“Good news! Our training committee has approved an initial training consultation as well as a full medical work-up, with one of our veterinary partners, for Diego!
Today, I will be securing one of our trainers to work with Diego. While I do that, please feel free to schedule a time for Diego to be seen by our partner veterinarian…
Any time an animal is showing a change in behavior or a tendency towards aggressive behavior, we need to first rule out a medical condition. Pain or illness can cause an animal to feel more irritable and therefore less tolerant of situations or things they can typically handle. As such, our veterinarian committee member recommends a thorough evaluation done by a veterinarian who has an in-depth understanding of behavioral cases, psychopharmacology and pain therapy presenting with behavioral complaints have underlying pain/irritation or sensory deficits related to dental disease, osteoarthritis, hearing/vision loss or underlying metabolic disease.
If these medical conditions are not treated or managed, we will struggle to be successful with behavior modification alone. If there are no underlying pathologies, this frees us up to explore appropriate psychopharmacologic agents to help provide the dog with some relief immediately while teaching them new long-term strategies to deal with difficult situations (triggers)…
Are you open to one additional veterinarian meeting with Diego to review this information and ensure we’re doing all we can to set him up for success? If so, please arrange for a time to have Diego meet Dr. H…
We’ve assigned Allison Lamminen to be your Spencer trainer. Allison is one of our most experienced trainers and has reviewed Diego’s application closely. She will also be connected with Dr. H once Diego is seen to discuss additional ways we can set him up for success…
After your initial session, our training committee will review and determine if additional sessions are appropriate for Diego. As a reminder, Spencer Scholarship recipients must comply with the terms and conditions of the Spencer Scholarship to remain eligible for ongoing training. These terms and conditions can be found at the end of your application for reference. Also, if you could email us your favorite photo of Diego for our records, that would be great.
Last but not least, a big thank you to Megan, Whitney and the Best Friends team for advocating for Diego. We’re thrilled to work with you!”
Am I dreaming?
I’m not going to be alone in this and someone is going to help me? We might even get training sessions? Individual training could cost thousands depending on his needs. That would be a game-changer. How could I not try to make this happen?
Megan Kiecker 