Aggression & Reactivity Behaviour Programme
Specialist Support for Dogs Displaying Aggression, Serious Reactivity or Bite-Risk Behaviour
Living with a dog who growls, lunges, snaps or bites can affect almost every part of everyday life.
You may carefully plan your walks, avoid visitors, worry about encounters with other dogs or feel constantly alert in case something goes wrong.
It can feel frightening, exhausting and isolating.
You may also be worried that asking for help will lead to you or your dog being judged.
At Ravendale Training & Behaviour, you will be met with understanding, honesty and compassionate support.
The Aggression & Complex Behaviour Programme provides structured, personalised help for dogs whose behaviour requires careful assessment, safety planning and ongoing professional guidance.
Together, we will work to understand what is driving the behaviour, reduce risk and stress, and help you develop practical skills for managing everyday life more confidently.
Programme Investment — £595
The programme includes your Behaviour Assessment and four personalised follow-up sessions.
A payment plan of three monthly payments may also be available.
Start with a Behaviour Assessment
Is This Programme Right for Your Dog?
This programme may be suitable if your dog is experiencing:
✔ Growling, snapping or biting
✔ Aggression towards people or other dogs
✔ A previous bite history
✔ Serious barking, lunging or reactive behaviour
✔ Resource guarding involving food, toys, spaces or people
✔ Territorial or visitor-related aggression
✔ Fear-related aggression
✔ Redirected aggression towards you, the lead or another dog
✔ Conflict between dogs living in the same household
✔ Behaviour that is increasing in intensity or becoming more difficult to manage
✔ Complex behaviour involving several different triggers or environments
✔ Behaviour that is making you feel frightened or concerned about safety
You do not need to know whether your dog is being aggressive, reactive, fearful or frustrated before asking for help.
Your Behaviour Assessment will help us explore what is happening, identify the level of support required and decide whether this programme is the most appropriate option.
Does Your Dog Mainly Bark or Lunge on Walks?
Dogs experiencing lead reactivity without a significant bite history or complex aggression may be more suited to the Behaviour Support Programme at £495.
The right programme will be recommended after your Behaviour Assessment. You will not be placed into a higher-level programme unless the additional support is genuinely needed.
Understanding Aggression and Reactivity
Aggression is not a personality flaw, and it does not automatically mean that a dog is bad, dominant or beyond help.
Behaviour such as barking, growling, lunging, snapping and biting can develop for many different reasons.
These may include:
🐾 Fear or anxiety
🐾 Pain or physical discomfort
🐾 Frustration
🐾 Feeling trapped or unable to move away
🐾 Previous frightening experiences
🐾 Guarding something the dog considers valuable
🐾 Territorial concerns
🐾 Over-arousal or difficulty regulating emotions
🐾 Conflict between dogs in the same household
🐾 Learning that aggressive behaviour successfully creates distance
Growling and other warning signals are important communication.
Rather than punishing those warnings, we need to understand what the dog is trying to communicate and identify safer ways to manage the situation.
My role is not simply to stop the behaviour you can see.
It is to help you understand why it may be happening, reduce the likelihood of further incidents and create a realistic plan that supports both safety and emotional wellbeing.
Why Ongoing Support Is Important
Aggression and complex reactivity are rarely resolved through one appointment or a single training exercise.
Your dog’s behaviour may change depending on:
- The environment
- The distance from a trigger
- Stress levels
- Previous experiences that day
- Physical health
- The people or dogs involved
- Whether your dog feels able to move away
- How quickly they can recover afterwards
A plan that works in one situation may need adapting for another.
The programme gives us time to introduce changes gradually, review your dog’s progress and adjust the plan as we learn more.
You will not be left with a written document and expected to work everything out alone.
We will work through the process together.
What Is Included?
Comprehensive Behaviour Assessment
We begin by exploring your dog’s history, behaviour, environment, routines, relationships and known triggers.
This helps us understand the whole picture before recommending practical changes.
Four Personalised Follow-Up Sessions
Your follow-up sessions allow us to put the plan into practice, develop your handling and training skills and make adjustments as your dog progresses.
Sessions may take place at home, on carefully selected walks or in another appropriate environment.
Personalised Written Behaviour Plan
You will receive clear recommendations tailored to your dog, family and circumstances.
Your plan may include:
- Immediate safety and management strategies
- Ways to reduce stress
- Changes to routines or the environment
- Foundation skills
- Behaviour exercises
- Trigger management
- Enrichment and decompression
- Realistic goals for progress
Safety and Risk-Reduction Guidance
Where appropriate, we will discuss practical safety measures such as:
- Managing visitors
- Creating safe separation
- Reducing access to known triggers
- Lead and walking arrangements
- Muzzle training
- Managing dogs within a multi-dog household
- Preparing for veterinary or grooming appointments
Management is not failure.
It is often an essential part of keeping everyone safe while new skills are being developed.
Support Between Appointments
Reasonable email support is available between sessions for brief questions, progress updates and clarification about your plan.
This does not replace an appointment or emergency service, but it means you can ask for guidance when something needs explaining.
Video Review Where Appropriate
You may be able to send short videos for feedback when filming can be carried out safely and without deliberately provoking the behaviour.
Ravendale Guides and Resources
You will receive relevant worksheets, guides or progress trackers to support the work completed during your programme.
Progress Reviews
We will regularly review what is working, what remains difficult and whether the plan needs changing.
Behaviour work should respond to the dog in front of us rather than following a rigid formula.
How We’ll Work Together
Step 1 — Behaviour Assessment
We begin with a detailed Behaviour Assessment.
You will have time to explain what has been happening and how the behaviour is affecting your daily life.
We will explore your dog’s history, environment, health, emotions, relationships and behaviour patterns.
Where appropriate, I may also recommend speaking with your vet or arranging a health check, particularly if the behaviour has appeared suddenly or changed significantly.
I will never intentionally provoke aggressive behaviour simply to observe it.
Step 2 — Your Personalised Plan
Following the assessment, you will receive initial recommendations and a written behaviour plan.
We will prioritise safety, reducing stress and making everyday life more manageable before introducing more challenging training situations.
Step 3 — Four Follow-Up Sessions
Across four follow-up sessions, we will work through the plan gradually.
This may involve practical coaching for you, foundation training with your dog, carefully controlled behaviour exercises and changes to the environment or daily routine.
Step 4 — Review and Continued Progress
As the programme develops, we will review your dog’s response and adapt the plan where necessary.
At the end of the programme, we will discuss how to continue supporting progress and whether any additional sessions would be beneficial.
Supporting the Person as Well as the Dog
Living with aggressive or unpredictable behaviour can take a significant emotional toll.
You may feel embarrassed, frightened, guilty or worried that you have somehow caused the problem.
You might have stopped inviting people to your home, changed where you walk or become anxious whenever another dog appears.
These feelings matter too.
My role is not to judge you or expect perfection.
I will help you understand what is happening, identify achievable next steps and develop greater confidence in supporting your dog.
There may be difficult days and setbacks. That does not mean that you or your dog have failed.
Behaviour change is rarely a straight line.
What This Programme Can Help You Work Towards
The individual goals will be different for every dog and household, but the programme may help you work towards:
🐾 Safer and more manageable walks
🐾 A better understanding of your dog’s warning signs
🐾 Reduced exposure to situations your dog cannot currently cope with
🐾 Greater confidence when handling difficult situations
🐾 More effective management around visitors
🐾 Reduced conflict within a multi-dog household
🐾 Improved recovery after stressful events
🐾 Better communication between you and your dog
🐾 A clearer plan for preventing incidents
🐾 A calmer and more predictable everyday routine
No ethical behaviour professional can guarantee that aggression will disappear completely.
What I can provide is careful assessment, professional guidance and a plan focused on improving safety, understanding and quality of life.
Why Choose Ravendale?
Aggression cases require thoughtful, responsible and individualised support.
With Ravendale, you can expect:
✔ A qualified Canine Behaviour Practitioner specialising in aggression, reactivity and behaviour change
✔ Kind, force-free and evidence-informed methods
✔ Personalised support for your dog and household
✔ Practical guidance designed for real-life situations
✔ Clear explanations without blame or judgement
✔ Advanced qualifications in canine behaviour
✔ Specialist education through Michael Shikashio’s Aggression in Dogs Master Course
✔ Ongoing specialist CPD through the Aggressive Dog community
✔ Licensed Family Dog Mediator status
✔ Kids Around Dogs Approved Professional status
✔ Membership of INTOdogs, ICAN and the Dog Welfare Alliance
✔ Home visits across Horsham, West Sussex and surrounding areas
✔ Online consultations where appropriate
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I Have to Complete a Behaviour Assessment First?
Yes.
Every Aggression & Complex Behaviour Programme begins with a Behaviour Assessment. This ensures that recommendations are based on your individual dog rather than general advice.
The assessment is included within the total programme price of £595.
What If I Have Already Paid for My Behaviour Assessment?
If you join the recommended programme within seven days, your £175 assessment payment will be deducted from the programme cost.
The remaining balance would be £420.
Can I Book Individual Follow-Up Sessions Instead?
Yes.
Following your Behaviour Assessment, you may choose individual behaviour follow-up sessions at £95 each rather than committing to a programme.
However, the programme offers greater continuity, additional resources and better overall value than purchasing the assessment and four sessions separately.
How Quickly Will I See Progress?
Every dog and situation is different.
Some management changes may improve daily life quite quickly. Emotional and behavioural change often takes longer and depends on factors such as health, learning history, environment, severity of the behaviour and consistency with the plan.
The focus will be on safe, meaningful and sustainable progress rather than promises of a quick fix.
Will the Programme Fix My Dog?
Dogs are not machines, and aggression cannot be treated with a guaranteed formula.
The programme is designed to help you understand the behaviour, reduce risk, build useful skills and improve your dog’s ability to cope.
The aim is progress, safety and a better quality of life, not perfection.
Do You Work with Dogs That Have Bitten?
Yes, depending on the circumstances and level of risk.
During the Behaviour Assessment, we will discuss what happened, the context of the incident and any steps already taken.
Some cases may also require involvement from your veterinary surgeon, a veterinary behaviourist or another appropriate professional.
Where a case falls outside my professional scope, I will explain this honestly and help you understand the most appropriate next step.
Can You Help with Two Dogs Living Together?
Yes.
Multi-dog household conflict can be complex because the needs, behaviour and safety of each dog must be considered.
Where both dogs require separate assessments, individual plans or extensive additional support, this will be discussed with you before any additional work is agreed.
You Do Not Have to Face This Alone
Living with aggression or serious reactivity can feel overwhelming, but seeking help is a responsible and positive step.
You do not need to have all the answers before contacting me.
We will begin by understanding what is happening, identifying immediate priorities and deciding on the safest and most appropriate way forward.
Ready to Take the First Step?
Every aggression and complex behaviour case begins with a Behaviour Assessment.
Your assessment gives us time to understand your dog’s history, behaviour, triggers and individual needs before deciding whether this programme is right for you.
Behaviour Assessment — £175
Aggression & Reactivity Behaviour Programme — £595, including your assessment
Start with a Behaviour Assessment
Not sure which type of support you need?
Book a Free 15-Minute Discovery Call
