| Behavior problems and questions
are a major concern of most pet owners at some point in every pet's life. Animals
may be "difficult" to train, or have urinary or bowel accidents long after they
are "supposed" to be housebroken or litter trained. Sometimes a pet may be
aggressive or submissive, and you may have no idea what to do when this happens. There are many resources available for you if you are
having difficulty with your pet. We do recommend a physical examination to rule out
any underlying medical causes of the behavioral changes. (For instance, if your dog
or cat suddenly begins to urinate in the house, or wakes you up in the middle of the night
to go out, we would want to rule out things like a urinary tract infection, or other
systemic disease that can cause this kind of behavior change.) If the animal is healthy,
we will take the time to determine if there are any household or environmental stresses
that could be contributing to the problem. We will then work with you to help
develop a plan to modify the undesirable behavior.
A valuable resource for information on pet
behavior and training is the American
Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) on-line library . They have many articles and
guidelines on both normal and abnormal behavior and how to effectively train your pet.
The Gentle Leader Company
produces a special type of leash/training device that allows
gentle leash training for even highly energetic dogs.
There are also several books and
videos that we recommend:
How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With, 2nd edition,
Rutherford and Neil, 1992.
Training Your Dog with Dunbar: Fun Training for You and Your
Dog. (Video)
We have an additional selection of
brochures, books, and videos available at our office. Please contact us for more
information about your particular pet question. |
