Prescribing these drugs without understanding the underlying learning theory is pointless. The medication lowers the fear threshold so that learning can occur. A veterinary behaviorist prescribes the pill, then teaches the owner how to implement counter-conditioning.

: Time-stamped photographs and videos of behaviors.

For decades, veterinary medicine focused primarily on the physical body: bones, blood, organs, and pathogens. The "behavior" of the patient was often viewed as a nuisance—an obstacle to overcome during an examination or a compliance issue for the owner to fix.