Insight Animal Behavior Services

We have really enjoyed working with the Insight Team! Over the past year, Dr. Kuntz and the team were nothing but supportive, patient, and loving to our dog. They provided a safe clinic appointment during the evaluation, and also were very flexible with scheduling virtual follow ups over the next several months. I appreciated the time to allow for proper transition and for us to see our dog’s response to the treatment plan before proceeding to the next step. He has responded wonderfully to his treatment plan! He is much less anxious overall, while still being the same silly dog that we know and love. Thanks so much to the Insight team!

posted: 08/03/2023

I can't thank Dr. Ballantyne and team enough for helping my dog Hank. He was brought up from Alabama by a Chicago rescue, and when I first brought him home, he was so afraid of the outdoors that I had to carry him outside and he had frequent accidents inside due to being terrified anywhere but his crate. Through working with Dr. Ballantyne, we tried different medications and training techniques and found a medication regimen that reduces his fear without side effects. Now Hank runs around the yard, plays with other dogs, and we go on very short walks, which was unthinkable when I adopted him! He's a very happy dog and though he'll never be an off-leash hiking dog, he leads his best life now :)

posted: 09/20/2023

When we first brought our American Eskimo Dog Lily to Insight for her separation anxiety, we could barely walk out the door without her melting down. We were either curtailing our social lives or spending too much money on boarding and dog sitters. Now, we can confidently leave her home for up to six hours, which has given us back so much freedom. While we had setbacks along the way, Insight helped us build the confidence to troubleshoot them. Even when it seemed hopeless, they were calm and solutions-oriented. It's a joy to come home to a calm, happy dog!

posted: 04/24/2023

We had the good fortune to connect with Dr. Ballantyne in 2016 after adopting a giant breed pup with anxiety and reactivity. For the past 7 years (including location changes, pandemic shutdowns, etc), Dr. Ballantyne and staff improved our intensely anxious boy's life immeasurably. Dr. Ballantyne engaged in a systematic process of medication trials to find an effective treatment, and then to find the most effective treatment. She was highly professional and responsive in communication, had a caring nonjudgmental presence, and was always aware of research on cutting edge medications and behavior management strategies. Having this team on our side helped calm the anxious humans so we could maintain hope and positivity. We would all give Insight and Dr. Ballantyne our highest recommendation.

posted: 09/10/2023

Loki's reactivity has really improved during his time with Insight! Dr. Drewno was so helpful giving us guidance and helping us find the right mix of medications. Loki's baseline anxiety and his severity of reactions are much lower, and he calms down after stressful events much faster, so we're seeing a lot more results from our continued training than we did previously. While I don't think he'll ever be a social butterfly, he seems so much happier overall and walks can be a source of joy and relaxation rather than stress.

posted: 04/09/2023