Pricing & TIME COMMITMENT

Initial Consultations may take a long time. Because there is no time limit placed on important initial contact the first visit is not billed hourly regardless of the hours spent form filling, working hands on and writing up initial reports. Initial consultations usually require between an hour and a half to four hours - or as long as it takes to assess, advise and demonstrate. I will not leave you until you are happy with the programme so rest assured that you will receive the best service and attention to detail without time pressure. It is usually advisable to clear a few hours on the day of initial consultation to ensure that we have time to cover everything thoroughly.

Don't worry though this is not tantamount to signing a blank cheque! It is very difficult to give an idea of total costings as every case is unique, but as a guide consultations usually come in at £200 and this covers everything from travel to assessment and advice, as well as creation of a plan tailored to the dog(s) along with on-going support via phone and email. For cases that require travel this price may increase slightly. If you would like a free quote with no pressure to book, then please feel free to give me a call with some details of the issue and I will be happy to help and discuss likely time commitments and costings :)

Follow up consultations usually comprise of more hands on work, these visits are generally one to two hours long and involve going through previous advice to assess strategy as well as answer questions regarding the plan of behaviour modification. These are generally of lower cost as all of the initial fact finding and assessment is already in place. It is important to dedicate time during follow up visits to practising in any areas that you feel that you need support. This could be pack walking with some of my dogs selected for compatibility towards the issues that we are addressing, or a training session, or maybe an in depth discussion where questions are answered and specific scenarios discussed. We may take a 'field trip' to another location so that we can create a scenario that best supports the programme - the office or the home of a family member for example. Steve will usually assist in supporting the dog(s) in a specific scenario such as playing 'visitor' or 'dog walker', 'cyclist' or whatever is required, he has an array of alarming hats and walking sticks, High visibility jackets and numerous other props! It is also possible to 'double up' and have a session with a break for lunch followed by another session. Whatever is needed can be accommodated with flexibility.

New dog or puppy introductions take an hour or two on average and include advice on introductions, hands on introduction on initial meeting and advice to set you up for successful integration of the new dog into the family from day one and beyond, this helps to avoid common pitfalls and start on the right footing. Follow up support is always available via the telephone and via email in those tricky first weeks at no additional cost. There is often plenty of advice available before you select and collect your new puppy so get in touch!

Online consultancy is assessed on a case by case basis and is not suited to every dog, please contact me to discuss your needs. Sometimes face to face meetings are not possible or comfortable for all so it is possible to advise remotely in some circumstances. Call for a chat if telephone and email advice is something that you would be interested in.

Board and behaviour service for residential assessment and behaviour modification is taken on a case by case basis. Clients usually prefer a weeks stay at a minimum but individual requirements can be discussed, please call or email to enquire for your specific circumstances.

Each case is individual and each session is tailored to the dog and his or her specific areas of difficulty so ask if you would like to gain experience at another location such as a workplace or at a family member's home, or if you need to book a specific time slot. In some circumstances we can also bring along dog savvy children to help with desensitisation and counter conditioning programmes where appropriate. In addition we have many dogs to choose from when working with issues toward other dogs and we will tailor sessions to suit your specific needs as far as possible. When you become a client then you are a client for life and at any point you can seek general advice and pointers relating to the programme via telephone or email at no cost.

The dog is our priority and if we can help then we will do so. Please call for an informal chat to discuss costings frankly and openly. We sometimes require client case studies for students of behaviour and these are not only free of charge but also a valuable training and experiential opportunity for students of canine behaviour and psychology so please feel free to enquire about availability in your area. Waiting lists are in operation throughout the country for less urgent issues.