Training Philosophy
Is your puppy scared of loud noises like fire alarms or passing vehicles? Does your puppy pull on the leash and try to run inside when seeing strangers during walks? Puppies can develop fearful behaviors due to a range of influences, including previous experiences and a lack of socialization. Beyond the Dog Sarasota specializes in treating fearful behaviors in puppies, regardless of the cause. Our team is dedicated to giving your puppy new confidence and helping them live a happier, more fulfilling life.
It’s important to address fearful behaviors in puppies to prevent them from escalating further. As puppies get older, their untreated fears may develop into problematic behaviors, including lunging and barking. Led by our Co-founder and Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, Dr. Echterling-Savage, we have designed our training programs using the latest scientific research and our 20 years of experience treating fearful behavior in puppies. This includes our training method, which combines a proprietary blend of classical conditioning and targeted obedience to address fearful behaviors.
Our behavior consultants will train your puppy in the environments that best help reduce and eliminate their fearful behavior, whether you are walking down Bayfront Park or having guests come to your home.
Training Programs
Our training is designed to help build your puppy’s confidence, learn advanced obedience commands, thrive in different social settings, and overcome various fearful behaviors, including, but not limited to:
It can be easy to confuse fearful behavior in puppies with stubbornness. A puppy that doesn’t want to leave the house or go for a walk could be experiencing fear rather than being tired. Fearful behavior can start as early as 8-12 weeks old and worsen as your puppy ages. A more comprehensive training program will be needed if a puppy’s fearful behavior persists for six months without intervention. Beyond the Dog, Sarasota uses a function-based approach to identify the cause of your puppy’s fear and will design a training plan that addresses these challenges. We combine our proprietary blend of classical counterconditioning and positive reinforcement with obedience and manners training to ensure optimal results. With classical counterconditioning, we pair positive rewards, such as treats, with the stimuli associated with the fear. Through repeated exposure, a positive association is created, helping to reduce or eliminate your dog’s fearful behavior. Our Puppy Fearful Behavior Programs are developed by our Co-founder and Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, Dr. Echterling-Savage, in collaboration with our behavior consultants. Our team has extensive knowledge in managing fearful behaviors through our 20+ years of hands-on experience, during which we have successfully treated thousands of puppies to overcome their fear. Our training methods are supported by scientific research, including a 2020 study by Reimer that found that classical counterconditioning is one of the most successful treatments for fear-based behavior in dogs. The success of our training methods is supported by our Co-Founder Sean Savage, who states that “Early intervention is critical in treating any fear-based behavior in puppies. When we catch the problem behavior early on, we can prevent severe aggression from developing in adulthood.”
Our 22-hour Fearful Behavior Training Program has been developed to help your dog overcome fearful and anxious behaviors and teach general obedience and manners. Before training begins, we ask that you complete our “Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior.” This assessment will provide our team, led by our co-founder and Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, Dr. Echterling-Savage, with valuable insights to develop a personalized training plan that targets your dog’s specific fear-based behaviors.
Our behavior consultant will then conduct private sessions at your home and neighborhood to treat your dog’s fearful behavior and teach obedience and manners. During this program, Dr. Echterling-Savage will provide support to help you overcome your puppy’s fearful behavior. Each session is 1 hour long, with a lesson scheduled for the final session of each week. During this lesson, our behavior consultant will teach you how to reinforce your puppy’s learned behaviors and obedience skills. Follow-up sessions are scheduled after the training has been completed to ensure long-lasting success in addressing your puppy’s fearful behavior.
Many insurance companies, including Trupanion, will cover behavior training if it is under the direction of a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist or a Board Certified Vet Behaviorist. We recommend that you contact your provider to confirm that they will cover fearful behavior training.
Our goal is to treat fearful behaviors, including:
Our Fearful Dog Training Program uses proven, science-based methods to help your dog reach their full potential. Led by our Co-founder and Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, Dr. Echterling-Savage, our treatment approach incorporates classical conditioning to manage fear-based behaviors. Through this method, we can replace fear-inducing stimuli with new, positive associations that will transform your puppy’s behavior by giving them a newfound confidence. Our training methods are supported by research from Hall et al., who demonstrate that classical conditioning is a highly effective treatment for fearful behaviors in dogs. Dr. Echterling-Savage furthers our scientific approach by stating, “Treating fearful behavior while puppies are still young can benefit you in the long run as you can prevent severe aggression from fully developing.”
Our 16-Hour Fearful Dog Training Program has been developed to treat your dog’s fearful behaviors over 4 weeks, consisting of 16 hourly sessions. Before training begins, we request that you submit your “Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior,” which will provide us with information on your dog’s fearful behavior and history. Our team, led by our Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist and Co-founder, Dr. Echterling-Savage, will evaluate this assessment to create a customized training program that targets your dog’s fearful behaviors and the causes behind them.
After this training program has been created, our behavior consultant will conduct private sessions to treat your dog’s fearful behavior. This training will occur at your home and neighborhood, depending on your training goals and the specific behavior being addressed. All of our sessions last for 60 minutes, with the final session of each week being a dedicated lesson for you where you will learn how to reinforce the learned behaviors and obedience skills.
Many Insurance companies like Trupanion often cover behavior training if it is led by a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB) or a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist. We recommend that you check with your provider to see if they will cover fear based behavioral training.
Our Fearful Puppy Training Behavior Modification Package offers virtual consultations with Dr. Echterling-Savage, our Co-founder and Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB). As one of the few Board Certified Behavior Analysts specializing in Applied Animal Behavior and among only about 50 CAABs nationwide, Dr. Echterling-Savage brings extensive knowledge in managing fear-based behaviors. Her comprehensive background, including hands-on training, mentoring of all Beyond the Dog’s behavior consultants, and published research on canine behavior, ensures she can provide in-depth guidance to aid your puppy in making transformative improvements in their fearful behavior.
During your virtual consultations, Dr. Echterling-Savage will evaluate your dog’s fearful behavior and develop a personalized training plan to manage your puppy’s problematic behavior. Following the initial consultation, she will provide ongoing guidance, helping you with behavior scenarios that reinforce positive behavioral modification and ensure continued success. The Fearful Puppy Training Behavior Modification Package costs $750, including several sessions and support.
Reach Out
We’ll get back to you in two wags of a dog’s tail!