Dog Behaviorist within 30 miles of DC?

[Anonymous]

I in NW near Friendship Heights and I am looking for a dog behaviorist w/in 30 miles of my home. I am just so sad but really concerned that my 2 year old terrier has become dog aggressive. I work from home and she is in and out of the house with me 24/7. We are a family of 6--w/4 kids between 7-13. She had basic training as a pup and she will sit, stay, down pretty reliably (ok, not so much when we're out, but at home). She keeps getting into scraps with other dogs. She becomes rigid and tense when other dogs come near her at the dog park to do a simple butt sniff. She guards horribly if there is any common toy at the park. She snaps and growls and puts her teeth right on the upper shoulders and neck of other dogs if she feels they approach her too directly. She has never wounded another dog--I know that if dogs want to wound it happens in seconds and you don't even have the time to intervene. She was always dominant as a pup--I would take her to the park every day to interact with dozens of dogs from the time she was @5 months old and had all her shots. She was good 95% of the time until she was @14 months old and after taking a couple of months off from the park during the winter we started going last spring and she would get into a scrap. every. time. After 4 occasions, I stopped going to the enclosed dog park and started to take her to big open parks where she could run and not encounter too many other dogs. Still she managed to start up with scrapping with a couple of dogs even there. Today she snapped at a jolly friendly beagle at a open park and I just am done. It's too dangerous and she needs a professional intervention. She has never been people aggressive, but she does growl at my DH +kids feet if they walk around past her too fast while talking loudly. Has anyone used a behaviorist in this area? I am willing to travel pretty far by car to deal with this--out into the Baltimore area or far into Virginia. I'd really like a personal recommendation rather than just googling some random person.

[Anonymous]

Call Washington Animal Rescue League. They can recommend some great behaviorists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Call Washington Animal Rescue League. They can recommend some great behaviorists.

Thanks! I hope I can get some personal references here, but I will contact WARL.

[Anonymous]

Marsha Reich in Silver Spring

She is wonderful. Helped us with a dog with severe separation anxiety. Saved the dog's life.

[Anonymous]

Veterinary Behavior Clinic in Gaithersburg. Dr. Meyer is great!

[Anonymous]

I used Helping Pets Behave for a dog with anxiety (but no aggression as you describe in your dog). The owner was super nice but on reflection, she read my dog totally wrong and the coping strategies she recommended were not worth the $$ I paid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Marsha Reich in Silver Spring

She is wonderful. Helped us with a dog with severe separation anxiety. Saved the dog's life.

Thanks. Any idea what I should expect to pay for this?

[Anonymous]

Not every dog needs to go to a dog park! Sounds like it's a very stressful environment and you shouldn't put your dog through it. The best you can probably hope for is that you can teach your dog not to react.


http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=1337&S=1

[Anonymous]

Dr. Meyer was $275 a few years ago. I found our animal communicator more helpful than Dr. Meyer. She is highly recommended by everyone we consulted though.

[Anonymous]

From a professional, you cannot get a better rec that Dr. Meyer. Knowledgable and professional.

[Anonymous]

We paid $370 for our initial visit (she came to our house in Herndon). I consider the money we spent on her to be sooo worth it. We were at our wit's end with this poor dog. She would chew 2x3 foot holes in the drywall when we would leave her alone. It was awful, but Dr. Reich helped us manage her anxieties.