr. Ectherling-Savage is $375. Pricing for a 1-hour virtual consultation with one of our Kansas City trainers is $150.
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