Testimonials

"...Frankie and I received a lot of support and guidance during our brief time with you and even in that short time Frankie definitely felt the benefit. During my sessions with Kate (which I really enjoyed, she really listened to me and asked such good questions) it was clear that a lot of time and effort had gone into them - I say a big thank you for your kindness and commitment to Frankie. "

Frankie, 4 year old Springer X Cocker Spaniel with high frustration levels and separation related behaviour.

"I came to DVBP when I realised my dog was heading down the a path to becoming a sad statistic. I was very concerned I’d be given unrealistic expectations for training and it wouldn’t stick long term. However I was so wrong. Loni and her team were so understanding, empathetic and practical when coming up with a plan for my busy schedule. I’ve seen huge improvements in my dog's behaviour and have valuable insights into his point of view. We had an open dialogue and support between sessions. I’d definitely recommend them to anyone in need. Loni was absolutely brilliant, as was Giulia. I saw Dennis make so much improvement and I felt much more empowered to help shape his relationship with the family."

Dennis, a 4 year old Miniature Poodle displaying generalised arousal and anxiety within a young family home.

"In the 10 months since we started working with you all, we now have a completely different dog. Slowly but surely, he is learning to feel more comfortable in the presence of other dogs, we are so proud of him and his progress! Walks have become really enjoyable, we almost feel excited to go out and see all of his progress in action! 95% loose lead walks, mostly sniffing and very content. We feel like we now have the tools to help him and deal with most situations!”

The owner's perspective of Fidget, a 2 year old Norfolk Terrier displaying fear.

"I (as the primary veterinary surgeon) referred Fidget (a 1 year old, at the time of referral, male Norfolk terrier) to DVBP for signs of generalised anxiety, especially around other dogs. Fidget has made great progress thanks to the team’s knowledge and professionalism. The owners report how grateful they are for Kate with her compassion and understanding; taking into account all of Fidget’s individual habits and needs. Fidget now copes with life very well."

The vet's perspective of Fidget.

"I loved the service I got from them, I think they were great. The behaviourist and trainer I dealt with were both very lovely. It was great that you could send updates and get a reply - it was a really good service and I was really impressed with them."

Niamh, a vet from Suffolk, with her own dog Nora

"I was almost at the point if he continued we wouldn't be able to keep him - he was biting my son and all of us... it was bad, and massively effecting all of our lives. We couldn't risk that. There was no second home for him so to be here now is massive.
I've enjoyed the journey. It's taught me a lot and I can forward that knowledge on to other people. Pain is such a massive factor. I've told so many people "Check for pain!". Thank you all so much - I do really appreciate all that you have done for us!"

Rupert, a complex 4 year old collie: stressed, overwhelmed with noise sensitivity and was attacking visitors and persistently barking.

"DVBP were so compassionate and caring when advising with our older dog Mylo. It turned out he was struggling with pain and this was directly impacting his behaviour. With the advice and help he got a new lease of life and was much happier and settled. Our personal well-being also improved. Thank you DVBP!"

As elderly gent, Mylo, whose last few months we were able to help make more comfortable.

“Took a while but here’s today’s attempt at a grooming session - clonidine and trazadone on board for an hour before starting, he doesn’t seem to have an issue at all being brushed now (which in itself is a big improvement on 18mths ago!)”

Jess, a vet from Northumberland who had a professional consultation for her own dog, Rummy, a 3 year old cocker spaniel who was anxious and would only tolerate his front legs being groomed, but nowhere else.

"When we contacted you we had been on the verge of returning him to the breeder and I was pretty terrified of him. My son said this morning after a positive interaction with Oz: “Imagine, we almost sent him back, he would probably have been put down if we had!” That really hit me because that’s a reality for a lot of dogs. Thanks to your support we have got through some pretty tough times and have the skills to manage situations better. I hope we will keep on learning and improving as his family"

Ozzy, 10 month old Australian Labradoodle who displayed owner-related distance increasing behaviour.

"Having you to talk to, we’ve found it really helpful. You’re the only people we’ve spoken to from a behaviourist background that have made us feel justified regarding the extent of Murphy’s behaviour. You were the first people to really understand Murph and you’ve never even met him, you have really helped us."

Murphy, a 3 year old Springer x Cocker Spaniel who displayed distance increasing behaviour to his owners. Managing his environment and avoiding triggers especially in new situations was severely limiting his owners lives.

"Snooky is a very anxious dog, particularly when visiting the vets. Other attempts to train her and desensitise her had been unsuccessful but the behavioural programme has had a positive impact and made the visits easier (although it continues to be work in progress). You are supported each step of the way by knowledgeable staff, particularly when you need reassurance."

Snooky, an 8 year old Husky x Staffordshire Bull Terrier with anxiety of new things and places - particularly visits to the vets.

"Hugo is a long haired miniature dachshund who has had significant separation anxiety and noise sensitivity ever since I picked him up as a pup! We had gotten to our wits end with the poor dog, despite our very very best efforts. Loni and Giulia have been unbelievable and things have been pretty ground breaking for us! Their care, consideration and advice were profound, and they did it with patience and understanding. Hugo is a different dog! Along side medication and ongoing training, he is able to be in a car without becoming dramatically distressed. My parents can actually leave him to go out for dinner - something we never thought we would be able to do! We will be continuing our work alongside the support from Loni and the team, and I know we are in safe, caring hands. Thank you!"

Hugo had separation anxiety and his owner couldn't leave him even to nip to the local shop.

"Thanks for your invaluable advice and support over the past few months. Although open minded, I must admit, I was very sceptical when I went into this! ...when I was looking for a cat behaviourist, I honestly thought I would need to find one close to where we live, as I assumed, the behaviourist would need to visit us and train the cat and honestly had no idea that it would pretty much be about training “me” and not having to include Bijou in any of the sessions! As daft as that may sound, that’s what I thought."

Bijou, a black domestic short hair with suspected anxiety related cystitis that was impacting the entire household.

"Getting on for 3 months since our last online Consultation and LOKI CONTINUES TO IMPROVE. Big message to pass on to other owners: I think we hit a virtual circle so that as he/we get better managing his fears/reactivity, his day-to-day stress level goes down and he’s more able to cope with the latest surprises.
Milestones: I dusted the furniture without jumping up and barking, we can usually walk past his old hotspots without even treats, we can often get past dogs on the other side of the road using treats, we often walk with slack leads. I guess only carers of fearful rescues will understand how much that means. Still a long way to go, but much progress.
Natalie made sure I understood the principles we were using, and more importantly, quickly worked out how to adapt them to Loki and our lifestyle. She was never fazed, always cheerful and listening, when I have to admit, there were times it felt hopeless.
I value the link back to his general vet for ongoing/future treatment and medication too."

Loki a rehomed dachshund who was nervous, reactive and showed significant separation related behaviours. Other dogs on walks, the mail arriving, hoovering and travelling in the car were all issues for little Loki when he first came to see us.

"Right back at the start of working together they [Bruce's owners] said it would be an absolute dream to ever let Bruce off at the beach. As it was just impossible. Bruce struggled with recall, would not leave other dogs alone, just couldn’t focus outside as his brain was in over drive constantly and would not let him learn, we have worked through so much together. It’s been a team approach alongside his wonderful vet, and physio as medical is involved with Bruce, and the fantastic team at Donovan Veterinary Behaviour Practice as Bruce also benefits from medication to help him and having the vet behaviourist expertise here is vital. Behaviour meds get a stigma at times and I am not sure why, they always need to be used alongside a behaviour modification programme and need a good team work approach behind them. But for some dogs they hugely help alongside everything else..."

Bruce, 2Y Springer X Cocker Spaniel, needed behaviour medication to complement the support he was getting from his vet and from his behaviourist, Hannah Antrobus (dog and puppy behaviour trainer specialising in spaniels and spaniel cross breeds). Bruce now visits the beach off the lead and has excellent recall. A successful result following a professional consultation with DVBP veterinary behaviourist, Hannah Donovan.

"I have recently completed the 6 week puppy course with DVBP. Although initially I was hesitant about doing an online training course, I couldn’t have been more pleased with how helpful it was. Having access to an expert in your own home is incredibly useful when you are in the midst of trying to settle a new puppy into your life. Ali was always calm, helpful and reassuring. She was able to give us advice on everything we could have wanted and more. The best thing was knowing that everything we talked about and worked on was totally focused on Ginny’s needs. The 1:2:1 sessions mean it is entirely tailored towards your puppy. Ali was really good at adapting each one to help us work on whichever challenges might have arisen during the week - as well as covering all the usual puppy training basics. The nature of the Zoom calls allowed Ali to see our set up and advise on ways we could settle Ginny. It also meant she could demonstrate training methods with her own dog and we could then copy/follow along with Ginny. The times were flexible so perfect for a busy family. I thoroughly recommend working with Ali from DVBP and wouldn’t hesitate to call on her help again in the future if we needed it."

Ginny is a graduate of our Puppy Parenting Training with Ali. Ginny's owners wanted to cover the basics of toileting and sleeping at night, but other priorities included making sure she got on well with their existing dog, being able to walk nicely off and on the lead, teaching her not to bark/jump up when people visit the house and being able to take her to cafés, pubs, the beach, etc.

"We had a great experience using Donovan Veterinary Behaviour Practice. Hannah and Ali have been amazing help with our 1-year-old Labrador Blu. We were having trouble with his Training as taking him to training classes didn’t seem to be working for Blu. So I contacted Hannah who set me up a session with Ali via Zoom. The session was for an hour and I have been sent handouts of everything we had spoken about. For me and my partner in full time work it was great that the session could be done over zoom as it's more flexible with times and dates, I don't think it would have been any different in person to how it was remotely.

Since then, I have seen real improvements in Blu with the training we have been taught for him. Ali really took the time to listen to issues we were having and small changes she suggested we have done have made huge improvements. I highly recommend Donovan Veterinary Behaviour Practice."

Blu, a very friendly young labrador who worked with our trainer, Ali. Blu had a habit of jumping up at people and would cry if left alone in a room when other people were in the house.

"The biggest change we have seen is the fact that if something scares him he's over it very quickly. It no longer ruins his day or week. He's much more loving and willing to trust.

We are still working on the car and vet visits. He does not like either, but who can blame him. I hate going to the GP.

Thanks for everything!"

Barney, a rescued mixed breed who was anxious of new people and sounds. His anxiety increased at night with some reactive behaviour towards family members.

"I would like to thank you for all your guidance that we implement every day. They are both lovely dogs that love their home and us and we will keep working on them."

Chico, a loyal rescue border collie who was reactive to dogs, people and cars on walks, barking at external noises when in the home, and paced and howled when left alone.

Guinness, a boisterous young border collie who was sensitive to noises and became reactive on the lead towards dogs and people on walks following Chico's arrival to the household.

"This is a dog who would never settle outside of his crate 3 months ago. 2 months ago he couldn't settle on a sofa. A week ago he could only settle on a sofa if we were next to him. And today he's taken himself off and gone to sleep. We couldn't be more grateful for your help in his journey to get here!"

Riker, an active and very anxious young labrador retriever

"Keep doing what you're doing, extremely helpful and very understanding, we were so lucky to have Loni."

The Bowdens, Bedfordshire

"Ali has really helped us and I tell all my clients who have dogs about her."

Julia, Hertfordshire

"We owe so much to DVBP for their empathy, help, patience and understanding and would definitely recommend to anyone who needs help with their pet."

Lisa, Bedfordshire