Clinical Animal Behaviourists can only see clients for behaviour modification, if they have been referred by a Veterinarian. Whilst this may seem like an inconvenience, there is a very good reason for this.
Behaviour is very closely linked to health and often the first sign of a physical issue is behavioural change or the prevalence of behaviours such as anxiety or aggression. One study by Mills et al (2020) showed that up to 80% of behaviour referral cases involved some level of pain for the patient (https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/2/318). The problem is that animals are very good at hiding pain and discomfort as a natural survival strategy and it can be hard to detect on physical exam alone, especially in an environment that they find stressful, i.e. the vet practice. Clients will often say "but they are fine, they run around mad all the time" and they often will indeed run around like there is nothing wrong, but this alone is not enough to rule out a physical or medical issue. Further investigation, such as blood tests, urine and faecal tests, x-rays, MRI scans etc. are sometimes needed to truly rule out a medical problem (a good argument for ensuring that your pet is insured from the moment you bring them home!)
It is crucial that any medical issues for behaviour "problems" are ruled out before embarking on behaviour modification, this is simply because you aren't going to get good results if the reason for your pet's behaviour is health related. For example, a dog may be intolerant to being handled and show aggression when approached by people, if this is because the dog is in pain and handling hurts then all the training and behaviour work in the world will have very little effect if the pain is not dealt with. If you have ever had toothache, think about how that made you much more short tempered than normal and how hard it was to focus on anything else. Now imagine that a psychiatrist came to see you and tried to make you feel better by simply making changes to your routine or teaching you new skills? It's not going to work out well is it? That tooth is still going to be causing you pain and you are still going to be grumpy. It's the same for our pets, except they can't call up the dentist and tell them that something is wrong, they can't access the relief that we can and they may have to live in a constant state of pain or discomfort before it is recognised.
Whilst health issues tend to be more common in older pets, it is just as important that they are ruled out in younger animals as well. Conditions such as hip dysplasia, digestive problems, skin conditions and neurological issues can be present from birth or a very young age and have a significant effect on behaviour.
Veterinary referral is also important as sometimes it is suggested by the behaviourist that prescribed psychoactive medication may help alongside their behaviour modification program. Such medication can only be prescribed by a vet and your vet and behaviourist will need to work together to monitor the animals progress in these cases.
If your pet is diagnosed with a health issue and this is contributing to their behaviour, the vet can treat or manage the health side of things whilst we help you with the behaviour, taking into consideration their health status. This team effort makes for a much more comprehensive approach and will give your pet the best possible outcome.
If your pet has behaviour issues then the very first thing you should do is get them booked in for a thorough health check with your vet.
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