A Day In The Life Of:
An Animal Behavior Consultant

Thu Sep 21, 2006 9:37pm ET, NEW YORK, Sept 20 (Reuters Life!) - Animal behavior consultant Parvene Farhoody lives in a world of dogs -- and their owners, teaching them how to get along.

Relevant training/education: Certified Pet Dog Trainer (CPDT), Certified Animal Behavior Consultant (CABC), Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC).

She told Reuters about one of her typical days:

10 a.m. - My first client in the morning is a dog with separation anxiety. He was a rescue dog, from a pound, and his owners just cannot leave him at home alone. They then got another dog and this dog now also has the same problem. They bark and bark. When they take them for a walk, they lunge at other dogs. It is very difficult for the owners so they called me in to help.

Using positive reinforcement we are leaving the dogs alone for 20 minutes at a stretch. When we leave them we leave behind a bone stuffed with goodies so the time apart is fun and when the owners get back they praise the dogs. My job is always to teach the owner. It gives me such joy to see when an owner and a dog connect. Then I'm done. I won't train a person's dog for them without them being there. It's all about building communication.

1.30 p.m. - My next client is a single mother and her daughter who have a one-year-old Havanese (dog). I always go to people's houses to help train. They had trouble house training their dog and he growls at the child. We're teaching the child how to communicate with the dog - when to recognize the signs that he does not want to be hugged. Children can smother dogs and don't learn when a dog moves away to back off a little. This is my fifth session with him. Usually within six sessions I can have the dog off the leash and running in Central Park.

5 p.m. - I'm treating a tiny Yorkie with a very nervous owner who has not had a dog before. She wants to make sure she does everything right. This was a bit of an aggressive puppy but we started training quite early, about 10 weeks, and he is doing well.

8 p.m. - My last client for the day is a psychiatrist with a Brussels Griffin. He's nervous. I often teach tricks to dogs -- high fives, rollovers. I once trained a poodle who was very nervous, aged about nine, to fetch her owner a tissue when the owner sneezed and to sniff out the food under three cups on the table. This dog did not want to be touched but this was a great way to have her in company because the owner could show off the dog without people needing to touch her.

I always use positive reinforcement. A dog is meant to be our best friend yet is one of the most abused animals.

9.30 p.m. - If I'm not too tired I might head to the gym. Otherwise it's home to my husband and our dog, Cassidy, a rescued three-legged mixed breed who is just the sweetest, most social dog.

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

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Parvene Farhoody provides private consultation with pet owners every day, instructing them in how to be attentive, engaged, and effective with their pets, for a whole new relationship with the animals they love most. She owns and operates Behavior Matters, Inc., an Animal Behavior Consulting and Training service in New York City. She is a Certified Pet Dog Trainer (CPDT), Vice President of the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT), as well as a Certified Animal Behavior Consultant (CABC) and a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. Ms. Farhoody holds a Diploma of Canine Behavior from Cynology College. She is Assess-A-Pet and Train-to-Adopt Certified by the Community Animal Shelter Association for both evaluating rescue dogs for placement and teaching staff and volunteers at rescue facilities about quality-of-life issues for rescue dogs. In addition to consulting with shelters, volunteer groups, professional trainers, and the public, Parvene has been featured on local and national television-The Learning Channel and NickelodeonJr. For more information on The Protected Pet Initiative, Parvene Farhoody or Behavior Matters, Inc. please visit www.behaviormatters.com or call 718.424.7556.