Reflections

So we started this odyssey by discussing the feelings you had when you realised things were not as you'd hoped.

And together, over the course of the episodes, we've looked at the process of seeking help, your journey to Lincoln.

We spent a lot of time discussing the human side of problem behaviour management and the need to adapt things according to client capabilities, opportunities and motivations.

We've also discussed how we need to help clients through the whole process of change, making sure that they have the right skills in place for each stage and adapting according to the circumstances.

We hope we've managed to convey to the listener that help is out there, but it's not a simple process and doing it well takes a lot of skill.

and also requires owner commitment.

There are people who will try to sell a quick fix, but this often comes at some expense to the welfare of our pets and potentially their relationship with their carers.

I'm just intrigued, actually, Becky and Craig, whether or not anybody tried to sell you quick fixes.

I know you've had some very extensive and sort of micromanagement, but separation-related problems.

Did you come across anyone who said, well, you just go out and leave him and he'll be fine? Do it a couple of times and

Anything like that? Yeah, I think we had one, the one that was mentioned in several episodes ago that we clashed a little bit, but I genuinely got the perception that it was...

I don't want to say they were invested as much as yourselves, Millie, has been, and whether it was a quick thing for them to... kind of sell the idea that it's really, really straightforward and it's really, really quick and there's not a lot of work to do.

As in a flash in the pan is, we'll have this client come in, we'll do what we need to do, we'll end it and then obviously that moves on and it clearly isn't the process of just doing it in a very, very short period of time.

It does take... time and sticking to sticking to obviously the the things that we've talked about in previous episodes um you know the diaries you know it isn't something for for drax to learn as quick as we would probably not expect him to but as as previous behaviorists had said he will learn it this quick it's just simply not the case

I think that's a really interesting way of actually describing it because when we talk about quick fixes often with I think people see it more in other types of behavior not always separation behavior but in that way like you say having a package that's just generally applied and not individualized and not explained sort of why this behavior is happening and what we're trying to address that is a different kind of quick fix sort of like you say selling a package that is sold in a sense of this, this works, this is what you need to do without that level of kind of individualization.

Yeah.

And as you say, I think particularly when you see it in relation to aggression cases, people just want to manhandle the dog or whatever.

And dogs are incredibly forgiving and they will try to fit in with us the whole time.

But I don't think that gives us the right to abuse that right.

that forgiving nature of them for our own benefit.

We have a responsibility as owners.

And yes, I do use the term owner.

And I know some people say, oh, well, you know, like to be referred to as guardians or carers or pet parents.

But, you know, legally, we do own our pets.

And we have to give careful considerations to those pets because, you know, um you know by using the term owner i we just do put a little bit of that emotional distance because it's so easy to get tied up i think emotionally and therefore have these emotional blind spots thinking well i love my pets so i'm caring for him i'm doing everything right for him and not therefore not see opportunities that there can be to help to improve things I think in the first episode, actually, yeah, we introduced you as Drax's parents.