Behavior / Enrichment

Training is an important part of owning a pet and can encompass training new tricks like sit or play dead to learning new skills of having their teeth brushed or laying calmly in their crate. Positive reinforcement training is a good way to help shape wanted behaviors and ignore unwanted behaviors. There are many training and socialization resources available. Below is a list of just a few resources to get you started. 

• The Ohio State Veterinary Medical Center Behavior Guide for Your New Puppy by behaviorist Dr. Meghan Herron.

• List of behavior resources / books from OSU's Behavior Department.  

• Dr. Yin (Veterinary Behaviorist)'s training resources

  • Crate Training: Dogs and Cats

  • Training for nail trims: Dogs and Cats 

  • Training for muzzle use  - Sometimes a muzzle is needed for painful procedures. If your pet is already trained to wear a muzzle, this can be less triggering when a muzzle is needed. 

  • Training for car rides

  • Training to give oral meds: Dogs and Cats

  • Training for brushing teeth

  • Training for having ears handled

• How to get your cat to the veterinarian's office

• Feline Behavior Solutions - provides virtual behavior consults for your cat

Socialization - A puppy's socialization window during their first several months of life is a period of time where they are more open to new things. This is an important time to expose them to many different noises and situations in a positive manner to help decrease their stress level associated with these items or noises later on in life. Preventative Vet created the Pupstanding App which has multiple lists of items and sounds to help exposure your puppy to in order to make the socialization process easier. 

The Puppy Socialization App Course provides virtual classes for your puppy's socialization foundation.