I would have thought that someone coming to my home would be better...?

[SilentBoob]

First question: Is there a difference between a dog trainer and a dog behaviourist?

Second bit: I have posted about my dog a few times. She is a 1 year old rescue dog. We live outside UK with very little support. She was a street dog, taken in by some people when a puppy. We have had her about 5 months. She is a Saluki cross, probably with some collie and a bit of everything else.

She is a funny thing. Brilliant with people who 'get' dogs. Hopeless and sometimes aggressive with people who are unsure or frightened of her. Barks at children. Takes against people. Has many anxious behaviours.

She is essentially a sweet natured girl, but I think not very bright and has been rather traumatised in the past. She gets in such a muddle that she can't do right for doing wrong. She is extremely anxious about toiletting and goes to extraordinary lengths to poo in the children's playroom. She is very easily excitable and mouths inappropriately. She growls and snaps when unsure about things. Has no idea how the family works. I have had friends wonder (in the nicest possible way) whether she might be a little bit mentally damaged? She just... doesn't quite add up. Sometimes she is like a caged bear in the zoo repeating a little circle of getting up and down and is unable to settle. It's hard to paint a full picture... anyway, I have been nothing but calm, low key, praise the good / ignore the bad, doing my best with her. I have had dogs all my life and have never know a dog quite like her... she is so hard to communicate with. She doesn't speak a doggy language that I know, and I don't speak her language either.

Anyway.

I don't know if I needed to go in to all that.

My question is this: I have contacted a couple of dog trainers. They have said that they would be happy to do an assessment of her at their centres, but don't do home visits. Surely what I need is someone to come to my home and see the set-up here and help me work out how I can help her to relax a bit and calm down? I don't want to go to a centre and teach her to sit and lie down and roll over. She can already do that. I want specifics of WHY she poos in the playroom, how to stop her hurting my 3 yr old, what it is about our set-up here that she finds stressful.

What do you think?

To a certain extent, you are going to be stuck with what's available in the country you are in. If it's that hard to find a good behaviourist, why not use one from the UK and do your consultation remotely using a webcam/Skype/video footage etc?

Huge difference between a behavourist and a trainer. BUT do check for qualifications on both!

A dog trainer will deal with general training, maybe specific eg agility or obedience or may be for pet dogs.

A "good" behavourist will have academic qualifications in dog behaviour and psychology/training and be a member of different organisations. They are also able to train but will be able to deal with any behavioural issues as well. Most will have several years of working with other behavourists before they work independently, most will also have worked voluntarily with recognised rescues or assistance dogs. Do not be afraid to ask most of us can bore you for hours telling you what we have done!

Organisations will depend on the country.

I would always go to the house first and often spend several hours just observing the dog. Depending on the issue I would also go out in the field if that is where the problem is.

Thank you Minimuu, you have confirmed what I suspected.

From my OP, would you agree that a behaviourist might be more helpful than a trainer?

The bare bones of it is that I would like her to

• Stop pooing in the house
• Learn to settle to command
• Stop hurting the children
• Come when called (hmmmmmmmm)

But given the ease with which she learned to sit / stay / lie down / sit up / walk to heel etc, I don't think these are simple training issues. I think she gets very anxious and confused about what is expected of her. It is as much a training issue for me as her. I just feel that taking her to a centre to do training with her won't address these issues. Yes, it would be a positive thing to do together, but it is not something I want to do with her right at the moment.