providing positive veterinary behaviour consultations for better emotional health and improved quality of life for pets and their families.
Behaviour consultations involve an in-depth consultation that aims to address the underlying reasons that pets behave in a certain ways. The process involves devising a specific management plan which may include medications (if necessary), environmental changes as well as positive behaviour modification techniques.
Our methods are based on the latest scientific literature and kind ‘force free’ reward-based techniques. We aim to improve the quality of life of pets and their owners. Pets often require ongoing management of their condition and a quick fix is often not possible or feasible. However, improvements in behaviour and a better quality of life for both pets and their owners can often be achieved.
These appointments are usually 1-2 hours in length. They require a behaviour questionnaire to be filled in and returned at least 1 week prior to the appointment time.
A personalised management plan will be given to you for your pet. A report will also be written to your referring veterinarian.
In person rechecks are required 6-8 weeks after the initial consultation, and many pets need ongoing support. Phone medication reviews are also available when necessary.
Service areas include the Northern Suburbs of Sydney, Sydney’s North Shore, North West Sydney, Hills District and Sydney’s Inner West. Appointments for patients outside these areas are available at a scout hall in the Ryde area.
here's what our clients are saying
“I contacted Vanessa a couple of years ago following some behaviour issues with our (then) 6 year old golden retriever Saffy. Vanessa is extremely professional and clearly knowledgeable in the area of animal behaviour. She is also a practising, qualified vet which gave us added peace of mind Saffy’s behaviour has improved significantly since Vanessa has been seeing her. She recommended daily medication along with a number of behavioural strategies to help reduce Saffy’s anxiety and this combined approach has been very successful. Saffy is a much more relaxed dog.
As well as our initial consultation, Vanessa follows up regularly to check on Saffy’s progress. She is very thorough and always provides a written report following our appointments.
Both Saffy and our other golden retriever Stanley love Vanessa and I would not hesitate to recommend her to anyone who has a pet with behavioural issues.” (Saffy’s Mum)
“Diego is our first dog and a difficult breed so we knew we had a lot to learn. Vanessa was able to provide us with sound solutions to most of our issues which completely changed the way we did things and made Diego a better and happier part of the family.” (Diago’s Mum)
“We first met Vanessa in October 2020 when Wesley was 11 months. Wesley at the time had conflict related aggression towards familiar people. He was also extremely noise sensitive and compulsive in the evenings. His anxiety was extreme, and he was impossible to train. Vanessa was able to diagnose him and prescribed 3 types of medication that were reviewed at the 3-month mark. See the progress report below:
· Hand/fist signals in face (previously would growl, chase, nip, bite now targets to hand for treats).
• Unfamiliar dogs (barks at certain breeds- boisterous Labradors and retrievers. Owner has
been avoiding these breeds. Plays with well socialised and friendly dogs otherwise).
• Dog barking in neighbourhood (improved, less barking. Owner has been dampening noise by
shutting doors to front of home)
• Resource guarding the Cat around the food bowl (Some improvement, although still chases cat).
• Storms (barks, hyperarousal and fight response, will not take treats).
• Wind (improved, no reaction now).
• Dust particles (Owner is avoiding this trigger).
• Shadows (Improved, no reaction now).
• Familiar people (No reported episodes of aggression).
Wesley is still on the same medication today and with patience and training he is mostly a loving dog. He will always be my complicated guy but we love him and he loves us. In our last visit with Vanessa we were delighted with Wesley’s progress as were we.” (Wesley’s Mum)
