Private Behavior Counseling

Companion Animal Behaviorist Robert Forto, PhD, has worked professionally in canine training and behavior for over 18 years. He routinely succeeds in dealing with severe problems such as aggression and separation anxiety, as well as annoying problems such as excessively jumping on people, housebreaking issues, and destructive behavior. As a professional in the canine training field he is highly recommended by many veterinarians in the area.

Behavior consultations are available at our office, in your home or by telephone. It is important to note that follow-up care for the problem by phone and email is included in the consultation fee. Rarely are additional sessions needed or will costs exceed the original consultation fee.

Dr. Forto is also available for as an expert witness in a a variety of dog cases including: aggression, violent dogs, dog bites, breed bans and more. Please click here for more information.

What happens during an Behavioral Evaluation?

• You will be interviewed and asked questions regarding your dog and the problems you are concerned with:

  • Your pet’s daily routines and history with you

  • What your relationship with your pet is like

  • How your pet behaves in different situations

  • A description of the problem

  • When, where and how often the problem behavior happens

  • What you’ve done to work with your pet’s behavior

• We will observe your pet and see how he/she behaves

  • We do want to see how your pet reacts to us and get a sense of his/her temperament

  • We do want to see how your pet react to you and get a sense of his/her temperament

  • Observing the problem behavior may not be possible, desirable or needed

• We will use this information to analyze your pet’s problem

  • Why the problem developed

  • What’s now motivating the behavior

  • What needs to be done to change the behavior

• We will develop and write down a custom behavior modification plan for you

  • The plan may include changes to your pet’s environment and/or diet

  • The plan may require structured “training sessions” to bring out the desired behavior

  • The plan may require changes in how you react to your pet’s behavior

  • The plan will include tips and remedies

• We will follow-up with you during the scheduled “training sessions” either in-home or office visits for the number listed on your behavior modification plan:

  • Answer your questions and observe the dog and his/her reactions

  • Make sure you are on the right track

  • “Fine-tune” your custom plan

  • If your dog is participating in our board and train program you will receive weekly progress emails for the duration of his/her stay with us.

Office Evaluations

Requires 4 to 7 hours.

Our office is located in Denver, Colorado at the corner of Havana and Evans just behind Carpet Exchange. Click on the link for a map and directions.

Office evaluations allow us to see the dog outside of his normal environment.  Office evaluations are also suitable for determining many dog problems such as separation anxiety, fear anxiety,  and aggression problems. A flat fee of $475.00 includes: Dr. Forto going through the canine history form you have provided and typing up a behavioral modification plan (takes  two to four hours). Dr. Forto meets with you and presents the program and teaches you any exercises that will be part of the program (takes two to three hours). During the evaluation Dr. Forto will be able to establish the appropriate form of training to address your dogs’ problems. To schedule an evaluation please call 303-752-2818 or send an email to rforto@denverdogworks.com

For more information on our in-home consultations please give us a call.

Telephone/Email and/or Brief Evaluations

These evaluations are designed for straightforward problems that do not require as much analysis. Examples include housebreaking tips, breed referral, pet selection counseling, basic procedures for introducing a new pet into your home to an existing pet, also basic guidelines to introducing your pet either existing in the home or new to the home to a child, and questions regarding local dog ordinances. Telephone and/or brief evaluations do not include written recommendations, handouts or follow-up. There is not a fee for a brief telephone evaluation. Please keep in mind that we must limit our telephone evaluation to very specific questions and the call must not exceed 10 minutes.  The fee for a telephone/email evaluation is $85.00 per every half hour with a minimum fee of $85.00. To quickly answer some of the questions above  please call 303-752-2818 or send an email to train@denverdogworks.com

In order to more effectively utilize the consultation period, clients are asked to complete and submit a canine history form prior to their scheduled appointment. You may view and print the history form from this website but you will need to mail or fax the completed document to our office. When filling out the form please be as detailed as possible. This will help to more accurately determine a treatment plan for your pet. Be sure to use additional paper if needed.

Please be advised that a credit card number is required to hold an appointment time. We require a two business day notification of any changes or cancellation. Cancellation without sufficient notice will result in a $75.00 fee.

 Please download and complete our Canine History Form and mail it to our office before your consultation.

Please call Denver Dog Works at 303-752-2818 to schedule an appointment prior to returning the canine history form.