Valhalla’s Behaviour Consultations are the foundation from which we build lasting change in your dog's emotional state, complex behaviours, and quality of life.

This is the first step in resolving behaviours like aggression, serious reactivity, handling aversion, resource guarding, or major barking. If you're not sure, please do get in touch and we'll guide you to the right route.

When you book our Behaviour Consultation, you'll also be invited to complete our pre-consultation info form via a link. This form is quite long, but it's important you fill it out in as much detail as possible, as it is the foundation of our face to face session. We'll ask about everything - from what your dog eats day to day, to where they sleep, to their medical records. We do this because in order to address complex behavioural problems, we need to look at the dog's life as a complete entity, not a collection of parts. Only by identifying the root causes of the problem behaviour can we make lasting change - rather than just treating the symptoms, we strive to treat the cause. Sometimes, these root causes aren’t as obvious as it first seems, and the only way to find out is to go over everything! 

We'll also require a referral from your vet, an up to date check up with your vets prior to the consultation and a copy of your dog's veterinary history as standard. If there's a reason your dog cannot see a vet prior to the consult (eg, aggression/reactivity triggered by visiting their vet) please get in touch.

Once we’ve got that done, we’ll schedule the face-to-face session, so that we can meet you and your dog (if appropriate). Because each situation is unique, each consultation can take up to 2 hours and will involve us diving into your dog’s mind, using your pre-consultation form as the springboard. We’ll come prepared with a host of questions and it’ll likely feel a little intense, but we’re not here to judge - the more information we can gather, the better our training plan can be. After the consultation, we’ll write up all our notes and send them out to you in a digital “handbook”, with our initial suggestions to begin working on the problem. 

From here, we’ll schedule two one-to-one training sessions (which are included in your consultation cost) to start teaching you the techniques and training tricks that’ll see your dog turn the corner and get back on the right track. At each session we'll check in on your progress, see how far your dog has come, and progress each element of their training to the next stage. After the first two, we'll look to book some more in to keep the progress coming - we try to aim for once a week, but of course can be flexible around your schedule and needs.

These kinds of behaviours can be deeply rooted, and there is no “Quick Fix” in dog training. Implementing a Behaviour Modification Plan takes dedication, patience and commitment - depending on the complexity of the behaviour, real lasting change can take months. Please do keep this in mind, and remember every small win will add up to a big change eventually. Stick with us and you’ll see not just the behaviour improve, but your relationship with your dog too. And no matter what, we’ll be with you every step of the way: from day one to day done. 

In some cases, some insurance companies may reimburse / cover behavioural training fees, so do reach out to me & your insurance company to discuss this further.