Pack Cohesion Therapy Program

Utilizing our incredible Pack Dynamic Training Method, we can help your dogs obtain peace and balance in their relationships!

Pack Cohesion Therapy Program

This unique Program is specifically designed for multi-dog homes

easily our greatest strength is creating strong & safe relationships between dogs!

You won't find another Program like this ANYWHERE !!

Our Pack Cohesion Therapy Program is specifically designed to treat cases where there are 2 or more dogs in the same household who are exhibiting Behavioral Issues and/or Aggression Incidents between or involving each other. Depending on the severity of the issue, we offer 2 Program Level options.

Utilizing our years of Canine Social Behavior Training experience as well as our proprietary Pack Dynamic Training Method, we have a proven track record of excelling at creating a cohesive bond between 2 or more dogs, often where other training efforts have failed.

This is right in our “wheel-house” and where we excel above all others.

In short, the Pack Cohesion Therapy Program involves either one or both of your dogs enrolling into our In-Patient Behavioral Rehab & Training Program.

While receiving all of the incredible benefits of that Program, we will utilize our scientifically sound Pack Dynamic Training Method to create a positive & productive “team-mate” like relationship between the two dogs that were previously either fighting with each other in the home or wreaking havoc together towards other dogs or humans!

Our Pack Cohesion Therapy Program will promote a mutually beneficial working bond between the affected dogs in the same household who may have run astray of their foundational understanding of what it means to be part of a cohesive Pack!

Finally…a place you can turn with a proven track-record of establishing peace, harmony and Behavioral Balance!

Pack Cohesion Program Highlights

Offering 2 Distinct Program Levels of Service

Level 1 – for when 1 dog is the Primary Aggressor or Problem

- Dog 1 is clearly the source of the problems between the 2 dogs
  - Dog 1 spends 45 days. Dog 2 spends 14 days
- Dog 2 has no real issues and doesn’t need any focused training

Level 2: for when both dogs are equally “at fault” together

- Both display Imbalanced or Aggressive behavior to each other
  - or display imbalanced behaviors together towards others
- Both dogs clearly would benefit from focused one-on-one Training
  - followed by our exclusive Pack Cohesion training process
- Both dogs will spend 45 days in training, consecutively then…
  - Both will Train together, side-by-side, for another 3-4 weeks

Program Scheduling Parameters

PCT Level 1: where 1 dog is the Primary Aggressor or Problem
- Board & Train: Dog 1 begins the 45-day Board & Train Program
  - At 30-days, Dog 2 will join Dog 1 to begin Cohesion Training
  - This will work to create “team-mates” rather than adversaries
- Re-Home Session: both dogs are brought home for Human Training
  - The Re-Home Session will last up to 3 hours.
  - All human family members are urged to attend
- Follow-Up SleepOver (1): both dogs come for a minimum 3-day stay
  - This allows us to identify & mitigate potential regression
  - With this, we can facilitate more forward progress
- Follow-Up Session (1): at your home within 60 days of Re-Home
  - To mitigate regression and facilitate forward progress
  - Addressing any remaining questions or concerns

PCT Level 2: for cases where both dogs are equally “at fault”
- Board & Train: each dog will spend 45 days in Training, consecutively
  - Dog 1 spends 45 days in our In-Patient Program:
    - completed with a Re-Home Session (up to 3 hours)
  - Dog 2 spends 45 days in our In-Patient Program
    - Once completed, Dog 2 is joined by Dog 1 up to 30 days
  - Dog 1 joins Dog 2 for 3-4 weeks of Pack Cohesion Training
- Re-Home Session: both dogs are brought home for Human Training
  - This Re-Home Session will last up to 3 hours
  - ALL human family members are strongly urged to attend
- Follow-Up SleepOvers (2): both dogs will come for a 3-day min. stay
  - Allowing us to mitigate regression and facilitate forward progress
  - Providing top-notch social enrichment & fulfillment
- Follow-Up Sessions (2): at your home within 60 days of Re-Home
  - To mitigate regression and facilitate positive forward progress
  - Addressing any remaining questions or concerns

What is "Pack Cohesion"?

In short, Pack Cohesion, as it directly relates to what we do here, is when you have 2 or more dogs (constituting your Pack) living or working together and their relationship is “tight & balanced”, so to speak.

It’s like 2 “jobbers” who have been working together for years and accomplish their work each day relying upon each other without even having to speak verbally to each other.

A “look” here, a ‘wink’ there or a ‘nod’…but it’s that unspoken communication, the understanding that they work together as a “team” or in our case, a Pack. And they work in unison tightly together, or with Cohesion.

Thus, our Pack Cohesion Therapy Program promotes a tight, mutually beneficial working bond between two dogs who previously may have run astray of their foundational understanding of what it means to be a Pack Dog!

Training Program Rates

All PCT Rates are assessed by Service Area (owner home location)
- All Rates can be found below under Exact Rates by Service Area

Research Report

Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

Results pertaining to Conspecific Aggression between two or more dogs living in the same household

Research has shown that nearly one-third of the typical North American dog loving homes contain two or more dogs. In a multi-dog-household, arguably the MOST disturbing scenario occurs when there is an aggressive incident between the dogs living together in the same house. We call this, Intra-Household Conspecific Aggression. Whatever you call it…it’s no laughing matter!

These unfortunate incidents are not only disturbing for the peace and harmony of the humans living in the home…but they can be seriously dangerous for the dogs and the owners who try to intervene and break up the fight. A scientific report published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association was commissioned to specifically assess the characteristics of the dogs involved in these aggression cases.

Researchers Kathryn Wrubel, Nicholas Dodman and others recruited thirty-eight pairs of dogs that came to the Animal Behavior Clinic at Tufts University of Veterinary Medicine in Grafton, MA, specifically because there were aggressive incidents between the housemate dogs. The research team then conducted in-depth interviews and questionnaires to determine the characteristics of the dogs involved in these incidents.

Here are some statistics that many dog owners might find surprising, but those of us who have been working with these types of Aggression cases know these facts all too well.

Click on a heading below for more details on the study’s findings

Is Gender a determining factor in Intra-Household Dog Aggression?

Female dogs are more often involved in these aggressive fights than male dogs
Only 32% of these incidents involve males while the remaining 62% show females as the aggressor
When females get into these fights, injuries tend to be more severe and fights tend to last longer

While Gender is clearly a determining factor in the likelihood of aggressive incidents in the home, it’s also highly predictive of the likelihood of success with Behavioral Training. Here are some statistics:

In Male-Male aggression cases, conflict was reduced in 72% of the cases
In Male-Female pairs, conflict reduction occurred in 75% of the cases
In Female-Female pairs, while conflict reduction was only 57%…this is still worth making the effort

Factual Statistics & Characteristics of the dogs involved in these aggression cases

70% of the time, the instigator of the aggression is the dog most recently brought into the home
In 74% of these cases, it ends up being the younger dog that actually starts the fight
In 39% of the cases, owners claim surprise stating “they usually get along most of the time!”
Some conflicts can be quite serious with 50% resulting in one or both dogs requiring Vet care
Overall, 10% of the time the owner is actually injured to the point of requiring medical attention
Regardless of past training, dogs were successfully separated using Commands only 8% of the time

So what tends to trigger a fight among housemate dogs?

In 46% of the incidents, it’s the actions of the owner, like paying attention to one dog over the other
31% of the incidents were triggered by simple over-excitement such as an owners arrival at home
Resource Guarding was involved in 46% when involving food/treats and 26% when involving toys

Risk Factors to Aggression incidents identified between two dogs in same home

41% of involved households had at least 1 dog who had lived in multiple households prior to this
When one of the dog in the pair was adopted at 12 weeks or older – fights occurred 39% of the time
Dogs adopted from Shelters were involved in 33% of the incidents and 16% for dogs from Pet Store

Dogs involved in these incidents have a tendency to exhibit aggression elsewhere

40% of these dogs will or have shown aggression towards other dogs
27% will or have shown aggression toward humans living in the household
27% will or have shown aggression towards human strangers
20% will or have shown aggression towards their owner(s)

Dogs involved in cases have higher rates of other abhorrent behavioral issues

50% of the pairs of dogs involved has at least one member with noticeable Separation Anxiety
30% suffered from and/or exhibited Phobia’s, Fearfulness and other forms of Anxiety

Feed Life’s Abundance…for the Life & Health of your best friend!

Which Program Level is right for your specific case?

PCT Program - Level 1

Does your case qualify for Level 1 Program?

I have 2 or more dogs living together in my home. Only one of those dogs (Dog #1) is clearly more behaviorally imbalanced than the other(s). Over time, there has been one or more altercations/fights but it is clear that only Dog #1 is initiating these fights. The other dog, or dogs, never instigate or start the fights and is always the receiver of the Aggression from Dog #1

PCT Level 1 - How does it work?

Dog #1 spends 45-days in our intensive In-Patient Training Program
Dog #2 joins Dog #1 at the 4-week mark to begin Pack Cohesion Training
Total Board & Train duration is 45-days: Dog #1/45 days, Dog #2/14 days
The final 14 days will have both dogs being trained/worked as "teammates"
Upon completion both dogs are brought home for the Re-Home Session
Re-Home Session lasts up to 3-hours and all family member should attend
Included: 1 Follow-Up Session (2 hrs) & 1 Follow-Up SleepOver (3-day min)
Also included is Unlimited Support for the life of your dogs!

PCT Program - Level 2

Does your case qualify for Level 2 Program

I have 2 or more dogs living together in my home. Both dogs have had altercations/fights and/or will display Aggression with/towards each other, other dogs & or humans, which over time have increased in frequency & severity to a point where we must keep the dogs separate (some, most or all of the time). It is clear that both/all dogs are equally Aggressive

PCT Level 2 - How does it work?

Dog #1 spends 45-days in our intensive In-Patient Training Program
Upon completion, Dog #1 is brought home for the 1st Re-Home Session
At the end of 1st Re-Home Session, we leave with Dog #2 to begin Training
Dog #2 then begins 45 days of In-Patient Training ahead of Dog 1's return
At the end of Dog #2's Training, owner drops Dog #1 off at our location
Both dogs will then spend 3-4 weeks working together as "team-mates"
Total Board & Train duration that both dogs will be here is over 100 days
Included: 2 Follow-Up Sessions & 2 Follow-Up SleepOvers (3-day min)
Also included is Unlimited Support for the life of your dogs!

Pack Cohesion Therapy Success Stories - Client Testimonials

Greetings fellow dog owners, Brian was our savior! We introduced a rescue German Shepherd (GSD-F) with lots of issues to our home where we already had an existing (GSD-F) and an Aussie (M). From the first day, chaos broke out with multiple fights. After 2 trips to the vets for stitches and my trip to the hospital (incidental bite breaking dogs up), we contacted Brian. He came up to the house and within just a few minutes, he had all the dogs under control. He suggested that the girls be enrolled with his pack for a 6-week’ Boot Camp’ to rehab them and have them work together with his balanced Pack. The results were great! We now have 2 happy and very well behaved girls. We have to keep up on the training which Brian showed us, which is not always easy, but with work, the house is under control. I would recommend Brian to everyone!

My husband and I have two pit mixes, both rescues. Our dogs had gotten into two fights resulting in injuries. Before re-homing our newly adopted male Maverick, we reached out to Brian. Both dogs completed his inpatient program successfully leaving them both balanced and better versions of themselves. Today is day 1 of them being home. We have a lot of work ahead of us to maintain their relationship, but Brian gave us all the tools, advice and instructions we need. I’m so thankful for him and his team. My husband and I are calm and confident when dealing with both dogs. I know that their relationship will be nothing but positive going forward. We also now have someone whom we trust to board our dogs with when we travel. Thank you Canine Behavioral Services!!!!!!

Brian, This picture captures our gratitude for all that you have done for our family. And I am glad it does because there are no words to express our emotions. You have given us our family. Scout, our 7-year-old male, was dangerously dog aggressive when we brought our puppy Tesla home. Scout spent 6 weeks with you and your Pack, then another week when Tesla joined all of you. When they returned home they are now totally bonded. There is nothing but peace and love between them now. Paul and I will be forever thankful for all that you have done for our family. There is no possible way this could have happened without your expertise. Our dogs are the center of our lives and we all thank you.

We brought our two Border Collie littermate’s, Finn and Brandon, to Brian and his team after noticing an increase in aggression and lack of impulse control. In order to give both dogs the best chance of success, we opted to send them for the Inpatient Behavioral Rehab Program. Each dog went separately for 6-weeks at a time and then both dogs spent 2 weeks together in the training program as well. Brian and his team were incredibly thorough throughout the process and provided regular updates on the progress of both dogs. Upon their return to our home, the change in both dogs was immediately noticeable. They could now be in the same room and they wouldn’t fight. I HIGHLY recommend Canine Behavioral Services if you’re looking for a positive change in your dog(s). You won’t be disappointed. Brian will go above and beyond to ensure your dog(s) are afforded the opportunity to live the highest quality of life possible. THANK YOU, Brian, for providing my dogs with the foundation to coexist in the same home!

Pack Cohesion Therapy - Facebook Page Reviews

I have been using CBS for over 5 years! I originally sent one of my dogs for in-patient therapy after she began to show increasing aggression to my oldest female after I added a third dog to my pack. She came back a changed dog. Both she and I learned so much! Since then, I have sent ALL of my dogs for some type of training. One for Canine Manners Camp and most recently I sent my newest addition to the Puppy Workshop. I also frequently (5-7 times per year) send my dogs back to CBS when I travel. I trust Brian and his staff completely and know that when my dogs are there, they are not only getting well taken care of they are getting the structure they need. And best of all, they offer transport services back and forth each time. I can't possibly recommend CBS enough for all of your dog needs!

Our American Bulldog Frankie started in the In-patient program at CBS when he was about 8 months old, he was showing signs of aggression towards visitors, as well as our older dog Lexi. Frankie spent several weeks with Brian and his team and he came back to us much improved. With their guidance, we continued to work with him once he returned home. We have sent Frankie back at least once a month for socialization. He always returns to us a more balanced dog every time! Frankie is almost 4 years old now and still loves his visits to CBS. He can’t contain himself as soon as we approach the driveway.

This review is long overdue. We cannot say enough wonderful things about Brian and his pack. Molly Jane attended the in-patient rehabilitation program in June – July 2017. Prior to sending her to Canine Behavioral Services, she had escalating anxiety and dog aggression. We knew that we were reinforcing her behavior towards other dogs as well as her anxiety but were unsure how to break the cycle. Brian and his pack were a life saver. Molly J returned home a more balanced, calm, happy dog and we had a long list of our own behaviors to change. I still smile every time we go on a walk and her tail is up and wagging in excitement again! The other day another dog came bolting up to her off leash and she merely tucked her tail and walked away. I never thought I’d see the day! She even tried to play with a puppy on a hike! Each time we pull onto the street to go for a sleepover, Molly starts whining and crying in excitement. If that is not a testament to what an incredible place Brian runs, I do not know what is. Our friends and family constantly ask what kind of “voodoo” magic Brian and his team practice because of all the pleasant changes they’ve seen in Molly J. She is certainly a new, more balanced, happier dog. Brian saved our relationship with our dog.

Pack Cohesion Therapy Program