Dr. Nichol’s Video – Balloon Freak-Out

Startled by earsplitting blasts, many otherwise stable pets will endure almost continual panic this weekend. A freaked-out dog or cat needs serious relief from fear. I’ll make it easy for you to help.

A dog can act out in embarrassing, destructive, or even dangerous ways. If you could just teach them to stop those bad behaviors! Training can help but you’ll need to understand the problem in order to bring out the best.

It’s so upsetting getting bitten by a dog you love. Should you punish? What happens when the trust is lost? Maybe another home would be better – or not? Don’t make a final decision until you understand the facts. I’ll share some strategies.  

Dogs and cats who are frightened or try to bite at the doctor’s office are at serious risk. Without medical care they face unnecessary illness or early death. But that stress is harmful too. Modern medicine makes life better for pets who can go along. Find out how it’s done.

Panting, pacing, licking, pesky – you’re not alone. Our dogs do the same things when they get wiggy. Anxiety is more than miserable; left uncontrolled it causes internal physical disease. A great dog who panics can become defensive. You can help both of you feel better.

Cats are simpler pets to care for than dogs, right? Uh, no. They are every bit as complex and just as prone to pain as any of us. We can help but we must recognize their needs as early and help them carefully.

More than miserable, blistering summer days can bring dangerous hot spots and a failure of normal panting to release body heat. Keeping our dogs safe and comfortable is about more than ventilation and air conditioning. It’s not hard if you understand the problems.

A great friendship can go bad. Aggression between family dogs is common. And the person in-charge doing their best to break it up and make it work can make it worse and get hurt. We can help most of these angry dogs but not with reprimands and punishment.

COVID19 doesn’t scare our cats but they might get wiggy when we return to work. They thought we were home for good. Finding themselves without us all day could trigger some rather stressful and messy separation behaviors.

When dog people return to work some pets will wig-out. Anxious before stay-at-home orders they’ve now become accustomed to our secure presence. Your returning to work may cause a dog with separation distress to destabilize and lose control. You can get ahead of this now. It isn’t hard to do.