Regardless of age or breed, any cat or dog can develop a behavioural disorder. This includes biting and nipping, inappropriate urination, leash pulling, aggression, scratching, excessive jumping at visitors, begging, whining, digging and anti-social tendencies. To uninitiated, first-time pet owners, these unattractive behaviours can cause huge disappointments. After all, isn’t pet ownership supposed to be therapeutic and not cause more stress? A behavioural consultation with an expert can help.
As experienced veterinarians and seasoned pet owners, we know that behavioural disorders stem from root causes. It’s essential to get to the “why” behind your pet’s behaviour problems before resolving them. After two decades in the business, we have likely seen it all and know what to look for. A behavioural consultation with one of our staff can help turn pet ownership into a positive and rewarding relationship. After all, even Perdita the famous “jerk” cat who was labelled “worst cat in the world” was successfully matched to a loving forever home with owners who could understand and love her.
Behavioural Consultation for Rescue Pets
Adopting a rescue pet can bring enormous emotional rewards to pet owners. Literally, you save a life by letting a rescue pet into yours. To boot, this can be a very cost-effective way into pet ownership, particularly if you receive your pet from a local shelter. Some rescue pets can project residual behaviour from trauma or a questionable past. If yours faced malnutrition and neglect, then he or she might be more anxious than normal, very protective about food and have aggressive or regressive behaviour tendencies. Sometimes, an undiagnosed physical condition can cause undesirable behaviour. Regardless of the reason, we can help. Once we get to know your pet via a general physical checkup, we can counsel you on how to move forward.
New Puppies and Kittens
Bringing a new puppy or kitten home for the first time is an immensely joyous occasion for pet owners. However, housetraining them to urinate and defecate outside the house, or in the litter box and not on your carpet, can quickly kill the joy. If you have done everything the internet tells you to do but to no avail, and are now on the verge of instilling punishment, please stop and come in and see us. Puppies and kittens inherently only want love and respond very well to rewards. Let us understand the reason for their behaviour problems so we can help you with productive housetraining strategies.
Behavioural Changes
If your good-natured pet and suddenly develops unwanted behaviour, you should contact us for a behavioural consultation. Pet owners should not underestimate the impact of separation anxiety on their pets, especially following a holiday when owners have been at home with pets for a long time, and then suddenly leave them on their own when work starts. Perhaps the new biting behaviour is in response to pain within the body or a tooth root abscess. Inappropriate urination could be due to a bladder infection or the onset of arthritis. With a detailed history, a complete physical exam, and possibly some laboratory tests to rule out hormonal or nutritional causes for the behaviour, we can advise you on what your pet needs to feel happy and healthy.
About Wellington Veterinary Hospital
Wellington Veterinary Hospital is operated by Dr. Cliff Redford, a veterinarian with over two decades of experience. Our caring and passionate team of professionals provides a full range of services for your canine and feline companions. We are always delighted to meet new pets, answer your questions and offer preventative health care tips during free assessments with our veterinary technicians. Our location in Markham, Ontario offers plenty of free parking, convenient operating hours and a 24-hour emergency call line.