Training and Behaviour: What is the difference?

I often get asked “what’s the difference between a training consult and a behaviour consult?” It can be confusing when deciding what support you need from a dog trainer or behaviourist but I hope this will give some clarification on the differences between training and behaviour.

Let’s start with training, training is teaching new or alternativebehaviours. These may be basic cues like a reliable recall, down or loose lead walking or it may be to solve a problem such as training a dog to keep all four paws on the floor rather than jumping up. Training is about learning how to communicate to your dog what we want them to do. It’s about focusing on how we can make the right behaviours easier and setting them up for success to enable pleasant consequences from their actions.

Behavioural issues are more complex and can be motivated by a dogs emotions, temperament, health and past experiences. They are less about the consequences of a dogs actions and more about what the reasons are that drive the behaviour. These problem behaviours require a thorough investigation into the history of the behaviour, the dogs past experiences and the dogs medical history incase of any related health condition which may be contributing to the issue.

For this reason, it is important that behaviour consultants request a veterinary referral to enable communication between vet and behaviour consultant. There is a strong relationship between health and behaviour which can be overlooked in behavioural issues but they are inextricably linked. For further information, please read the study on pain and it’s relation to behavioural problems.

Examples of issues which would require a behavioural consult are; dog to dog aggression, dog to human aggression, separation related issues and specific or generalised fears.

Behavioural consultations are in-depth, once a veterinary referral and history form has been collected, the consultant will go through all the information. A face to face (or remote) consultation will then be arranged which will enable the consultant to ask further questions and begin forming a treatment plan. The consultation lasts between 2 and 3 hours.

After the consultation, the consultant will liaise with your vet if necessary. A behavioural report will be created which includes explanations for the behaviour and a management and treatment plan. There is also usually a period of remote support from the consultant to help manage or resolve the behaviour issue. Throughout the whole process, the consultant has likely spent between 10 and 20 hours on one case in order to ensure the best possible outcome.I hope this has given you further information on the differences between training support and behaviour support. If you are ever not sure what type of consultation you require, reach out and ask – as trainers and behaviourists – we won’t bite!