Feeling Pawsitive Veterinary Behavioral Solutions

06/27/2024

06/27/2024

Today was the big day!! We are officially open!

06/26/2024

We are so excited to introduce our lead technician, assistant manager and one of our client care coordinators! Welcome Ms. Hannah! Hannah is an invaluable team player at our clinic. As a veterinary assistant on her way to becoming a licensed veterinary technician, she handles many day-to-day needs of the clinic and is a vital part of our client care team.
Hannah and Dr. Hilliard have worked together for over three years, forming a strong team dedicated to caring for our clients and patients.
At home, Hannah is a devoted pet parent to two dogs, Harley and Zemo, and three cats, Gretchen, Toulouse, and Suki.
Hannah looks forward to applying her knowledge and skills to ensure your fur babies receive the best care possible.

06/20/2024

🦴Don’t be afraid to give your dog treats as a reward for working with you and doing things that you ask!

❤️Positive training methods build your relationship with your dog.

⚡️Meanwhile, using aversive consequences during training has risks and can lead to increased anxiety, stress, and even aggression.

🐾If you need help with your dog’s behavior, reach out to us for help!

Visit feelpawsitivevetbehavior.com!

06/18/2024

🐾 Have you ever noticed your dog lifting one paw while standing or sitting?

🐕If you notice other signs of stress in the ears, face and body, then it is likely that your pup is NOT offering a paw to shake.

😖Instead your pup is feeling anxious, stressed and uncertain. It is a good idea to check the environment and find out what you can do to increase comfort and safety! Pause for a moment and give them a break if you are doing an exam. Talk to them in a calm voice and offer them something that they like!

🐶Learning to interpret your dog’s body language is an important step to increasing confidence and improving your relationship with your furry friend!

❓Do you have questions about your dog’s behavior? Reach out to us by visiting feelpawsitivevetbehavior.com!

06/13/2024

🚽Have you ever heard someone say that their dog had an accident to spite them?

❌This is not true!

🐶It is important to determine the reason behind your dog’s behavior before you try to change their behavior!

🩺Imagine getting angry with your pup only to find out that they cannot control their bladder due to an infection!

💩Give your dog some grace and be patient with them. Let us know if you need help with potty training problems!

🐾Visit feelpawsitivevetbehavior.com to set up a consultation!

06/11/2024

🐾Have you noticed a sudden change in your dog’s behavior? Maybe they have become more irritable or anxious. Here are just a few reasons why that may be happening:

🏠A change in the environment- did you recently move? Have you added a new pet or family member? Sometimes dogs can be sensitive to these changes!

🕰️Your dog has reached maturity- whether they just reached adolescence, adulthood or even their senior years, dog’s hormones and physical abilities can change which often affects their behavior!

🩺Do not neglect your dog’s physical health! Behavior change is often linked to internal health conditions. Something as simple as an ear infection or arthritis can make your dog become more irritable!

Visit feelpawsitivevetbehavior.com to set up a consultation!

06/07/2024

👅 Have you ever noticed when your dog flicks their tongue out quickly, licking their lips?

⚡️Sometimes this can be a sign of stress!

🐾If your dog is not eating or anticipating eating, and does this behavior, take a look around and see if there is something in the environment that could be causing stress.

Before that stress continues to escalate to growling, nipping or biting, it is a good idea to take your dog to their safe space or remove whatever is bothering them if possible. Talk to your dog, reassure them, and reward them for moving away.

Responding to your dog’s body language can increase their trust in you and build a better relationship!

Follow along for more canine body language info!

05/30/2024

👂Have you ever noticed how your dog carries their ears while they are calm?

⚡️What about when something startles them?

🐕We often see dogs pin their ears back along with some facial/body tension when something in the environment is making them uncomfortable. That something could be a person approaching, another dog, or even a loud noise.

❤️Talk to your dog and comfort them! Try to remove or reduce anything in the environment that is increasing their stress. You can also take your dog out of the situation to a safe space.

🐾By responding to your dog’s cues, you can improve your relationship, build trust, and prevent an incident from occurring.

Follow along for more dog behavior tips!

05/28/2024

Have you ever heard this dog behavior myth?

The truth is, that you should not put your hands in your dog’s food bowl or handle their food and chew bones. If you need to get something back from them, it is important to trade for another reward. And if it is not necessary to get the thing back, set the environment up for success! Give your dog food and high value items like chew bones in a safe location where they can enjoy them while in peace.

Follow along for more tips!

05/28/2024

Hard at work, helping to get the clinic clean before furnishing! We can’t wait to show you the finished product soon and start helping out those sweet fur babies!

05/23/2024

👁️Another sign of stress in dogs is called “Whale eye”.

👀This is where you can see the whites of your dogs eyes.

😥Often this behavior comes along with leaning away and other avoidant and tense body language.

🐕If you notice a dog doing this, it is a good idea to give them space and help them to feel safe before continuing to interact with them or determine what can be changed in the environment.

🐾With some behavior modification training, you may be able to improve your pup’s confidence in situations that have caused this type behavior.

🩺Let us know if you need help!

Visit feelpawsitivevetbehavior.com!

05/17/2024

🥱 Have you ever seen your dog yawn at a time when they are probably not tired?

If you notice this behavior, try to look around and see if anything has changed in the environment.

Was there a loud noise? A child approaching? Someone running past?

Yawning is a sign that your dog’s stress may have increased and they are exhibiting this as a displacement behavior.

It is okay to reassure your dog and find a way to help them to feel more safe! Some ideas that can increase calm behavior and decrease stress include:

🛌Taking your dog to a safe place to get some rest

🦴Providing enrichment such as something to chew on

🗣️Talk to your dog and label what is happing while pairing it with food

🐕 Give your dog space by moving away from loud or distracting things

Follow along for more tips!

05/09/2024

📣BIG NEWS!!!📣

We are growing!

Horizon Dog Behavior will be collaborating with a few other fantastic businesses as part of Canine Cohesion Behavior and Enrichment Center!

We have the same amazing people on our team including founder, Desiree Beauchamp Bales plus a few more who we will introduce soon!

In addition to serving the Greenville, SC area…

We will now also serve the Asheville, NC area and meet with you at The Dog Door! The Dog Door

Our amazing vet partner is Dr. Hilliard of Feeling Pawsitive Veterinary Behavioral Solutions! Feeling Pawsitive Veterinary Behavioral Solutions

And we love meeting your dog’s play, enrichment, and training needs at Happy Tails Country Club! Happy Tails Country Club

We are so excited to share more info and details soon so stay tuned!!

05/07/2024

😴Do you make sure that your dog can take naps?

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦Many households can be busy with a lot of activity going on during the day.

😖We often see increased anxiety and stress in dogs who don’t get enough quiet down time and quality sleep.

🕰️This may be happening because there isn’t a regular routine in place and the dog does not have a place to go and take their nap.

🌙Enrichment and exercise are very important, but sleep is also a vital part of your dog’s day!

🐶Follow along for more tips!

05/05/2024

Have you heard of sniff spots?? These are fabulous locations to take your dog to a safe enclosed space for some enrichment. Angus certainly loved his time there!

04/30/2024

Growling often surprises and worries people when they hear it coming from their dog.

It is important to never punish a dog for growling!

Growling is a dog’s way to communicate something and it can be a great heads up before something more serious happens- like a bite!

Respect your dog’s communication and try to determine why they might have growled in the first place.

Then you can come up with a plan to address the reason why they growled! Do they need more space, safety, or behavior modification training? Maybe they are in need of pain medication. Could it have been play based behavior?

Let us know if you need help addressing your dog’s behavior concerns!

Visit feelpawsitivevetbehavior.com to reach out to us!

04/24/2024

🐈Did you know that you can improve your cat’s quality of life by how you feed them?

🐈‍⬛Cats exhibit better behavior and health when they eat several smaller meals throughout the day independently rather than eating one or two larger meals.

🐈Try interacting with your cat and hand feeding them! You can even incorporate training by reinforcing behaviors that you like with their food or treats!

🐈‍⬛Use different textures to spread on licki mats or onto other surfaces!

🐈Get some fun enrichment items that incorporate food and require a little work on their part.

🐈‍⬛Enrichment allows your pet to express species appropriate behavior and relieves boredom. This can decrease unwanted behaviors and improve your relationship with your pet!

Follow along for more tips!

04/22/2024

The girls hard at work helping to send out info about !

04/22/2024

Nervous and fearful dogs aren’t in a state
where they can learn through operant conditioning.

You won’t reinforce fear by feeding your dog treats!

You can actually build a dog’s confidence by tossing treats to a distance that helps them to feel more safe.

It is important to know how to read a dog’s body
language, how to present your own body language, and what the dog’s thresholds are.

A combination of behavior medication along with behavior modification techniques may be necessary to change your dog’s fear responses.

If you want to learn more about how we can help your fearful pet, please reach out to us!

Visit feelpawsitivevetbehavior.com!

04/20/2024

🦴Enrichment is incredibly important for the behavioral health of your pet!

🧶Enrichment is anything that we do to elicit natural behaviors such as chewing, sniffing, scavenging, chasing, digging, licking, etc!

🎾Having access to a variety of enrichment gives dogs and cats an appropriate outlet for behaviors that they NEED to express!

🦴Engaging in enrichment activities prevents unwanted behaviors such as counter surfing, destructive behavior, and over-excitement.

🐶🐱Make sure to incorporate some new enrichment into your pet’s life!

Reach out if you need help addressing your pet’s behavior!

Visit www.feelpawsitivevetbehavior.com!

04/18/2024

Do you have multiple pets in your home who are struggling to get along nicely?

Here are some tips to help:

✅Make sure that each pet has a safe place to go to in the home
✅Meet the enrichment needs of each of your pets
✅Create positive associations with pets around one another
✅Reinforce calm behavior and teach each of your pets some basic skills that make life easier!

Do you need help and support with getting started?

Visit feelpawsitivevetbehavior.com to learn more about our services!

04/16/2024

Mr. Angus had so much fun at ! We are so ready for some summer pool time. Planned play time is so important for our kiddos. It releases stress and gives them a great outlet.

04/15/2024

Mr. Angus got to have lots of fun at PetSuites Greenville today!!! He’s raring up for a fun filled summer. Planned play time can be so important for our fur babies.

04/12/2024

What a great group of women at Clearview Animal Hospital!!! Thank you for having me!

We want to give a huge thank you to Dr. Hilliard with Feeling Pawsitive Veterinary Behavioral Solutions 🤩 for coming out to us this morning to talk about her new clinic coming to the Greenville area soon! We are so excited to be able to have a licensed animal behavioral veterinarian specialist to refer our clients in need. Specializing in understanding animal behavior and working directly with clients and pets for behavior modifications with positive reinforcement! 🐾

04/10/2024

It can be frustrating when your cat is having accidents in various places in your home! Here are a few reasons that might be happening:

🐈 Social/environmental factors- some cats avoid using litter boxes in high traffic areas or when more dominant cats are present.

🐈‍⬛ Marking behavior- this behavior can be reduced by spaying or neutering. It can also be related to anxiety or stress if there have been recent changes in the home.

🐈 Medical issues- Feline Idiopathic Cystitis (FIC) is a frequent medical cause of house-soiling. Something like this may cause a cat to associate the litter box with pain and discomfort. Don’t delay asking for a health check if your cat is having trouble using the litter box!

Reach out to us for help!

Visit feelpawsitivevetbehavior.com!

04/09/2024

It’s dog bite prevention week!

Here are a few tips to help keep you and others safe:

✅practice careful desensitization techniques for handling when your pup is young
✅work with a trainer to learn cooperative care techniques so that your dog is prepared and feels safe during handling
✅muzzle train your dog and use positive training techniques to do so
✅have your dog medicated or muzzled for vet visits if it stresses your dog out too much and it is recommended by your veterinarian
✅avoid “manhandling” and forcing your dog to do things that they are uncomfortable with
✅learn to read dog body language so that you can detect early signs of stress before a dog feels the need to bite

Reach out to us if your vet visits have been too stressful for your pup!

Visit feelpawsitivevetbehavior.com!

04/06/2024

04/03/2024

Does your dog get nervous when you have guests visiting?

Are they scared of other dogs or animals?

Do they seem fearful of loud noises?

If it feels like you cannot do the things that you want to do with your dog or you avoid social situations because of them, it is time to get help!

Visit feelpawsitivevetbehavior.com to set up a consultation!

04/01/2024

Check out our instagram and please follow!

We have more exciting news to share soon and we wouldn’t want you to miss out!

Please continue to show your support by liking, sharing and following our content. It helps us help people and their pets!

❤️We truly appreciate each and every one of you!❤️