Behavioral Counseling

Behavioral problems are the number one cause of pets being euthanized in the United Sates. These issues can be a challenge to not only you and your pet, but also the veterinarian. The first step that we typically take is to make sure the behavior is not related to a medical issue. For example, a pet that is suddenly urinating in the house may have a urinary tract infection that can be medically treated…which subsequently stops the accidents in the house. Once a behavioral issue is suspected, we can go through different steps that you can take with your pet to try and modify this unwanted behavior. The main thing to understand is that you need to be patient with your pet, and not get frustrated if certain techniques are not working well at first. In some cases, we will recommend referral to a veterinary behavior specialist. We also have numerous client education materials to help aid you and your pet. Examples of some of the topics these handouts cover are housetraining, aggression, digging, submissive urination, etc.