Synergy Veterinary Behavior

Synergy Veterinary Behavior Creating harmony between people and their pets

We are a veterinary behavior referral practice dedicated to bringing happiness to the Portland-area's people and their pets by providing supportive and comprehensive programs for diagnosis and treatment of problem behaviors.

World Mental Health Day is about reminding us that mental health is for everyone, everywhere. Let’s continue building a ...
10/10/2025

World Mental Health Day is about reminding us that mental health is for everyone, everywhere. Let’s continue building a world where care and support are accessible to all.

Let’s honor the strength it takes to ask for help, the courage to keep going, and the compassion we can offer each other.

Mental Health Resources:
💙 For veterinary professionals: https://nomv.org/peer-support/
🩵 For LGBTQ+: https://www.hrc.org/resources/mental-health-resources-in-the-lgbtq-community
💙 For marginalized racial and cultural communities: https://afsp.org/mental-health-resources-for-marginalized-communities/
🩵 For veterans: https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/programs/mental-wellness
💙 Additional resources for all and other communities:https://mhanational.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/MHM-2025-Resource-List.pdf

How do we help dogs decompress and settle in after a big change like adoption, moving, or other major life events?▪ Prov...
10/08/2025

How do we help dogs decompress and settle in after a big change like adoption, moving, or other major life events?

▪ Provide a predictable routine for mealtimes, walks, enrichment, and more! If your pet is on behavioral medications, don't make any changes without consulting with your veterinarian first, even if you are bringing a shelter pet home to a quiet environment.
▪ Provide them with a safe, quiet space away from the busy areas of the home, like in a bedroom or similar. You can provide a crate in this area, but it's not a requirement.
▪ Implement proactive management strategies. If you don't know this dog well yet, you don't know what habits they may or may not have (think potty training, destructive behaviors, barking at windows, etc)! Even if you do, big changes can lead to changes in behavior, or behaviors not transferring over to a new environment.
▪ Limit new experiences and other unnecessary changes. Give them time to settle in before inviting guests over.
▪ Give them space. Let them initiate affection, play, etc, and be understanding if they are showing less interest initially.
▪ Finally, have patience! Their adjustment will happen on their own timeline, not yours. Support them through it, and ask for help if you're struggling!

10/08/2025

Tips for your pets for halloween

10/08/2025

Halloween is a fun time for people, but can be a scary time for our furry friends. In this Live, Dr. Valli will chat about things to watch for and work on to make it the best Halloween yet for you and your pets!

📖 Behavior Term Tuesday ➡ ➡ DesensitizationDesensitization is the gradual process of reducing an animal’s fearful reacti...
10/07/2025

📖 Behavior Term Tuesday ➡ ➡ Desensitization

Desensitization is the gradual process of reducing an animal’s fearful reaction to a stimulus by exposing them to it in a controlled, manageable way over time, gradually increasing the intensity. By keeping the stimulus at a tolerable level, the animal can learn without unwanted reactions or the behavior worsening.
Desensitization is often paired with counter-conditioning.

Costumes, doorbells, and sugar-high humans can be a lot for our pets. Join us Tues, October 7th, at 5:00 PM (Pacific Tim...
10/06/2025

Costumes, doorbells, and sugar-high humans can be a lot for our pets. Join us Tues, October 7th, at 5:00 PM (Pacific Time) during our Facebook Live to learn practical tips on keeping Halloween safe and low-stress.

Our Lead Trainer, Lorenzo, recently had the pleasure of joining Verena Sutherland's Reward Your Dog Podcast!In this epi...
10/02/2025

Our Lead Trainer, Lorenzo, recently had the pleasure of joining Verena Sutherland's Reward Your Dog Podcast!

In this episode, Verena, Jesse, and Lorenzo discussed when and how dogs like to be touched, how to prevent people from touching your dog in public, and what enthusiastic consent looks like.

Listen on Apple Music: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/29-get-your-hands-off-me-you-dirty-ape-touch-consent/id1735732324?i=1000725606913
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4U73Yk4nd4WDDunqdfGN5j?si=76MyxHIPRjSGOPHk8SkEQg

Lorenzo wanted to extend a big "THANK YOU" to Verena for the invite, and we hope you all listen in!

Dr. Valli Parthasarathy will be joining Ken Ramirez on the next Live from the Ranch broadcast TOMORROW, October 2nd, at ...
10/01/2025

Dr. Valli Parthasarathy will be joining Ken Ramirez on the next Live from the Ranch broadcast TOMORROW, October 2nd, at 1:00 PM Pacific Time! 🤩

🌟 This is a free live stream with a Q&A for the audience 🌟

During this episode of Live from the Ranch, Dr. Valli and Ken will talk about stationing in training and how it can transform group training sessions from chaotic to successful, and how it can be a game-changer for training multiple animals.

Sign up for a reminder to watch here and gain access to the recording in case you miss it: https://theranch.clickertraining.com/live/
Watch Live on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/LxsLlzZaZmg
Watch Live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BBDqnsUKM/

Hope to see you there!

📖 Behavior Term Tuesday ➡ ➡ Functional ReinforcementFunctional reinforcement means using a reinforcer that is directly r...
09/30/2025

📖 Behavior Term Tuesday ➡ ➡ Functional Reinforcement

Functional reinforcement means using a reinforcer that is directly related to the animal’s behavior and the reason they’re performing it. Basically, it's when we reward an animal for performing a behavior with the thing they were trying to get.

A good example of functional reinforcement would be a dog scratching or barking at a door. Going up and opening the door is functionally reinforcing the behavior they performed, because the dog got their desired outcome.

Did you know...We work with more than just dogs and cats? 🐶🐱Dr. Valli also sees:🐴 Horses🦜 Birds🐹🐰🐍🦎 Small mammals and ex...
09/29/2025

Did you know...
We work with more than just dogs and cats? 🐶🐱

Dr. Valli also sees:

🐴 Horses
🦜 Birds
🐹🐰🐍🦎 Small mammals and exotics

Plus, she’s worked with cows, goats, llamas, and sheep (and honestly, we’d love to see more of them too! 😁).

Behavioral challenges aren’t just for dogs and cats, so why limit the animals we help?

Whether it’s aggression, repetitive behaviors, destructive habits, or other stress-related issues, we’ve got your back!

A strong bond with a pet can teach kids empathy, responsibility, and even patience. But it all starts with safe, age-app...
09/28/2025

A strong bond with a pet can teach kids empathy, responsibility, and even patience. But it all starts with safe, age-appropriate involvement. Here are some ideas to help you guide them and ways they can all have fun together! 🧒🐶

🌟 Get your kiddos involved with meal and enrichment preparation - mealtimes, scatter feeding, and making puzzle feeders or other frozen enrichment activities.

🌟 Involve your kids in training sessions and bring them along on walks! Kids can and do train dogs, with the right guidance. (Children should not be the sole leash-holder. If they want to help walk the dog, attach a second leash to your pup for you to hold.)

🌟 Teach your children what games are appropriate to play with dogs, and how to play! Hide and seek and recall games are great fun, without teaching your child to chase the dog or vice versa. Scent games, like nosework, and other "find it" games can also be a blast!

Of course, all of these activities should be done with active adult supervision and participation. Children should not be left unattended with dogs (or any pet). Not all of these activities will be suitable for every household, but get your kids involved where you can! 🙂

For more resources and support for those of you with kids and pets, check out Family Paws Parent Education https://www.familypaws.com/

Address

2127 NW York Street
Portland, OR
97210

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 6:30pm
Tuesday 9am - 6:30pm
Wednesday 9am - 6:30pm
Sunday 9am - 6:30pm

Telephone

+15033361202

Website

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