08/17/2026
Unfortunately, since transitioning my practice to focus primarily on behavior consultations and Dynamic Dog Assessments, Iโve noticed some confusion about what these services are and what they are not.
So, I want to clarify both the purpose of these assessments and an important change to my policies moving forward.
My behavior consultations are ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ-๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ designed to provide an instant solution for serious aggression, reactivity, or other complex behavior concerns. The phone consultation is only one piece of a much larger assessment process.
Behind the scenes, I typically spend around 8 hours on each case before the phone consultation. This includes:
* At least two hours speaking directly with the dog's owner and taking a detailed history.
* Reviewing every submitted video and photograph.
* Teaching owners how to collect useful gait, posture, and behavior footage so that both I and their veterinary team have better information to work with.
* Completing a detailed gait, posture, and daily life activities analysis.
* Writing a professional report for the veterinary team using appropriate behavioral, anatomical, and biomechanical terminology.
* Creating a personalized written plan for the owner covering management, ways to support the dog physically while awaiting veterinary assessment, and at least three appropriate foundation training exercises with video examples.
There is a significant amount of professional work happening outside of the time you see me on the phone.
๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ซ?
These services are specifically designed for complex behavior cases, particularly dogs who have not responded as expected to previous training or behavior modification, dogs experiencing significant or escalating behavior changes, or dogs whose history or presentation raises concern that discomfort or another medical factor may be contributing to their behavior.
They are also appropriate for owners who already suspect something medical may be occurring and want professional help documenting their concerns, communicating effectively with their veterinary team, and determining appropriate next steps.
The goal is to look at the **whole dog**, rather than treating behavior as though it exists separately from physical health.
That is why gait and posture analysis is not an optional extra within my process. It is part of the assessment.
Health first. Training second.
There are trainers who are willing to continue behavior modification with a dog who is limping, showing sudden behavioral changes, struggling with certain movements, or demonstrating other potential indicators of discomfort without first recommending veterinary investigation.
๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฒ.
If something I observe during an assessment raises concern, I am going to recommend that your veterinarian investigate it before I ask your dog to work through a training program.
A dog who cannot comfortably perform something is not the same as a dog who simply needs to be taught to do it. And if pain, illness, or physical limitation is contributing to aggression, reactivity, handling sensitivity, difficulty regulating arousal, or another behavior concern, no amount of training can substitute for addressing that underlying problem.
I will not knowingly ask a dog to train through something that may hurt.
๐๐ง ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฒ ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐
Although this process is explained on our website and again in our intake materials, I have unfortunately had an increasing number of clients wanting to skip the veterinary portion of the process and move directly into training.
Because of this, effective immediately, ALL dogs completing a behavior consultation or Dynamic Dog Assessment must be evaluated by their veterinarian with my report in hand before booking follow-up behavior modification sessions with me.
The exception will be cooperative care and veterinary-preparation training when those skills are necessary to safely help the dog access veterinary care in the first place.
This is not about creating unnecessary hurdles for clients. It is about maintaining the standard of care I believe these dogs deserve.
Many of the dogs referred to me have significant behavior concerns, including aggression toward people or other animals. These are serious cases. A two-hour consultation cannot, and ethically should not be expected to, magically resolve months or years of complex, dangerous behavior.
The consultation is the assessment and starting point. It helps us understand what may be contributing to the behavior, what needs to happen next, what can safely be addressed through training, and whether veterinary support needs to be part of that plan.
I know this process requires more patience than simply wanting to โget the dog trained.โ But I have developed it through years of working with complex behavior cases and seeing firsthand how dramatically outcomes can change when we stop looking at behavior in isolation.
We do not skip steps because they are inconvenient. We look at the whole dog, honor what that dog is physically and emotionally capable of doing, involve veterinary professionals when appropriate, and then build our training plan from there.
Thank you for your understanding,
Lauren Tsao, MS, CDBC, CPDT-KA, DDP
