91°µÍø

The vets at the Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital are able to advise on behaviour issues in cats and dogs.

Commonly reported behaviour problems include:

• House soiling and urine marking (cats and dogs)
• Aggression or reactivity towards other animals (inside and outside of the home)
• Aggression towards familiar people within the home
• Aggression or reactivity towards strangers inside and outside of the home
• Barking
• Compulsive behaviours such as tail-chasing, self-mutilation, overgrooming, pacing
• Separation related problems
• Noise phobias and other anxiety problems
• Difficulties with sleeping patterns

At the Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital pets with behavioural concerns should initially be assessed in a routine consultation (£55) with one of our usual vets. During this appointment a thorough medical examination will be performed to check for any medical issues that might be causing or aggravating the behavioural issue (common offenders include musculoskeletal pain, hormonal imbalances, anal sac inflammation, skin conditions, thyroid disorders). Depending on the type of problem being investigated, and any suspicious findings on the examination, blood tests, urine tests, X-rays or ultrasound scans may be offered.

After this initial assessment, our vets will give advice on immediate home management of the problem behaviour – this should include how to keep everyone safe and prevent the problem from worsening.

Our vets will then make a referral to a behaviourist, who can provide an extended behavioural consultation in which the problem behaviour can be observed and considered in more detail. These appointments typically last 1.5-2 hours and are conducted by a behaviourist outside of the hospital (usually as a video consultation or home visit). A behaviour modification plan will be created to follow at home, and follow-up sessions booked to monitor progress. The behaviourist will share their report with your usual veterinary surgeon at the Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital.

Not all animal behaviourists are the same! Some are veterinary surgeons and some are non-veterinary behaviourists. Different behaviourists have different qualifications, experience and interests. Your veterinary surgeon will refer you to the most appropriate behaviourist for the problem that you and your pet are experiencing.

At the Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital, the non-veterinary behaviourists that we refer to will be full members of one of the following organisations:

We work particularly closely with Antonella Marsicano MSc Clinical Animal Behaviourist (FABC, APBC, ABTC, IAABC accredited)   help@animalwellbeingcentre.com; 020 8206 6017

Antonella's one-to-one package for animal behaviour assessment and behaviour modification includes a free initial online call, then an in-person behaviour consultation at your house of up to 2.5hrs, a behaviour modification report and plan which is shared with the Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital and 2 follow-up calls (£450)

The veterinary behaviourist that we refer to (usually for more complex / medical problems) is:

Jon Bowen BVetMed DipAs(CABC) MRCVS – Behaviour Consultant at the 91°µÍø – appointments are 90 minutes online with 6 months of remote follow-up (£500)

Please be aware that accredited behaviourists are not permitted to see your pet without a medical check and referral from your usual veterinary surgeon.

The behaviourist will provide you with a report detailing the techniques and plan that they have demonstrated and recommended that you use with your pet. This will be shared with your usual veterinary surgeon at the Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital and attached to your pet’s clinical notes so that everyone involved with your pet’s care will be aware of the behaviour modification programme you are following and can make sure that they assist with this whenever your pet visits the clinic.

Many insurance policies cover behavioural consultations, investigation and treatment (including both behavioural and medical aspects) as long as your pet is referred to an accredited veterinary behaviourist.

Please contact the surgery if you would like to book an appointment with one of our vets to start this process.

PUPPY CLASSES

Getting off to the right start is vital for puppies and their new families. Teaching puppies important life skills and their owners to read dog body language and develop the skills needed to help their puppy grow into a happy, well-adjusted, social dog is very important. We do not recommend unstructured "puppy parties" where puppies may actually learn inappropriate socialisation skills - instead we have arranged for our Clinical Animal Behaviourist  Antonella Marsicano (MSC, FABC, APBC, ABTC, IAAC) to run high quality, structured puppy classes at the Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital.

The classes are held in the Reception area of the Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital on Saturday afternoons at 4:30pm. They are for puppies up to 20 weeks of age and run in blocks of 5 weekly sessions at a total cost of £250. There are generally 4 - 6 puppies in a class. Puppies do not need to have completed their vaccination course before attending - direct contact between puppies does not occur in the early classes. Classes are booked directly through Antonella at  help@animalwellbeingcentre.com; 020 8206 6017 The next course begins on Saturday 19th May at 4:30pm.

Holding puppy classes at the veterinary hospital has the added benefit of encouraging puppies to develop a positive association with the veterinary hospital, which should make dogs especially comfortable and confident about visiting the hospital in the future.

Clients of the Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital benefit from preferential booking onto classes when spaces are limited, but these classes are also open to puppies that are registered with other veterinary practices.