Now that the Fourth of July is approaching and you are making all of your holiday plans, it is a good time to think about how the fireworks and all of those summer storms affect your pet's health.  

There are many ways that you can ease their anxieties of this time of year that will make a huge difference in the quality of life for your pet and family.

How do I stop my dog from barking all the time?
Barking is a common behavioral problem and is of special concern for
people who live close to their neighbors.

This month we celebrate National Puppy Day on March 23^rd this is part 1 of a two part blog series celebrating the joy of new puppies. 

We love our puppies! However, every year large numbers of dogs end up out of the house or placed in shelters because of behavioral issues. 

“And there it was, that lump in my throat…

Everyone once in a while the Human Animal Bond is palpable.

I feel it even after 17 years of Small Animal Medicine.”

A few weeks ago, my next client appeared around the corner of the treatment room, he was a clean cut older gentle man. He reminded me of someone from the 40’s, well slicked back hair, white t shirt, belt and blue jeans.  He laid his dog on the table. I examined the dog that was showing multiple signs of a dog that was well past his prime.  After further examination I regrettably determined that his dog had advanced stages of cancer and that it appeared to have spread to multiple areas of his body.

And there it was that lump in my throat as I looked at this gentleman loving look at his dog and say.

 “Well, it was you and me for a long time and now it’s just going to be me”.

 I could feel the love and companionship this dog had offered his owner, they were a team.  

Imagine This…

An adorable blond cocker spaniel

That's fairly easy.

But not just any cocker paniel

An adorable blond cocker spaniel that loved going to the veterinarian…

Now that's a little harder to imagine.

I just happened to know this cocker spaniel who's name was Smiley. He is no longer with us, but because of his overwhelming love for coming to my vet clinic I have not forgotten him.

It was always hard not to stop and stare when he came in for an appointment.

Once inside his owner would let go of his leash. He would proceed to the reception desk and bounce on the gate leading to the back. Once successfully behind the gate he would find an open cage and get in or he would wait until one of the staff would open the cage door for him. He really seemed to enjoy this, and he did it every time he came to the clinic which was often because he was groomed regularly.

Smiley had associated going to the veterinarian as a positive experience.

Most pet parents will agree, this is not typical for pets visiting their vet office.

Maintaining regular veterinary appointments are important to our pet’s overall health and well-being. While many pets handle these visits just fine, others struggle to enjoy them. Some pets learn to associate their time spent in the veterinary clinic with feelings of pain, discomfort, and unease. 

Is it possible to make vet visits more enjoyable for your pet?

Yes, it is. Here are a few things that you can do to make visiting the vet more enjoyable for you and your pet.:

#1. Choose the right vet clinic.

Overstimulation can become a problem when a pet enters the veterinary clinic. In order to reduce the stress level of a pet  brought about by new sights, sounds, lights, and scents, chose a vet clinic that includes these options:

·        Dog and cat only examination rooms

·        Cat-only appointment hours

·        Minimal amount of waiting for appointment times

·        Quiet environment when waiting for appointment

#2. What you can do to help:

·       Hunger motivates

o   As long as medically appropriate, you can withhold your pet’s food for several hours before the appointment time, please note I am only suggesting several hours before the appointment.

o   Animals that are a little hungry are usually more food-motivated and may better respond to the fear-free techniques. Offer treats when your pet behaves calmly on the way to the vet office, during the exam or around the staff members.

·       The Pet Carrier

o   If your pet only sees the carrier when it is time for a change in their comfortable lifestyle, it will learn to associate the carrier with stress

o   You can remove this negative reaction by using the carrier in ways that enable your pet to associate it with comfort

o   For example, you can use the carrier as a special place to:

·       Feed treats

·       Play with toys, keepa toy they just for when they are in their carrier

·       Offer a comfortable spot to rest

·       Provide a relaxing and calming atmosphere by spraying with soothing  pheromones

·       Create an environment of Calm

o   If your pet likes an item that soothes them, bring it along to the appointment

o   For example, if your pet responds appropriately to the use of a Thundershirt at home, there is a good chance that it will be helpful to the pet during the vet visit

o   If your pet has a prescription that helps to calm and comfort it, bring this medication to the appointment and ask your veterinarian how this medication can help during office visits. Please see #3. For more information about this topic.

o   Keep your pet in their carrier while in the waiting room. Sometimes our first instinct is to take them out and offer comfort while holding them. But for your pet this may make the environment more intimidating if the waiting room is full of other pets and unfamiliar noises and smells.

·       Familiarity breeds Reassurance

o   Pets that have learned to associate the vet clinic with negative feelings can be helped by being brought to the clinic between appointments for a pet and a treat. Many clinics offer free treats to their patients. Stop by with your pet and pick one up just for the fun of it.

Incorporating techniques that lower the amount of stress on an animal during an examination or medical procedure often will reduce the amount of restraint needed.

·       Exercise or Play with your Pet before the appointment

o   If your pet has been sleeping  or resting in a quiet environment all day and their first stimulation is a car ride and exposure to many new sites and sounds at the vet office, they may go into super stimulation mode.

o   Take them for a walk or play with your pet to ease them into changing the pace of their day. This has the added benefit of your pet maybe being a little tired and ready for some rest during the trip and at the vet’s office.

#3. Talk to your Veterinarian and don’t be afraid to use anti anxiety and calming products

If a pet remains unable to relax using the above techniques, products to reduce the stress can be determined for use by your veterinarian. Some of the items can be given before the appointment, some at the start of the appointment. For example:

·        Anxiety medications, Clomicalm, Acepromazine, Fluoxetine or Trazadone

·        Natural products, Stress Away, Adaptil Spray (dog) or Feliway Spray(cat), or  Zylkene,

Veterinarians and their staff are here to help make each office visit a positive one for you and your pet.  If your pet is a handful going for his annual check up, talk to your veterinarian in advance about ways that they can help you and your pet have the best possible experience.

To your Pet’s good health,

 Dr. Barry

Information gathered from:
http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/5-ways-get-started-with-fear-free-veterinary-practice?rel=canonical

Boredom Busters and Play Safety Tips for Dogs

Playing with your pet, both old and young, is a great way to fight boredom and exercise their bodies and brains.  It’s a time that you can introduce them to different situations, sounds, and textures that they may not be used to.  In puppies and kittens, playtime is a great time to develop muscles, coordination, and trust.  And in seniors, it’s an excellent way to keep their brain active and alert.

Tips for successful play time:

• Make sure the environment is free of distractions and supports your pet paying attention to commands so they can successfully complete the task
• Make commands simple and achievable, building up to harder activities
• Encourage and Praise. Do not scold during play unless your pet is doing an undesirable behavior like biting, or going to the bathroom on the floor, etc.
• Take breaks
• Use toys and treats as motivation and attention grabbers

Here are a few ideas for brain games that you can play with your dog.

1. Box of Fun

If you have a large box on hand, place blankets or pet bedding inside the box. Show a toy or treat to your pet, then hide the treats or toy inside the box underneath the blankets or bedding.  Your pet will enjoy the challenge of trying to find their toy or treat in this game of hide and seek. Praise your dog when they find the toy.

2. Scoring a Point

At some point in a dog or cat’s life they will be in a crate or kennel whether in your home or at a boarding facility. It can be a helpful step to learn to create a positive and playful association with their crate.  When your pet is in a happy mood bring the crate in to the play environment and leave the door open.  An open door on a crate makes a great “net” for scoring a goal.  In this game, start by picking a toy that will be kept in your pet’s kennel. Create interest in the toy or treat and play a game of fetch with it, but always have the toy land inside the crate, “scoring a goal”. Your dog will have to go inside the crate and come out. By doing this repeatedly they will begin to associate their kennel with fun, that going inside is not permanent, and it’s safe.  Additionally, making use of toys, like Kongs that allow you to place peanut butter or treats inside the toy, can help your pet learn to stay longer in the crate. You can also play a similar game of hide and seek with bedding and a reward as mentioned above in #1. 

3. Spin-Spin

Learning to spin on cue is a simple game that most puppies will pick up quickly.  This can have the added benefit of training them to spin on a towel to dry their feet when they come in from outside.  To begin this brain challenge, hold a treat in front of your puppy and make sure that they are aware it’s there. Very slowly move your hand around their side, either right or left, so that they begin to turn to follow the treat, and praise them as they move.  Continue until your puppy has moved in a complete circle, and then give the puppy the treat and praise them. If your puppy loses the scent of the treat before they complete the circle, simply begin again and move a little slower until they can build up to a complete circle.  Add your cue word at the beginning of the game such as “Spin Spin”. To add an extra challenge, you can play this going in the opposite direction.

4. Search and Rescue

For this game you will need several containers to hide a treat under; for example, flower pots, or Tupperware containers, etc. With this game your pet will learn the importance of paying attention.

Ask your puppy to sit and stay, or have a family member sit on the floor and hold them. Place three containers a short distance away, show your pet the treat or toy, and then place it under one of the containers. Pause, waiting for your pet to look directly at you, and then point to the container under which you’ve placed the treat just as the pet is released to search for it. Repeat the game, switching which container the treat is placed under. You can introduce your verbal cue when it’s time to search such as, “Go find it”. Praise your pet when they find it.

5. Make mealtime a game

Food maze bowls offer your speedy eaters and bored pets a chance to play a mind challenging game while eating their meal. As the food is placed in the maze bowl, it requires the dog to think, lick, and move the kibble to get the food out, providing a fun, challenging activity for dogs at feeding time.  This can be done inside or outside. You can buy these bowls here:

http://vetapprovedrx.pharmacy/dog/dog-food-treats/dog-food-bowls-drinking-fountains/buster-dog-maze-bowl.html

6. Go to a Dog Park

A dog park can be a wonderful place for a dog! The open area not only offers the chance to get rid of some of that pent-up energy, but it can also help to improve a pup’s social skills.

Safety is important when bringing any size or age animal to a dog park, especially if the park is to be enjoyed by animals off-leash. Look around for the following:

• Posted rules of conduct
• Secure fencing
• Double-gated entry
• Separate play areas for both large and small dogs
• Trash cans and poop-bag dispensers
• Clean grounds that are free of tall grass, weeds, trash, and dog waste
• Sheltered areas
• Water fountains that are working, clean, and dog-friendly
• Number of dogs within the park area and behavioral characteristics of the animals
• Dog owner attentiveness to activities and animal behaviors from within the park area.

A word about treats as a reward for play:

#1.  A general rule of thumb is treats should not account for more than 10% of your kitten’s or puppies’ calories a day, so it’s important to offer treats that are low in calories, since training often leads to multiple treats a day. Also, the calories in treats can make your puppy less hungry for their well-balanced nutrition offered at meal time.
#2.  As the veterinarian at VetApprovedRx, I recommend treats that offer well-balanced nutrition with very few ingredients and no fillers, treats that might more closely resemble a high-quality puppy food. I feel confident that all of the treats we offer are safe and healthy for your dog or cat of any age.

A low calorie treat made from real chicken is Lean Treats, and you can purchase these here:

http://vetapprovedrx.pharmacy/lean-treats-for-dogs.html

A word about toys:

It’s best to purchase toys that are durable and made of material that is not toxic, that don’t have multiple tiny parts that can be chewed off and become choke hazards. There are many toys on the market that are made specifically for dogs and cats and are safe to use during play time.

A word of caution on older pets and puppies:

There are many positive implications of playing games with your pet; however, I advise some caution with senior pets and puppies and games that require them to jump from high surfaces, or require repeated impact on joints.

For senior pets, these games can cause pain and damage to already stressed limbs and joints. While your puppy is growing, their “growth plates” at the ends of their bones are soft, and harden once they are done growing. This growth plate area can be susceptible to damage through excessive impact. For both senior dogs and young puppies, hard exercise is not advised. There are a wide variety of games that will challenge your pet with varying degrees of difficulty. I recommend doing some research on brain stimulating games for your pet. Again, the more positive use of your pet’s energy, the less time they may spend on negative behaviors.

To Your Pet’s Good Health and Fun!

Dr. Barry

Sources:

Brain Games for Puppies, Claire Arrowsmith. 2014. Firefly Books, New York.

Train Your Puppy Right. The American Kennel Club. 2012. Bow Tie Press. Irvine, California.

http://www.dogingtonpost.com/dog-park-dangers-how-to-avoid-them/

https://www.animalhumanesociety.org/training/you-go-dog-park

Help for the Owner’s of Poop Eaters

For 10 years we had the joy of raising baby doll sheep. My children loved the lambs each spring season. The sheep were free to roam our five acres of grass. We enjoyed the sheep but unfortunately we made a discovery that my wife was 100% repulsed by; our 7 year old Poodle, Rupert, developed a liking for eating the scattered sheep droppings that the sheep generously left behind.  For Rupert it was Easter every day as he enjoyed a treasure hunt in our yard. Neither one of us had had a pet that ate poop and realized how hard it was to let a pet that eats poop lick your children’s face or get too close. 

As the house Veterinarian I had the job of solving this nasty problem called Cophrophagia. Coprophagia is a term used to refer to the eating of feces, aka, poop.

Although we were unhappy with Rupert’s habit of eating the poop, Rupert on the other hand was very happy. Thus the challenge to put an end to it became apparent. I found a talk given by Benjamin Hart, DVM, PhD, DACVB, distinguished professor emeritus at the University of California –Davis, he spoke about some of the more inexplicable behaviors of companion animals in his talk: “Why do they do that? Purring, yawning, flipping out on catnip, and ……eating poop.”  Of course he left the last inexplicable behavior of eating poop to the last because of its gross factor.

"Hart cited a recent unpublished Web-based study, which included information from nearly 1,500 pet owners with dogs that had been seen eating feces daily or weekly, and at least 10 times.

According to the survey, the top five Poop-eating dogs were:

1. Labrador retriever (10.4 percent);
2. Golden retriever (5.8 percent);
3. Basset hound (5.5 percent);
4. German shepherd (5.3 percent);
5. Shetland sheepdog (4.7 percent)….I believe the word sheep explains this one

About 10 percent of the dogs ate only their own poop, while 32 percent ate the poop of others, and nearly 50 percent of all dogs who ate poop would eat their own or that of other dogs. “Most dogs ate any ol’ stool,” Hart said.

Other findings included:

• Females were more likely than males to engage in this behavior (60 percent vs. 40 percent)
• The behavior does not reflect poor living sanitation: 82 percent of dogs in the survey almost never soiled their own house

• Almost all dogs opted for fresh poop as opposed to old ones…the gross factor just reached a new level.

• Coprophagia was more common in multi-dog households. In single-dog homes, only 20 percent of dogs had the habit, while in homes with three dogs, that rose to 33 percent.
• Poop eaters are no harder to house train than any other dogs.
• 85 percent of poop eaters will not eat their own poop, only that of other dogs.
• Greedy eaters—dogs who steal food off tables—tend to also be poop eaters.
   

Hart wrote, "Our conclusion is that eating of fresh stools is a reflection of an innate predisposition of ancestral canids living in nature that protects pack members from intestinal parasites present in feces that could occasionally be dropped in the den/rest area." His study consisted of two separate surveys sent to about 3,000 dog owners."

I agree that there is an element of ancestral innate poop eating that can explain this behavior.  Other than being gross a dog that eats their own poop can be harmless. It’s when our canine friends eat the poop of other animals that it becomes more of a health concern.  This can result in the internalization of parasites, viruses, or toxins. Puppies are more likely to eat poop until about 9months of age but it is not too uncommon for older pets to suddenly start this nasty habit. 

The Question of Why, Answered…sort of: the eating of poop has long baffled many owners and veterinarians. It can be hard to determine the exact cause.

Possible Causes of Coprophagia:

• Parasites
• Diets deficient in nutrients and calories
• Mal absorption syndromes
• Diabetes, cushing’s disease, thyroid disease, and other conditions that might cause an increase in appetite
• Drugs, such as steroids

Dr. Jerry Clein, the chief Veterinary Officer at the American Kennel Club, offers these possible causes:

“ In many cases, dogs start to eat their own poop because of some kind of environmental stress or behavioral triggers, including:

• Isolation: Studies have shown dogs who are kept alone in kennels or basements are more likely to eat poop than those dogs that live close to their people.
• Restrictive confinement: Spending too much time confined in a small space can cause the problem. It's not unusual to see coprophagia in dogs rescued from crowded shelters.
• Anxiety: often a result of a person using punishment or harsh methods during housetraining. According to this theory, dogs may eliminate and then eat their own poop to get rid of the evidence, but then they are punished more. It becomes a vicious cycle.
• Attention-seeking: Dogs eat their own poop to get a reaction from their humans, which they inevitably will. So if you see your dog doing this, don't overreact.
• Inappropriate association with real food: Dogs who are fed in close proximity to their feces may make a connection between the odors of food and those of poop and will be unable to tell the difference.
• Scenting it on their mothers: Lindsay writes that in some cases, puppies will get confused by sniffing fecal odors on their mother's breath after she has cleaned them. Also, sometimes mothers may regurgitate food that is mixed with puppy fecal matter. He calls this an "appetitive inoculation," which may set a puppy up to develop this bad habit.
• Living with a sick or elderly dog: Sometimes a healthy dog will consume stools from a weaker canine member of the household, especially in cases of fecal incontinence. Scientists hypothesize that this may be related to the instinct to protect the pack from predators.”

• Enzyme supplementation: The modern canine diet is higher in carbohydrates and lower in meat-based proteins and fats than the canine ancestral diet. A great enzyme supplement is Prozyme. Prozyme a unique, scientifically proven, all-natural enzymatic food supplement that allows greater absorption of the important nutrients found in a pet's food. I also recommend Probiotics, a natural way to improve your pet’s nutritional absorption. The Probiotic I recommend is Synacore or Advita.
• Taste-aversion products: The theory is that certain tastes and smells are as disgusting to dogs as the idea of stool eating is to us and that spraying certain substances on poop will make it less appealing. Many of these products contain monosodium glutamate, chamomile, pepper-plant derivatives, yucca, garlic, and parsley. CoproBan, Cease Coprophagia soft chews or granules, Stop Stool Eating chewable tablets or soft chews and For Bid.  Another interesting poop eating aversion product is for those pets that like to snack on litter boxes, it’s called Outta My Box. This product comes in a 500 Count tub and you feed it to both your cat and dog.

Will Training help?

Yes, it can help some but the effectiveness of training is dependent on your pet’s ability to respond to your training.

The best place to start is by asking your Veterinarian for tips on training your pet

1.Remove the Temptation:

• Become a home and yard poop picking up expert, so there will be no poop for your pet to eat.
• Location and Reach, keep cat litter boxes empty of feces and out of your dog's reach.

2.Monitor the amount of time the dog spends alone, in a crate, or in a cage so that out of boredom they do not begin to eat their poop.

3.Positively train your dog with the following cues:

• “come” – use to call them away from a potential item they may eat
• “leave it” – use to command the dog to leave an item alone
• “drop it” – use to get the dog to drop an item before swallowing

4.As an absolute last resort, you can try a Basket-muzzle when taking your pet for walks

• This will eliminate the dog’s opportunities to quickly snatch up and swallow any poop but will still allow them to breath and drink

I hope that this information will help you in your efforts to decrease your pet’s consumption of poop, it can be a very frustrating habit to break but it is possible. To end this blog on a happy note, Rupert did stop eating sheep poop. But you may find this a hard thing to achieve, it will be important to talk to your Veterinarian and maybe an animal behaviorist. I wish you good luck!

To your Pet’s good health,

Barry Miller DVM

Source:

https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/pica-eating-things-arent-food

http://www.aaha.org/blog/NewStat/post/2010/08/04/850131/Hart-explores-unexplained-beha.aspx

http://www.akc.org/content/health/articles/why-dogs-eat-poop/

Source:
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/pica-eating-things-arent-food

http://www.aaha.org/blog/NewStat/post/2010/08/04/850131/Hart-explores-unexplained-beha.aspx

http://www.akc.org/content/health/articles/why-dogs-eat-poop/

My Top 6 Dog Training Tips

January is National Dog Training month so I thought I would share some tips on training our furry four-legged friends. All dogs need an owner that will accept the responsibilities that come with training them to be socialized and obedient family members.
Training a dog requires more than teaching verbal commands. When working with your dog, it is important that we understand that communication is key, we speak two different languages and it is easy for dogs to become distracted, confused or misunderstand what we are asking them to learn.

The first step to good dog training is to ideally begin training when they are young( around 8weeks of age) but this is not always possible especially with rescue dogs.  Please know that when you first are establishing yourself as the teacher and your pet as the student, you must have a quiet non-distracting environment to train in. Otherwise, you will waste time trying to get your pet's attention or your pet will not quite get what you are asking them to learn.

Here are my top 6 Dog Training Tips:

Tip #1: Where do you start in training?

When working with your pup at home, the most important commands for them to learn are:

• Come
• Sit
• Stay
• Down.

Teaching these commands will not only work on bettering your pup’s manners, but can also help to keep it safe. For example, should your pup get startled and run off, it could end up lost or put in harm’s way. But, if it knows what to do when commanded to “come,” hearing your call may help it redirect its behavior and return to you. 

Tip #2. Be Consistent:

Training requires working in a fair and consistent manner that teaches the dog not only how to behave, but also that their good behavior is expected in all settings. 
Teaching your dog what to do along, with what not to do, will help them to better understand and recognize the behaviors you want from them. For example:

• When working on a command of stay and the dog moves, don’t get upset; just put it back into the stay position and continue the training.
• Later, when the command to stay is again given and the dog follows the command, make sure to praise the animal so it knows it did as you wanted and that you are pleased it has done its job.

For your dog to understand what is expected of it, all family members should follow the same steps when working with the dog. Without consistency, they will become confused about what it is to do. For example:

• If the rule is established that the dog is only to go to the bathroom in the far corner of the yard, then every time the animal needs to go to the bathroom, it should be taken to the far corner of the yard as part of its training.
• Allowing the animal to use an inside potty pad on bad-weather days sends the dog a message that says it is okay to potty inside if it wants.
• When the dog then goes to the bathroom in the house and receives correction, it will become confused on what you are expecting it to do.

Tip #3.  Always complete the Training Exercise

When working on an exercise, make sure to stick with the training until the puppy does as it is told. If you don’t, if you allow it to have its way, the pup may look at the exercise as something it doesn’t need to do.

Training Tip #4. Learn to communicate by reading your pet’s body language.

Owners often become frustrated when their pet behaves inappropriately. Before responding to the situation, take a moment to think about why the unwanted behavior occurred. Dogs use body language to communicate their wants and needs. When they behave improperly, there is a good chance that the signals for the unwanted behaviors were present but were overlooked or missed. 

The following offers examples of the way dogs communicate by body language:

• Play time!
  • Running up to you
  • Barking
  • Backing up with a wagging tail
• I need to go to the bathroom! 
  • Furiously sniffing
  • Going around in circles
  • Starting to squat
• I’m being cautious! Or I’m nervous! Stay back!
  • Stiffly wagging tail that is moving slowly
  • Tail may be held very high or is hanging down
  • Animal may be leaning slightly forward, almost on its tiptoes
• I’m friendly!
  • Happy, wagging tail
• I’m afraid! I may be aggressive!
  • Stiff body
  • Tail tucked down and ears held back
  • Arched back
  • Hair may stand up along the ridge of their back
  • Cowering
  • Intense gaze
  • Low growl
• I’m nervous! I’m timid!
  • Submissive urination - when animal gets excited and then squats and urinates
    • In puppies, this could mean that their bladder has not yet fully developed
    • In older animals, this reaction occurs when the animal feels it is about to be corrected or feels nervous if being approached by a stranger.

To be successful, training requires clear communication between both owner and animal. While it is important to help the dog know what we expect of them, it is equally important that we pay attention to what they are trying to tell us. 

Tip #5. Let them know they did what was asked.
Rewarding your dog will reinforce the point of the training exercise, as well as build their self-confidence and increase their desire to please. 

There are many thoughts regarding methods of positive reinforcement that utilize treats, toys, and praise. A reward does not have to be a food treat; it could be praise, time spent playing a game, or being given a special toy.
Keep in mind that different dogs have different personalities, and what motivates one may not motivate another. As you spend time with your pup, you will learn what motivates them best.

Every puppy needs help understanding what is expected of them. There is no doubt that working with your pup will require your patience and time, but the end result will be worth it!

Training Tip #6 : Understand that not all dogs are A students

It is easy for pet parents to become frustrated with their dogs when they feel they have repeatedly taught their dog not to do an unwanted behavior and their dog continues to seem like they are not learning.  Bear,my 1 1/2 year old dog still occasionally gets into garbage cans.  She is still young and struggles with the only pet boredom syndrome.  Some dogs seem to excel at bad behavior. Dogs that are bored or lonely often:

• Go to the bathroom in the house
• Get into the trash
• Tear up blankets, pillows, or clothing
• Chew on things not meant to be chewed!

If your dog falls into this category, it may benefit from daily walks and toys that challenge them.  With my dog Bear, I simply remove the trash from her, say no and give a command” go get your toy” and she usually runs and gets a toy to play with. When I find her playing with a toy I praise her. Obedience training that focuses on manners for behaving when in the house can also be of benefit and take the pressure off of you. Also, if your dog has unwanted or destructive behaviors that occur when you are not at home, you may want to discuss the possibility of separation anxiety with your Veterinarian.

Training and enjoying your pet go hand in hand. It is always worth the patience and effort necessary to develop good manners and habits in your pet.  There are many resources available to pet owners to help you train your dog into a wonderful companion and family member. My tips are the tried and true methods of dog or puppytraining that can have great results when taught with patience and consistency. 

To Your Pet’s Good Health,

Dr. Barry