Written by Niki Tudge October 2011 Copyright
The Dog Trainer role and that of the Veterinarian and the Client should be one of cooperation to achieve the behavioral objectives.
It is important when working on a behavior case to defer to a veterinarian on all issues of medication and medical conditions. In that same light it is the role of the training professional to best describe the problematic behaviors so the veterinarian can more expediently make medical recommendations. Within a cooperative relationship between a veterinarian and a training professional if both professionals remain the expert in their area of study and do not dispense advice across lines of competence then the relationship will develop a mutual respect and be beneficial to all parties including the mutual client.
Together, the training professional and the veterinarian can collaborate to the mutual benefit of the client and to their long term referral relationship not just at the onset of the case but during the monitoring stages of the behavior change program to determine how effectively both medical and training protocols are affecting the problematic behavior and achieving the client’s goals.