How can a behaviour vet help?

A behaviour veterinarian is a veterinarian who has completed additional training and has sat examinations in the area of veterinary behaviour. We assess cases for the possibility of medical conditions contributing to the pets behaviour. Any disease state that affects the internal balance of the body can have big impacts on the mood, emotional state and decision making of an individual. Some examples may include skin disease, gastrointestinal disease, arthritis, dental disease and mental health disease. These are conditions that can only be diagnosed and treated by a licensed veterinarian.

In an ideal world any animal exhibiting behavioural concerns would first see a veterinarian to ensure there is no contributing medical conditions. Training alone will not see significant improvements in pets that suffer a concurrent medical issue. In many cases trainers may refer cases to a veterinarian for a check up, particularly if they feel that progress is not tracking as expected.

If you feel that professional dog training help is not supporting change, then its time to talk to a veterinarian. We don’t want to replace dog training, instead we want to add to the team of support you have already established.