Insight Animal Behavior Services, PC

11/12/2024

"Thank you for all of the help with Penny these past few years! Penny has come so far in her time with Insight." -Penny's Mom

🎓Sweet Penny is officially a Graduate!! Thanks to the dedication and hard work of Team Penny, her treatment (medication, training & management) stabilized. This means her behavioral care is transferred to and maintained by her primary care veterinarian moving forward. 🥳

11/05/2024

🎓Congrats to Team Cosmo for graduating from Insight!! Graduation can occur when all parts of treatment (medication, management & training) are stable and the primary care veterinarian can manage behavioral treatment moving forward.

Check out Team Cosmo's reflection on their time with us! "We had a fantastic experience with Dr. Drewno and the Insight team. Our rescue dog, Cosmo, was highly reactive when we first started with Insight—even just taking him on walks could be stressful because we didn't know if he would lunge at passersby. Dr Drewno listened to our concerns at each visit and tailored his training and medication regimen to his exact needs. He was diagnosed with Global Fear, and we learned about the stacking phenomenon of stressful events. He made great progress in his reactivity and can now go on walks and endure events that would previously distress him greatly. There is really only one circumstance that triggers his reactivity (having people in our home) and even then, we have a manageable way to approach it without distressing our dog or us. We're grateful to the team for their help and care!"

We are so thankful to be a part of your journey and wish you all continued success! 🥳

09/03/2024

🎓Snack is our newest graduate! 🥳 Snack and his human have been working with Insight for over 2 years. Snack's treatment plan (medication, management & training) has stabilized so his primary care veterinarian can oversee the plan.

Here are a few words from Snack's Mom about their journey:

"There are so many positive things I can say about Insights. The biggest impact has been with Snack's separation anxiety. When we first saw Dr. K***z, Snack couldn't be left alone for more than 20 minutes at a time. Now his separation anxiety is so well managed that he can comfortably be left alone for ~8 hours. As you can imagine, this has been life changing for both of us, and I'm so grateful to Dr.K***z for helping us find the right solution.

Through this process we've also navigated Snack's generalized anxiety and leash reactivity which have also shown much improvement. He is able to relax and sleep on his best friend at daycare and do parallel walks with many dog friends!

Thanks so much to Dr. K***z and the team for all of your support - we will always be grateful!"

A huge THANK YOU to Team Snack for your hard work throughout your journey with us! 💜

08/26/2024

🐾Happy International Dog! Let's celebrate one of our recent grads! 🎓
"When Bubba came home to our family he was extremely anxious when outside of the home or when anyone came to the house. We saw a range of behaviors from barking excessively and lunging at strangers and even guests to pulling, growling and jumping around at the sight of other dogs who were half a block away. I was terrified to have friends over or to go on walks. With the help of Insight Animal Behavior Services, Bubba has found the inner calm that we saw all along when he was with his family. Bubba and I now enjoy our walks together knowing that he will watch other dogs closely but manage his feelings through a variety of strategies as they pass by. His anti-anxiety medication helps him accept guests in the house given proper preparation and redirecting, and he now enjoys the yard without becoming excessively anxious about other people and dogs passing by the fence. The Insight Animal Behavior Team was truly a life saver as I wasn't sure I was going to be able to manage and keep Bubba in our household, but we now can't imagine our lives without him!"

Thank you to Bubba's humans for the kind words and for their dedication throughout their time with us! Graduation can occur when all parts of a treatment plan (medication, management & training) have stabilized and a primary care veterinarian can oversee the treatment plan moving forward.

07/25/2024

🎓Congrats to the Grad- KOBE!🥳

Kobe's treatment (medication, management & training) from Insight has stablized so it is time to graduate! Here are a few words from Kobe's humans about their journey:

"We have been thankful for our time with Insight, as we really have been better able to understand our boy with generalized anxiety and fear aggression. Simple education has improved our care for him, and our concern with giving him medication was alleviated. Although he has a long way to go, he has improved tremendously."

We appreciate your trust with Kobe's care and wish you continued success with his progress! 💜

07/19/2024

"When we adopted Auden, we didn't fully appreciate what it meant to bring home a reactive dog, and the shelter wasn't aware of his separation anxiety. We devoured information from reputable sources (books! podcasts! webinars! online courses!), but quickly realized we needed one-on-one help and likely medication. Getting Dr. K***z in our corner, plus a good trainer, is one of the best decisions we've ever made. Auden has kept his s***k, but his spidey senses are now tuned more appropriately, and he's so much more comfortable and manageable around unavoidable stressors. For us humans, having a team helped us keep our sanity on such a non-linear journey. We couldn't have gotten here without the help of Dr. K***z and the wonderful team at Insight."

🎓Thank you to Auden's amazing humans for the kind words as we celebrate Auden's graduation from Insight! After working with Insight for over 3 years, Auden's treatment plan (medication, management & training) has stabilized and Auden's primary care veterinarian will manage Auden's behavioral care moving forward. We are so grateful to be part of your journey! 💜

07/10/2024

😁We can't stop smiling thanks to Diamond!! Diamond and her humans have done an amazing job and Diamond has GRADUATED! Graduation from Insight can occur when all parts of a patient's treatment plan (medication, management & training) have stabilized.

Here are a few kind words from Diamond's humans: "I would like to thank all involved for Diamond’s progress over the last year. In addition to the meds, I have been given the tools to deal with the behavior. For the most part, she is sleeping well at night with the exception of fireworks and rainstorms which is to be expected. Our cat Barney lays next to her at night as a comfort kitty. Again, many thanks."

A huge THANK YOU to Team Diamond for trusting Insight with her care! 💜

06/21/2024

🎓Drizella has graduated!🥳

Here are a few details about their journey from Drizella's mom:
"Drizella started seeing Dr. Drewno about 2 years ago after she hit a rough patch with her brother (he was already a patient). He was going through HW treatment, and she was dealing with some pain issues. They were separated for over 6 months while we addressed both their medical, behavioral, and training issues. Drizella had lived on the streets and suffered an injury to her paw; Dr. Drewno helped us work on her pain management which we successfully accomplished. However, she still seemed off and unhappy. Over the last year, Drizella really started to change. She started to become more playful, had more respectful play with her brother, and her happy tail never stops now! What I love about Insight & Dr. Drewno, is they work with your primary Vet and your trainer. I don't know how we would have got through the last couple of years, and all that we accomplished, without Dr. Drewno.

Thank you again for all Insight & Dr. Drewno have done for us!"

Thank you so much for trusting us with Drizella (and Katashi's) care! 💜

05/25/2024

Have a safe weekend! 🇺🇸

05/20/2024

🚨Handsome Dog Alert!🚨
Sweet Balou and his humans worked with our team for the past 4 years and are ready to graduate! Balou's treatment from Insight (medication, management & training) is stable so they are able to transfer behavioral care to Balou's primary care vet. 🎓

Balou's humans shared a lovely summary with us!
"Balou has become an even better companion than he had been before. He’s now able to handle trucks, buses, and other dogs (with a little bit of distance) without a problem. At the time we adopted him, our grandchildren were 8 and 11, and he loved being with them. He was with us a year when the youngest was born, and he was able to manage any anxiety with a baby and a toddler. He’s able to play at doggy daycare and with family dogs appropriately. He’s had a wonderful experience at Insight, and loves Dr. Ballantyne!"

We are so proud of Team Balou and appreciate your trust in us! 💜

05/13/2024

🎓Warren is ready to graduate! Graduation occurs after finding the best treatment (medication, management & training) and shows immense dedication by Warren's humans!

Here is what they had to say about their time with us:
"Working with Insight has been the missing puzzle piece in a long journey with our wonder dog Warren! Not only were we able to get a diagnosis that made us and Warren feel supported and educated, but Dr. Drewno and the entire Insight team were there by our sides to ensure we never felt alone in going down this road. We will forever feel such immense gratitude for the attention to detail and care that Dr. Drewno and Insight gave us. They encouraged us and Warren as he made leaps and bounds with his training, ensured he had the appropriate medication to assist with his learning, and overwhelmingly supported our endless questions and ideas! Warren exhibited high levels of fear and anxiety, and with Dr. Drewno’s help he is now much more confident and trusting in his day to day life! It is so amazing to see our happy guy shine. We cannot say enough good things about this dedicated team. Thank you Dr. Drewno and Insight!"

We are so grateful for the opportunity to assist you and Warren! Congrats!! 🥳

05/06/2024

🎓Congrats to the Grad- Oliver! Graduation can occur when treatment (medication, management & training) have stabilized. Here is what Oliver's humans have to say about their experience:
"When we first took our anxious little man to Insight we were already pretty dejected. Before deciding that all the books we had read and all the training we tried was not enough, we felt frustrated and sad about Oliver's behavioral turmoil. We wanted to get him into a headspace where he felt safe and less reactionary. We were able to achieve that goal during our time working with Insightful Animals via pharmaceutical intervention and some slight changes in his routine that truly helped. After some adjustments to his dosages we were able to get him on the right regimen for him and have been happy with the results for the last few years! Insight does a great job of assessing needs and mapping out a plan to get your animal to their best and safest potential. We have nothing but good things to share about our time with Insight and Dr. K***z! Thank you all!"

Thank YOU for your trust and dedication over the years! 🥳

04/25/2024

Have you heard? Our FREE virtual support group for owners of pets with behavior challenges has over 400 registrants since its inception in August of 2022!

Learn more about our Human Support Services here:
https://www.insightfulanimals.com/human-support-services

03/14/2024

🥧In honor of "Pi Day", we want to celebrate this cutie pie, Stanley and his recent graduation from Insight! 🎓

"I really can't believe how far Stanley has come under the care of Dr. Drewno and Insight. He really is a completely different dog from where we started. A very observant dog trainer recommended Insight to me when I first adopted Stanley. As a 4 year old puppy mill rescue, Stanley struggled with high anxiety in almost every situation including people, dogs, riding in cars, being alone in the house, even putting a harness and leash on. When I first adopted Stanley, he wouldn't leave the living room or climb stairs. I had to pick him to go outside because he was scared to exit the front door. If I had people over, Stan would bark non-stop the entire time they were there. Flash forward to now, Stanley loves people, tolerates dogs (especially dogs who ignore him), goes for car rides, comes with me to pet-friendly stores, climbs stairs, handles grooming well, and has learned all kinds of new "tricks" from training. Friends and family all comment on the vast improvement Stanley has made since I brought him home for the first time. Thanks you Dr. Drewno and Insight! Highly recommend!!"

Graduation can occur when a patient's treatment (medication, training & management) are stable and behavioral care is transferred to the primary care vet. It shows immense dedication from Stanley's human!!

03/07/2024

🎓Wick graduated from Insight meaning treatment, training & management is stable and our services are no longer needed! Here is what Wick's humans had to say about their experience:
"Insight has been wonderful. They worked with us and our family dog Wick to understand what was causing his fear and aggressive behaver. They provided open discussion through email and Google drive to help us understand Wick's condition and how best to treat him. They also helped us understand what we needed to do to work with Wick. Their support and guidance has been a blessing. They helped us to improve Wick's life and ours. Wick is now much better, he still gets startled and scared, but nowhere near the severity he was before and we now know how to handle these situations as well. The outbursts of growling and nipping have greatly reduced.

Because of their help and treatment our family and Wick now have a much more happy and normal life. We cannot thank Dr. Drewno and the team at Insight enough for what they were able to achieve.

Thank you and Dr. Drewno for all of your help and support."

01/16/2024

🎓Btrix recently graduated from Insight! See what her human had to say about their experience:
"My 5-6 year old pit bull rescue, Btrix, had been off her meds for about a year during the pandemic and her fearfulness of new people and environments coupled with aggression towards other dogs had gotten noticeably worse. It took a little while to get an appointment, but my dog trainer said Insightful Animals was really worth the wait. Since we started seeing Dr. Drewno 2 years ago, Btrix made steady progress with one or two incremental increases to her behavioral medication, but the real change happened when she started taking anti inflammatory medication for her knees. Dr. Drewno diagnosed that both of Btrix’s knees were arthritic post her TPLO surgeries which was causing her discomfort and in turn affecting her overall demeanor. It never occurred to me that her arthritis was bothering her and that this was causing her to be “cranky”. Dr. Drewno’s wholistic approach of taking all of Btrix’s physical and mental health issues into consideration really helped improve Btrix’s quality of life significantly. I am so thankful to now have a much happier and friendlier pup, who is much better with car rides, new environments, people and dogs we pass by on walks. I strongly suggest people who are having behavioral issues with their animals to seek the help of the nice people at Insightful Animals."

Congratulations on this huge accomplishment! We are so thankful to be a part of your journey! 💜

01/06/2024

🎓Congratulations to Team Duncan for their graduation from Insight! Graduation can occur when treatment (medication, training & management) are stable and the patient's behavioral care can be transferred to their primary care veterinarian.

A few words from Duncan's humans: "Duncan is a rescue who had many issues when we adopted him. Insight Animal Behavioral Services was able to identify and successfully address them. We are grateful for their guidance, support and advice as we worked together; Duncan is very happy and so are we." 💜

We are so thankful for your trust in our team to assist you on your journey!

12/30/2023

Don’t miss this amazing opportunity to hear Dr. Ballantyne and many other fantastic humans speak at Canine Con!!

Meet the Speakers!

Dr. Kelly Ballantyne is a board-certified veterinary behaviorist and practice owner of Insight Animal Behavior Services, PC in Chicago. Dr. Ballantyne received her Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. During her time working as a primary care veterinarian, Dr. Ballantyne developed a passion for animal behavior. She pursued specialty training with the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (ACVB) and earned her board certification through ACVB in 2015.

Dr. Ballantyne has co-authored several peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, including “Noise Aversion” in the recently published 4th ed of Behavior Problems of the Dog and Cat and “The Feline Dream Home” in ACVB’s Decoding Your Cat. She speaks nationally and internationally on companion animal behavioral issues and human-animal interactions. She serves on the Fear Free
Advisory board and is the current President of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists.

Don't miss your opportunity to learn from this awesome speaker in person right here in Fort Wayne! Early Bird pricing ends soon. Sign up today!
https://caninecon2024.betterbehaviorconsultants.com/registration/