The first appointment
What is a behavior consultation?
Before a single session is booked, Dogtown wants to see the dog. The behavior consultation is that meeting: not a lesson, not a sales call, but the assessment that decides which program your dog belongs in. Here is what happens in it, what to bring and what comes out the other side.
The short version
It is the assessment that picks the program, and nothing is sold before it
Every training path at Dogtown runs through the same three steps: tell us the goal on the contact form, meet Gabby for a short assessment to pick the right program and level, then train and transfer the skills home. The consultation is step two. For a dog that barks at every passer-by, guards its bowl or has bitten, it is the most important hour of the process.
It exists because behavior is not a menu. Two dogs that lunge at other dogs can need entirely different plans, one driven by frustration, one by fear, one, occasionally, by pain. Gabriella Pope has spent more than ten years with behaviorally complex dogs and holds a B.S. in Biochemistry; her method rests on working out the why before choosing the what.
- Any reactivity, fear, guarding, bite history or separation anxiety: book the consultation first
- Puppies and manners cases get a short version of it
- Training is not booked, and the investment not confirmed, until it has happened
How it works at Dogtown
Roughly an hour in five parts: history, watching, the why, the plan and the first homework
It starts with the story. When did the behavior begin, what happens just before it and just after, who is around and what has been tried. Gabby asks about health, diet, sleep, exercise and the household, because a sore, hungry or under-slept dog behaves differently. Then she watches the dog: how it handles her, how it responds to a person or a steady Dogtown dog at a distance it can cope with.
From the story and the watching comes a working explanation, offered plainly and without a label. Then the plan: the program and level, the number of sessions, what management to put in place now, and the investment, confirmed at this point rather than quoted beforehand. Training starts from $94 a session. You leave with one or two management tasks so the behavior stops being rehearsed before the first session.
- 01
Contact form: the behavior, when it started, what you have tried
- 02
History in detail, including health, routine and the household
- 03
Observation: handling, a stranger, a neutral dog at a controlled distance
- 04
The working why, then the program, level, session count and confirmed investment
- 05
Management homework to start immediately, and the first session booked at 210 Eastern Ave
What to bring
Video, vet notes and an honest timeline do more than a well-behaved dog on the day
Dogs are often on their best behavior in a new building, so the more you bring from home, the better the hour goes. Short phone videos of the behavior where it actually happens are the most useful thing; thirty seconds of the dog at the front window tells Gabby more than any description. Bring vet records and a list of medications. Write the timeline down beforehand.
Be candid about bites. Whether a dog has made contact, how hard, and with whom changes the plan and the safety set-up, and there is no judgment attached to the answer. Be candid about what you have tried too, including any equipment or methods you regret. Bring your dog on a flat collar or harness with a standard leash, hungry, and with a few treats it loves.
- Phone video of the behavior at home, even thirty seconds
- Vet records, recent test results and a medication list
- A written timeline and the full bite history, honestly
- A flat collar or harness, a standard leash and good treats
What comes out of it
The finding maps to a program, and sometimes to your vet before any program
The table shows the usual routes; the assessment deviates from it when the dog in front of Gabby does not fit the pattern. Separation anxiety usually becomes a private plan run in your home with coaching, alongside management and often a conversation with your vet. And any sudden change in an adult or senior dog, or a behavior that came with limping or a new sensitivity to touch, goes to the vet first.
The other honest outcome is no program yet. Some new rescues need a month of routine before their real behavior shows. Some dogs need a medical work-up. Some owners need a management plan and a follow-up call more than sixteen sessions. Gabby will say so, and the door stays open; a consultation that ends with wait and watch has still done its job.
| What the consultation finds | Where it usually leads |
|---|---|
| Manners missing in a pup from 4 months | Bright Beginnings, 4, 6 or 8 weeks |
| Fear or handling sensitivity in a young dog | Brave & Balanced, from 4 months |
| Minor leash reactivity in an adolescent, rescue or adult | Calm & Connected, Level 2 |
| Dog-selective, hoping to join a group one day | Adventure Academy, the socialization path |
| One clear trigger | Focus & Flow, 6 weeks and 12 sessions |
| Reactivity across several settings | React Less, Relax More, 8 weeks and 16 sessions |
| Guarding, high arousal, fear-based reactivity or a bite history | Polished Pup, 10 weeks and 20 sessions |
| Separation anxiety | A private, graded plan at home, with your vet where needed |
| Sudden change, pain signs, senior onset | Your vet first, then a plan |
What it means for your dog
Bite histories, medical causes and daycare hopes each get a straight answer
A dog with a bite history is not turned away. It is assessed with more care and more distance, placed in Polished Pup with management from day one. If a person or another dog was hurt, medical care comes first; Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital in Woburn is the North Shore's 24-hour emergency hospital. Many dogs Gabby fostered through Cape Ann Animal Aid arrived with this kind of file.
The consultation is not the daycare evaluation, and it is worth keeping the two apart. The free evaluation, on a weekday morning between 6:30 and 9:30 AM by appointment, is a temperament test plus supervised hours in a group of 7 to 10, and it opens daycare, Dogtown Academy, overnight stays and walks. It needs Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella on file and a current city license; Gloucester's comes from the City Clerk at 9 Dale Ave, $20 for a spayed or neutered dog.
At Dogtown
What the consultation opens
Every Dogtown training program, from puppy school to Polished Pup, starts with this one assessment.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
How much does a behavior consultation cost?
How long does the consultation take?
Will Gabby diagnose my dog?
Can the consultation happen at my home?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
Book the consultation first.
Describe the behavior on the contact form, with the timeline and any bite history, and we will reply within one hour on business days with the next step.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
