KEY FACTS
Overview:
A home visit consultation package allows us to see you and your dog in your normal environment over several months for multiple sessions. We have found that the best progress is made when owners and their dogs continue to have face-to-face support with their behaviourists in their own environment beyond the initial assessment. Advancement through the behaviour plan is steady, as we can directly observe how your dog is responding to treatment. Techniques can also be more easily demonstrated to ensure that you all keep on track with the plan. We can also adapt the plan efficiently based on your feedback, such as by seeing how it is all fitting into your lives.
When: takes place approximately monthly on dates agreed in advance with you
Where: the initial home behaviour assessment by our senior behaviourist, Dr Zoe Demery, followed by three monthly sessions either online, or in your home/park with Zoe or one of our associate behaviourists – the location is dependent upon your dog’s issues.
What you need to do to prepare:
□ Get your vet to complete the referral form through our web site, or ask them to post, email or fax it to us;
□ Complete and return the questionnaire at least a week before your appointment;
□ Without putting your dog under any further stress and while ensuring your own and others’ safety, take a video recording, or any other form of recording (e.g. diary) of the behaviour;
□ Read the safety precautions below.
What we will do:
• We visit you in your home. The initial visit generally lasts 2 hours and ideally everyone in the household should be present. To work out what’s going on, we take a full and detailed case history and, if appropriate, we may go for a walk.
• Together we work out a treatment plan that is realistic and tailored to you and your dog’s needs.
• You receive a dog training manual and relevant information sheets where necessary, which ties in with the behaviour modification plan (BMP) for your pet.
• Soon after the consultation, a report is sent to you, which is later copied to your vet. This outlines the reasons behind the problem and highlights the key steps of the BMP.
• Your vet is kept informed of how your pet progresses through the BMP.
• If during the development of the case, the additional expertise of a veterinary behaviourist is required, then their first hour to remotely review the case is included in this service. Second Nature Behaviour works closely with select, independently accredited vet behaviourists. An additional fee may be required for further veterinary behaviour case review and discussion. All communications with the veterinary behaviourist are handled directly by Second Nature Behaviour.
• We schedule three follow-up sessions approximately on a monthly basis and these sessions last up to one hour. The location can vary between sessions, such as online through Zoom, in your home or on one of your local walks. If you would like more frequent practical support on a weekly or fortnightly basis, then this can be arranged – just ask us for further information.
• BMPs are updated with new material for you to work on as needed.
• We are available for regular remote support through WhatsApp text messages and email from when you first book with us to 6 months after your last session with us. Please note this is subject to our fair use policy. Our normal office hours are Monday to Friday 9am-5pm. Our senior behaviourist works Monday to Thursday 10am-4pm and aims to return your message within 2 working days. If we feel that you are contacting us too frequently (e.g. more than three times a week) or correspondence takes longer than 30 minutes, then we may suggest another face-to-face follow-up session, or we may have to charge for our time.
Recording and students: With your permission, the consultation may be recorded for training purposes. Also pet behaviour students may quietly sit in on the session, either in person or through online video link, such as Zoom. All students have signed strict confidentiality agreements.
Safety for you and your pet:
• Shut your pets in another room prior to our arrival for our own personal safety. You can then bring your dog in on the lead (and potentially muzzled if advised) once we are settled.
• Any information regarding the pet’s health and/or existing medical conditions/treatment must be disclosed prior to any consultation, or training, or supply of equipment. Where relevant any health issues regarding you, the handler, should also be disclosed to avoid injury and other issues pertaining to the services/equipment supplied.
• Any information regarding behaviour issues in relation to your pet MUST be freely disclosed for example, fear, aggression, pet’s previous behaviour history etc. Failure to do so could cause serious harm to your pet, you the owner, your behaviourist, or other members of the public.
• If your pet is showing signs of ill health (such as vomiting, diarrhoea, coughing), or if you have a bitch in season, please advise your behaviourist as soon as possible in order to rearrange your appointment. This also applies to post-operative recovery periods. Your cancellation clause arrangement will of course apply in this case.
• All pets must be free from disease and up-to-date with worming, flea and tick treatment prior to consultation.
• Children, friends and family members are welcome to join in with consultations – this is at your own discretion. All involved must also comply with the Health and Safety recommendations advised herein and to take proper reasonable care during and after the consultation. We accept no liability for the health and safety of those you choose to involve.
• Children must always be supervised when around animals and you should take proper care to ensure that they do NOT attempt to replicate any training, or behavioural modification recommendations on your pet without proper, adult supervision. This applies in all cases, even if the children have been actively involved with behavioural consultations or training sessions with Second Nature Behaviour.
• It is your responsibility to ensure that your pet does not harm in the future. You may wish to consider taking out third party insurance for your pet.
• Second Nature Behaviour does not endorse the use of physical punitive correction. Our welfare and protection policy is that any health or welfare issues found to be of concern will be reported to the local government authority and RSPCA inspector, or local Police where appropriate. We also reserve the right to notify the appropriate authorities if our advice is repeatedly ignored and we believe there is a risk of harm to members of the public or of your household.
• In emergency situations for your animal, please call your vet straightaway.
How to get the best results:
It is important for you to follow the behaviour modification plan (BMP) if any improvement is to be seen. However, the BMP is not always successful and success cannot be measured by results. The BMP may be modified as the animal’s behaviour develops. Each animal is different and it may take a long time, dependent upon individual needs of the animal and your own circumstances. Therefore, whilst we will do our very best to assess the animal’s behaviour and make recommendations, success is not guaranteed and we cannot be held responsible if the animal’s behaviour does not improve or change.
Cost and payment terms:
If you are within our normal travel zone, the total package fee is £710. If this is paid in full in advance, then there is a 10% discount. Otherwise, a deposit of £150 is required upon booking by debit or credit card. The remaining instalments are payable by direct debit using ‘GoCardless’ (www.gocardless.com) or by recurring card payments using ‘Square’ (www.squareup.com). The instalments taken are as follows: £350 is due on the date of the first appointment; then £70 is collected on the first day of each month for three months. If the option of a ‘first aid hour’ has already been taken up and paid for, then the total consultation package fee is reduced by £100.
There may be additional travel costs, which will be added to the direct debit payments. Travel costs are calculated using the shortest route suggested by Google Maps (maps.google.com) between your post code and our office's post code. If you are outside our normal travel zone for the initial consultation (up to 30 miles), then £1 is charged per mile return journey on top of our normal consultation fee. For the follow-up sessions, if one of our behaviourists is not within 10 miles of you, then travel is charged at £1/mi return journey on top of the session’s fee.
If additional veterinary behaviour support is required above the first hour included in your package, then it is chargeable to you at the hourly rate of £120/hr. This will be invoiced and payable in arrears by direct debit on a monthly basis.
There may be other expenses incurred related to your pet’s behaviour treatment plan, but not due to Second Nature Behaviour, such as to your vet or other animal care paraprofessionals, or in terms of equipment that may be helpful, such as leads or harnesses. Second Nature Behaviour do not receive any benefits or commission by recommending particular equipment or professionals providing related services.
Refunds:
Regrettably, we only provide refunds in exceptional circumstances, which unfortunately excludes an animal no longer being in your possession. The full fee of a dog consultation package is due even if not all aspects of the service are attended. If you cancel more than 5 working days before the appointment, the deposit is retained to cover administration costs, or you can reschedule your appointment. Any cancellations received with less than 5 working days to the appointment will result in retention of all of the deposit, plus the full fee for the service being invoiced.