Animal Behavior and the Scope of this Group

By Vanessa Williams

Hi everyone! We’ve had some really awesome questions in this group and have hopefully helped some people get some understanding as to why their pet does what they do!

Animal behavior is incredibly complex. There are a ton of factors that go into what drives an animal to behave a certain way. They also dont have language. They cannot explain to us the reason they feel the need to do these things. Because of this, it is unfortunately impossible for a behaviorist to answer many questions over the internet.

This group is for basic behavior issues or training questions. For any sudden behavior changes, or for brand new pets, there is nothing we can offer unless the pet has seen a veterinarian to rule out issues such as pain. If the underlying cause is medical, then training will not do anything. Animals can get mental illness just like people. They can have OCD, anxiety, dementia, and if those are not addressed as medical conditions, training is likely to fail. If you have a sudden behavior change in your pet, please get a vet visit in before you post.

When we dont answer, but instead recommend that you seek professional help, it is not because we dont want to help you, but because there really needs to be someone there in person to observe the dog in their environment, get a full medical history, a full behavior history, and show you how to perform the rehabilitation training. With something that involves the danger of a bite or a fight between dogs, or with any significant anxiety, rehab can be complex and strenuous and involve numerous factors that have to be put into place with precision. On top of that, things like picking up on subtle body language shifts or having accurate timing is vital for success. The last thing we want is to give advice that leads to failure because there was nobody there to actually show the person what to look for and how to succeed.

Thank you for understanding!