Insight Animal Behavior Services, PC

07/02/2025

🎓Congrats, Team Dodge! Dodge's treatment plan from Insight has stabilized so his primary care vet will manage his behavioral care moving forward.

Dodge's humans couldn't have said it better! "Before working with Insight, Dodge's anxiety and fearfulness severely limited our lives. We couldn't leave him alone without him causing significant damage, everyday activities like watching TV were stressful, and even thunderstorms or the sound of power tools sent him into a panic. His crate anxiety was particularly challenging; he'd chew incessantly, causing considerable damage to our home. It felt like we were prisoners in our own house.

The Insight team's thoughtful approach, particularly Dr. Drewno's attentive listening and collaborative spirit, was invaluable. Finding the right medication combination, along with the recommended hydrolyzed diet to address his vomiting, has been a game-changer.

Thanks to Insight, Dodge is a much happier and more relaxed dog. We can now enjoy life again, participating in activities we had given up on. We're incredibly grateful for the improved quality of life for both Dodge and our family. We can't thank you and the entire Insight team enough."

We are so thankful for your trust in our team and wish you all the best! 💜

07/01/2025

Dreading the fireworks because of how stressful they are for your pet? Check out Dr. Ballantyne's recent article and join Insight's Substack to get expert advice regularly!

https://insightfulanimals.substack.com/p/how-to-help-your-dog-through-fourth

A Guide for Pet Parents

06/24/2025

"It’s hard to believe that we first brought Penelope to Insight almost four years ago during the pandemic. Though we rescued Penelope as a puppy, and tried to do everything “right”, we eventually realized through the help of a trainer that Penelope needed some additional help through medication. When we first met Dr. Drewno, she immediately validated our struggles and made us feel at ease. Penelope struggled a lot with dog reactivity, specifically after she was bitten as a puppy, as well as separation anxiety, noise sensitivity, and fear of strangers in the home. After receiving a diagnosis of fear-based aggression, we started on our treatment plan. We made some changes along the way, and had some ups and downs, but we have found a treatment plan that works for our Peanut. She has improved tremendously on walks- she is still dog reactive, but she is much more redirectable. She has participated in pack walks with Chicago Sociabulls, something about which we are very proud! (We couldn’t have fathomed a pack walk a few short years ago). Separation anxiety, when not with her brother Leonard, is still a work in progress, however she has come so far. She is able to calmly greet our guests, even those she has never met before. A friend told me the other day, “if you had never told me about Penelope’s history, I would never have guessed all she’s been through.” I’m so proud of how far our little girl has come, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Insight and Dr. Drewno! Though we are transitioning our care to our primary vet now, we know we can always reach out to Insight in the future. We look forward to providing her with the most joyful, safe, relaxed life we can." -Penelope's Humans

🎓Thank you for sharing your story and congrats to the grad! We are honored to be a part of your journey! 💜

06/16/2025

🎓Hats off to our latest graduate, Mozzarella! Through hard work and dedication, Mozzie and his humans have reached stability with the treatment plan from Insight (medication, training & management) so their primary care veterinarian will take over behavioral care.

Mozzie's amazing humans were kind enough to share these thoughts:
"We are so proud of Mozzie and so grateful to the Insight team! Caring for a dog with behavior issues can be difficult as is, but its made even more challenging when it seems like no one else quite understands. However, when we met with Dr. Ballantyne we always felt heard and understood. Mozzie needed positive training, management, and meds, including a med change during his journey. But Dr. Ballantyne walked us through it all. It has been so great to watch Mozzie progress. Every success has been more meaningful knowing the challenges he faced early on. Now, he honestly just seems to be a much happier dog and that fills my heart!"

It has been an honor to support you on your journey! 💜

06/09/2025

🎓Mickey Marshmallow has graduated!🎓 This is a huge accomplishment where medication, training & management has stabilized so behavioral care can be transferred to the primary care veterinarian.

Mickey's humans described the highs and lows of their journey:
"So hard to believe it’s almost three years since Mickeys gotcha day from the Indiana rescue. The first year he was more than a handful, with anxiety and nipping and zooming and running into us, almost knocking us over. Walking was a nightmare of jumping up at us or standing still and not budging. He could never nap, heavy breathing and fidgeting. Our first vet suggested it was his breed and nothing was going to help so we should give him up. With the help of a great trainer who recommended Insight Animal Behavior Services, things have changed. We thought medications were a last resort or wouldn’t ever help. Excellent trial and error to find the right meds and training for Mickey has really paid off. He’s now three years old and still a crazy doodle, grabbing stuff but he is calmer, relaxed, very much our buddy who clings to us and brings joy to our lives. Mickey is changing and we are changing, accepting each other for a harmonious relationship making us a family. Thank you Dr. Ballantyne and all of the wonderful staff at Insight for getting Mickey to be the wonderful fur boy he is today."

Thank YOU to Mickey's humans for trusting us and allowing us to be a part of your journey! 💜

06/06/2025

Walking a dog that is reactive to other dogs is a stressful experience! This was something that Maeve and her humans struggled with. Now that Maeve's treatment plan from Insight (training, medication & management) has stabilized, they can graduate from Insight! Maeve's primary care veterinarian will manage her behavioral care moving forward. 🎓

Here is what Maeve's humans shared: "Maeve was dog reactive and anxious when she began seeing the doctors at Insight. Through medication and training, her behavior has improved tremendously especially when she sees another dog. As long as she gets treats, she won’t bark and lunge."

We are so thankful for your trust in our team! 💜

06/03/2025

🎓Congratulations, Team Sophie! Her treatment through Insight (medication, management & training) has stabilized so her primary care veterinarian took over her behavioral care. Graduation shows much growth and hard work by the pets and humans!

Here is what Sophie's humans had to share about their journey:
"6 months after adopting Sophie, our perfect and sweet rescue, she started displaying unusual and aggressive behavior toward her momma. We were at a loss and desperate for ways to manage the behavior when we found Insight. We weren’t sure how we could carry on much longer.

We were Sophie’s fifth known home, so we were committed to not rehoming her again and perpetuating the cycle of anxiety and fear that likely caused her resource guarding and aggression to begin with.

By starting her on medication to make her less anxious, training for Sophie, and training for both mom and dad as well (😉), Sophie lives a happy life with a mom, dad, and sister who love her to bits and know how to read her body cues and to avoid exacerbating triggers. When you adopt, you commit to that creature as a member of your family for life, through the good and bad times. We’ve certainly had a more difficult than average adoption experience, but wouldn’t change it for anything as it brought Sophie into our lives.

Thank you to Dr. Drewno and all of Sophie’s support team; especially her beloved trainer, Mary Kaye, who was recommended by Insight. You’ve all been so knowledgeable, patient and kind as we’ve grown with Sophie over the past 2.5 years."

We are thankful to be a part of your story! 💜

05/23/2025

NEW SUPPORT GROUPS!!
💜Small groups of 8 people or less
💜Find community with others dealing with the same behavioral challenges
💜A safe space to share your emotions and feelings

Register for June's support group focusing on separation anxiety: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule/b09e4bb8/?appointmentTypeIds[]=78336964

We will offer different topics in the coming months so stay tuned for updates!

05/21/2025

Today's graduation post is celebrating our very own ! Valerie just graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Master of Science in Social Work degree and Veterinary Social Work Certificate! Stay tuned for exciting updates about our Human Support Services! 😉

05/07/2025

🎓Hats off to the graduate! Coltrane's treatment (medication, management & training) with Insight has stabilized, so his care can be managed by his primary care veterinarian moving forward.

"Thank you for all of your help! We were so close to giving up before we started with Insight. We got Trane from a dog rescue when he was only 4 months old. All we knew about him was that he had been found on the street with a broken leg. He had FHO surgery before we got him. We brought him home where he met our 12-year-old Boxer/pit mix, Sonny. We had no issues for several months until, all of a sudden, Trane started growling at Sonny for no reason. He became very reactive and started severe resource guarding. Trane was protective of his toys, the couch, me. Trane started going after Sonny and when we tried to separate them, he would bite us. Both my husband and I have scars from being bitten, and I even had to get stitches once because of a particularly bad bite. We tried training, worked with a behaviorist and took him to other experts before we were finally able to get an appointment with Insight. He was diagnosed with chronic pain, likely going back to his broken leg. Dr. Ballantyne prescribed a combination of medications that treated his anxiety and pain, and his behavior improved very quickly. Trane is now almost 2 years old and has a little brother (almost one year old) who is both his twin and his shadow, Monk. Trane has been great with Monk and although there was a resurgence of his old behavior at the very beginning, they soon worked it out and they are now inseparable. Thank you for everything. We can't imagine our life without Trane but couldn't have gotten to this point without the help of Dr. Ballantyne and Insight."

Thank you to Coltrane's humans for sharing your story and your dedication to Coltrane! It was our honor to be a part of your journey! 💜

04/28/2025

Separation anxiety, like all of the behavior challenges we treat, is stressful for both the pets and their humans. Team Roo has worked hard and made it to graduation! 🎓

Here is what Roo's humans had to say about their time with Insight: "Working with Insight has given us back our happy little dog! We were really struggling to find "a cure" for our dog who suffers from extreme separation anxiety. Roo, our 8 year old terrier mix, was a happy, bubbly little dog who had no real issues... until COVID hit. Roo got used to having her people at home with her 24/7, and when the world reopened and we began venturing back out, her world crumbled. The onset of her separation anxiety started off mild with some whimpering & escape attempts, and gradually evolved into constant trembling, crying, and sheer panic mode. We knew we needed professional help when she began destroying things in the home and harming herself trying to escape her crate. We sought out the help of Dr. Ballantyne's team and were immediately met with listening ears, suggestions, and several action plans. The beginning of the program gave us hope, but it was also a major learning curve as we tried different approaches, medications, and pain management appointments. We're so glad we stuck it out because after about 8 weeks we really started noticing Roo's progress. Dr. Ballantyne gave us the tools to set Roo up for success and we still use these tools every time we leave the house, even two years later. Roo graduated from her program this week and we took time to acknowledge how different life is now that we understand what Roo needs to feel safe and secure while we're out of the house. We owe everything to Insight and the incredible team there."

Hats off to this adorable grad- we are so proud to be a part of your journey! 💜

04/24/2025

"When we adopted Luna from PAWS in 2021, she made herself at home in our family quickly, but was fearful (and reactive) of almost everything and everyone else except us: she could not tolerate being left alone, riding in the car, going to the vet, other dogs, other people...the list was long and felt insurmountable. Thankfully, two talented trainers we met: Kiki Yablon and Kristina Rosinia connected us with Dr. Ballantyne at Insight, and now our family and Luna are living our best life together!

Dr. Ballantyne helped us find the right medication plan for Luna, gave us guidance about how to manage her environment, and continually connected us with new resources (such as Ali Evanson at I Got This Sit) every time we faced a new challenge. We looked forward to our appointments, because we always left feeling heard, supported, and better equipped to manage and enjoy life with Luna.

We adore Luna and all the joy she brings to our family’s life, even though she will never be a pup that can roll with anything and anyone. Adopting her has taught us what it means to unconditionally love, accept, and respect another while also helping them be their best self; Dr. Ballantyne was such an incredible support on our journey to this beautiful life lesson. We are happy that Luna has “graduated” - and know that she is in great hands with her regular vet, the wonderful Dr. Ogishi and all the staff at Animal Medical Center - but were sad to say goodbye to Dr. Ballantyne, who has been such a treasured part of Team Luna.

Thank you, Dr. B and Insight, for saving Luna’s life and enriching ours!"

We are so grateful for the kind words from Luna's humans and their dedication throughout this process! yablon