Chicagoland Dog Behaviorist Recs

May 6, 2017 6:25 PM

Tucker, the 8 month old mastiff rescue that we picked up this week (oblig.) is an anxious fellow and exhibits separation anxiety. No destruction yet, but constant pacing, whining, and eventually barking. Can anyone recommend a Chicagoland (preferably city) dog behaviorist?

Our last dog of 13 years (oblig.) that we raised from a pup also had separation anxiety pretty bad so we aren't the best dog owners to mitigate this on our own. As tough as Tucker has it now we want to go straight to the big guns and get a pro. Any recs would be greatly appreciated.

posted by hwyengr to Pets & Animals (2 answers total)

Best answer: We have two dogs currently enrolled in a novice obedience class. I think the instructors Dennis and Wendy are excellent. My particular class is in Evanston and through the Oakton Community College, but it looks like they do have at least one Chicago option (for a class), and it looks like Wendy offers one-on-one training. Contact info here:
dogobediencegroup.com

If that doesn't work, maybe she can recommend someone. Cute puppy! Good luck!
posted by Glinn at 8:01 AM on May 7, 2017

Best answer: While I'm not local, I do have a dog with separation anxiety, and I can't recommend going straight to a veterinary behaviorist (a specialist vet who treats with both training/behavior modification and medication simultaneously where appropriate - imagine a dog psychiatrist, who may also work with a non-vet dog therapist) enough. There aren't that many in the country, so they're hard to find sometimes, but you're incredibly lucky to have the Veterinary Behavior at Illinois department locally. I wouldn't think twice about going there - it's relatively pricey but for me it was DEFINITELY worth it in the long run. Chicagoland veterinary behavior consultants also seems to provide a similar practice.
posted by R a c h e l at 8:14 AM on May 8, 2017