Would the services of an APBC therapist solve our problem?

[doglover]

I have contacted an APBC therapist and she has replied asking for a vet referral form to be completed (no problem) and the fee is a rather eye-watering £110 for her home visit and consultation. One of our labs displays real anxiety when left - ransacking cupboards and bins - and so far, our efforts to prevent this have failed. We so want her to be settled and are really wondering if any of you have tried the services of such a professional? This is a lot of money for us but worth paying if the end results lead to a successful habit-breaking retraining!

Yes they are likely to be able to help you. It won't be a quick fix and will take a while to achieve, but this is very much their bread and butter.

Thanks, LCWK. Good to know!

Have you checked your insurance, some will pay for behavioural stuff?

Have you thought about crate training? Sure pooch would ransack house if we were out, not out of anxiety but greed in his case! Crates also help anxiety though giving the dogs a safe small space.

An APBC therapist should solve that no problem as long as you listen to them and put in the work, as it takes committment and effort. The charges are so high because the process of becoming registered as a behaviourist through them is on a par with becoming a vet, sometimes even harder, you have to jump through a lot of hoops to reach the APBC standard and spend a lot of your own money in the process. Hope you have success!

Thanks for your replies. We have actually booked with a highly-recommended dog therapist who is visiting tomorrow. We'll let you know how things go ........................

I wouldn't use a behaviourist who wasn't APBC affiliated.

I have used one and although I already knew most of what he was saying, it did help put a more structured plan in place and it helped a lot.