Will my pet insurance cover the cost of behaviour consultations and follow-on help?

Sezan and Sue are both fully Certified Clinical Animal Behaviourists (CCAB), full members of the Fellowship of Animal Behaviour Clinicians (FABC) and Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors (APBC). They are registered Clinical Animal Behaviourists with the Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC).

These accreditations mean that if your dog’s insurance policy covers behaviour treatment from a non-veterinary behaviourist, then the cost of any Oz Dogs service is very likely to be covered, less your excess. Please check with your insurance provider directly to be sure of what they will cover and how your policy may be affected, prior to booking your initial appointment.

We are not able to process direct claims. This means that you will need to pay the cost of any service directly to Oz Dogs, and then request reimbursement from your insurance provider.

What behaviours can you help with?

Sezan and Sue have experience with a full range of behaviours. Local support packages specialise in dogs that need support for social sensitivities around other dogs and people, however we do continue to take on certain cases outside of this remit. Please contact us to discuss your dog’s needs.

Did you know behaviour consultations aren’t only for ‘problem’ dogs? A behaviour consultation provides dedicated 1-1 time with an expert across multiple sessions in flexible environments. We can use this opportunity to help settle in new puppies, rescue dogs or talk about general training needs and geek out on personalised behaviour discussions with owners, where behaviours have an emotional origin. Consultations can also be helpful troubleshoot to troubleshoot and coach emotion based issues with dogs that belong to other dog professionals, for an outside perspective and a chance to review your dog’s behaviour own journey.  

What training methods are used?

Oz Dogs guarantee to use safe and effective reward-based methods of training. We will never use or promote training methods that aim to suppress behaviours through fear or pain.

Will my dog’s behaviour problem be resolved?

Just like with human psychology, where behaviours are driven by a strong emotional response there can be no guarantees that problems will ‘resolve’ completely. The amount of success will depend on a number of factors. If you are able to fully commit to a behaviour plan, a realistic goal is to have a full and comprehensive understanding of your dog’s behaviour, and to achieve a level of improvement that is manageable and maintainable for both you and your dog.

Often behaviour modification plans require some ‘meeting in the middle’ of your needs and your dogs needs, and some changes needed to imporve your dog’s behaviour could be lifelong requirements. With this in mind, in the vast majority of cases where you can make the changes needed, we see improvements of behaviours over time. After your initial consultation package you will be equipped with the tools you need to understand your dog, encouraging and enabling them to be the best possible versions of themselves.

Will I see Sezan, Sue or both?

Your consultation will be with either Sezan or Sue. This is allocated at random unless either clinican has particular skills with the problem or breed you are seeking help for, or unless you have a special request for who you would like to see. Although we don’t usually see cases as a pair, we do have a monthly case discussion meeting where we share ideas for all of our active cases. This means you get the joint expertise of two clinical behaviourists, for the cost of one.