What to Do When Your Dog Just Won’t Listen

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What to Do When Your Dog Just Won't Listen

Although some dog breeds are notoriously more stubborn than others, this does not mean that they lack in their nature, the instinct to bond with and please their owners. Dogs simply don’t know what we expect of them until we teach them, and teaching them can be difficult considering that we speak human and they speak dog. If you’re struggling to train your dog, consider the following tips.

5 Canine Behavior Tips for When Your Dog Doesn't Listen

1. Positive Reinforcement Makes Listening More Interesting

When trying to teach your dog not to chase a squirrel, dig holes, or chew your slippers, you need to offer them something more exciting than their bad behavior choices. Reward positive behaviors with high-quality treats, praise, affection, and play.

2. Help Them Speak Your Language

Over time, dogs start to recognize the words that are relevant to them and ignore the ones that are not. They learn body language, much faster. If you, pair a hand gesture with every command, they’ll learn faster.

3. Think If What You're Asking Is Realistic

Don’t ask your pet to understand complicated commands right away. For example, teaching a pet to come to you can be very difficult for your pet to learn. Be patient, keep working, and remember to reward their good behaviors.
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4. Look at the Big Picture

Don’t get too frustrated and remember to consider the whole environment while training. Your dog might not be sitting because they’re distracted by another dog. This means you also need to work with them on focusing.

5. Schedule a Veterinary Exam

If your normally obedient dog suddenly stops behaving, this could be a sign that your dog has an underlying health problem. If you notice changes, schedule a veterinary appointment right away.
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Behavioral Counseling for Pets in Chula Vista

At Pacific Pet Hospital in Chula Vista, we’re here to promote and encourage every aspect of your pet’s health and wellbeing, including their behavior, to help you provide them with a happy, healthy, and long life. We understand that good behavior helps pets live fuller lives because, with good manners, they can safely be a bigger part of your life, make more friends, and explore more of the world. To learn more about behavioral counseling or to schedule an appointment for your dog, we welcome you to contact us today.

Beach Safety for Pets

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Beach Safety for Pets

It’s beach season, and that means many of you will be heading to the shores along with your favorite furry friends. If your dogs are like most dogs, going to the beach is probably their favorite activity (along with everything else you do together). While playing at the beach and swimming in the ocean are great activities for you to enjoy with your dog, the beach does present a few safety risks for pets. So, following these safety tips can ensure you have a fun and safe time outdoors.

5 Safety Tips for Pets at the Beach

1. Fresh Water

Playing in the sun and heat all day puts pets at risk of dehydration and heat exhaustion. Be sure to bring plenty of fresh water for your pet to drink. Additionally, be sure to keep your pet from drinking the ocean’s salt water as this can put them at risk of salt poisoning.

2. Swimming Safety

Not all dogs can, like, or know how to swim. Before jumping in head-first with your dog, take a test swim in a calm, shallow location. You’ll get a sense pretty quickly of whether or not your dog enjoys being in the water and whether or not they can swim strongly enough to play in the ocean waves.

3. Sun Protection

Dogs are at risk of sunburn – especially those with shorter coats. If grooming your dog, be sure to keep at least an inch in length to protect their skin and apply a dog-safe sunscreen while you’re out in the sun.
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4. Hot Sand

In the heat of midday, the sand at the beach can become scorchingly hot and this can burn your dog’s sensitive paw pads. Purchase a pair of dog booties to protect your pet’s paws or visit the beach in the morning or late evening.

5. Post-Beach Care

For healthy skin and coat, be sure to wash all of the sand and salt off of your pet after a day of playing at the beach.

Summer Checkups at Pacific Pet Hospital

Before heading out with your pet this summer, we recommend scheduling a checkup with a veterinarian at Pacific Pet Hospital in Chula Vista. We can ensure your pet is fit enough for an ocean swim, well protected from all sorts of parasites, and outfitted with a microchip’s permanent identification capabilities. To learn more or schedule an exam for your dog, we welcome you to contact us today.

How to Keep Your Pet Calm During Veterinary Visits

How to Keep Your Pet Calm During Veterinary Visits

When you have a pet who gets really stressed and scared visiting the vet, it’s not only tough on your pet, but it’s tough on you, too! As a result, fearful pets often don’t receive all the wellness and preventative veterinary care they need to stay healthy.
If your pet gets stressed, consider the following tips and contact our veterinary clinic for more information about how we can help you get your pet the care they need.

6 Tips for Calmer Veterinary Visits

1. Get Friendly and Familiar With the Veterinary Clinic

We welcome pets to stop by our office when they don’t have an appointment to get a few pats, snuggles, and treats to help create positive associations.

2. Use Calming Pheromones

Calming pheromone products for cats and dogs can be highly effective at reducing stress and anxiety. Use these products in your pet’s carrier and in your car on the way to the veterinary clinic.

3. Carrier and Car Ride Training

Get your pet used to spending time in their carrier and riding in the car. Be sure to take your dog or cat out for plenty of rides that don’t end with a needle poke at the veterinary clinic. This way, they won’t associate riding in the car with unpleasant experiences.
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4. Positive Reinforcement

Bring lots of treats and give your pet lots of praise for getting into their carrier, riding in the car, and going into the veterinary clinic. This helps create positive experience for your pet, making them less fearful of the veterinarian.

5. Book Early Appointments and Limit Wait Time

We recommend anxious pets come at the beginning of the day for their appointments when there will be fewer animals in our office. Additionally, refrain from arriving very early to reduce the actual amount of time your pet is inside the clinic.

6. Anti-Anxiety Medications

For highly stressed pets, we can often prescribe a sedative that your pet can take before visiting our office.

7. Virtual Veterinary Appointments

While we don’t recommend always visiting the veterinarian virtually, telemedicine is an option for anxious pets to be seen by a veterinarian.

Telemedicine, Stress-Free Vet Visits, and Cat Comfort Exams in Chula Vista

At Pacific Pet Hospital, we provide cat comfort exams and can help our canine patients have calmer veterinary visits, too. To learn more about anti-anxiety medications, telemedicine for your pet’s examination, and additional steps we can take to simplify visiting the veterinarian, we welcome you to contact our office today.