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

Synergy Veterinary Behavior

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United States
Portland, OR
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.

12/04/2025

Ready to turn your dog into a detective? 🔍 🐶 👃

Join our Nose Knows Group Class Series!

In each 5-week-long in-person class, you'll work on building your pup's detective skills by means of scent games!

Classes are in-person at Synergy Veterinary Behavior: 2127 NW York St, Portland, OR 97210

Sign up here: https://www.synergybehavior.com/dog-group-classes/

Classes begin after the New Year, so they'd make a great gift for your dog-loving friend this holiday season 🎁

12/03/2025

Bringing this back, as it's important! 👍

The problem with punishment in animal training is that it does work, and oftentimes quickly, at changing behaviors. But at what cost?

Aversive methods suppress unwanted behaviors by causing pain and/or discomfort that the animal will try to escape or avoid. While this works to stop a behavior, it does not address the underlying motivation for it. This can be effective in the short term but often leads to unintended consequences and lasting harm.

Research has shown that aversive methods increase fear and stress, and also risk causing aggressive and unpredictable behaviors. We also put our relationship with our pets in jeopardy. Punishment fails to teach the learner alternative behaviors and coping strategies, and can lead to learned helplessness.

If you feel stuck or don't know how to achieve your pet's behavior or training goals without using aversive methods, please reach out to a credentialed reward-based trainer, behavior consultant, or veterinary behaviorist.

We are here to help educate and make training and behavior modification feel achievable for everyone, without risking pets' welfare.💙

12/02/2025

How can we support pets in our community this holiday season? 🐶🐱

⭐ Volunteer or foster with your local animal shelter/rescue

❄️ Donate pet food, clothes, and supplies for the PVMA Drive and/or donate directly to local rescues: https://www.portlandvma.org/2025-pvma-winter-pet-food-and-supplies-drive
*Many food pantries will also take pet food and supplies!

⭐ If you're able to, give monetary donations to local rescues like 4 All Mutt Kind, Animal Aid, One Tail at a Time, Pixie Project, etc (there are too many to list out fully, but we promise they're all in need!)

❄️ Work with local TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release) groups to provide insulated housing for feral/stray cats. Monetary donations can help with spay and neuter costs, too!

⭐ Share social media posts to bring awareness to the needs of pets in our community - whether it be information on pop-up clinics, the financial needs of pets in their care, requests for donations, etc.

12/01/2025

Sometimes, there's "snow"-place like home! ❄

(I tried to think of a rainy pun for us PNW-ers, but it was washed away! 😉 🌧)

Now that winter weather is officially hitting most of us, here are some fun indoor activities for you and your pups! 🐶

❄ Work on fun tricks like teaching them to bow, jump through a hoop, or how to bring you specific toys
❄ If you have fun with that, work on getting an AKC Trick Title! https://www.akc.org/sports/trick-dog/
❄ Provide snufflemats, frozen food toys, puzzle toys, and chews
❄ Build an indoor obstacle course with random household items. Practice having them go through different obstacles before putting it all together!

If you're lucky, you'll both be ready for a nap afterwards!😜

11/30/2025

What do you do when an off-leash dog comes running at you?

If you see an off-leash dog in the distance, the best thing is to move away instead of continuing on towards them, hoping they won't notice. However, we don't always notice them and sometimes they see us first!

▪ If you see the handler nearby, ask them to grab their dog and specifically tell them that your dog is "in training" and "needs space". We've found better success with this phrasing, as otherwise, many will yell back, "My dog is friendly!"

▪ Teach a "Get Behind" or "Take Cover" cue. The cue will help you stand between your dog and the loose dog.

🚩If they continue to approach, try:
▪ Throwing a handful of treats at their face. This can startle them or prompt them to stop, sniff, and ideally eat the treats, allowing you to escape.
▪ Pop open an umbrella at them. This can startle them, but also provides you with a barrier you can move to be between them, yourself, and your dog. (Teach your dog that the umbrella opening = food party!)
▪ Citronella spray. Compressed citronella spray can spray up to 20 feet. The stream can startle them, oftentimes before the spray makes contact with the loose dog. Aim it at their head or chest. Familiarize yourself with how to use it first, and shake the canister before use.

❗️PSA ❗️ Leash laws exist for a reason. If you want your dog off-leash, seek out off-leash areas. Don't burden and endanger your dog or others by ignoring leash laws.

11/27/2025

Happy "Let's-Avoid-Pancreatitis" Day! 🍂

If you're partaking in any feasting today, be mindful that most foods you'll indulge in can cause severe tummy troubles for your pets!

While your pets may disagree, they'll thank you for it later! Here are some foods you should avoid sharing:

Turkey skin, bones, drippings (unseasoned turkey is okay)
Mashed potatoes and stuffing
Garlic
Onion and scallion
Mushrooms
Sweets (including grandma's sweet potatoes, unless she sets a plain one off to the side)

11/26/2025

Reminder: We're closing early today!

We'll be closing at 1pm today, November 26th, 2025.

If you need a refill request processed today, please make sure to submit it by 11am. All medications for pickup will need to be picked up by 1pm or wait until we're back on Sunday, November 30th.

Time to go pawty like an Archie! 😜

11/25/2025

Are you a city-savvy dog parent? 🐶 🏙

Do you...

⭐ Always pick up after your dog?
Picking up p**p is the best way to prevent the spread of disease and parasites, including Giardia, roundworms, hookworms, etc.

⭐️ Pay attention to your dog on walks, instead of to your phone?
Being attentive to your dog on walks can help prevent unwanted situations and allows you to be present and enjoy your time together.

⭐️ Prevent them from peeing on buildings and signs?
Allowing our pets to urinate on buildings and signs can be incredibly damaging to the structures, cause lasting odors, and it forces others to deal with our pets' messes. Aim for the greenery!

⭐ Always keep your dog on leash?
Leash laws exist for a reason, and that is to protect not only yourself and your dog, but others in the community as well. Don't be the jerk who has an off-leash dog running up on others! Utilize off-leash areas like dog parks or Sniffspots to provide your dog free-roaming time. Don't put the burden of your dog on other people and their pets.

⭐ Advocate for your dog to help them succeed?
This can look different for everyone, but can include things like:
▪ crossing the street to give your dog space
▪ letting someone know your dog does not want to say "hi" to them or their dog
▪ keeping your dog at home if they'd be stressed sitting at a restaurant or patio

⭐ Not let everyone greet your dog?
Just because someone asks, doesn't mean your dog needs to or wants to greet them! Many dogs are okay passing by strangers, but don't want them in their space, and that is okay. Separately, many dogs love strangers, but are maybe working on polite greetings, which can be hard to facilitate with someone you don't know, who isn't obligated to help you.

If you said "YES" to all of these things, CONGRATS! You are a City-Savvy Pet Parent😎
If you said "NO" to some or all of these things, it's okay! We believe in your ability to implement these things so you, too, can be a City-Savvy Pet Parent!

11/24/2025

While we try to fill the holiday season with love, joy, and fun, it doesn't always mean it's also stress-free.

Let's set ourselves and our pets up for success this year and minimize unnecessary stress so we can ALL enjoy the end-of-the-year festivities. 🐶🐱

🍂 Utilize Separation
Your pet doesn't need to be involved in everything. Give them breaks or keep them separate if they don't appreciate strangers!

❄ Routine
Maintain their routine as much as possible, especially if traveling. Add additional enrichment activities if you expect you'll be busy.

🍂 Training Opportunities
Take time to practice training/behavior modification! Utilize the extra people to your advantage, but don't overdo it. It's also okay to skip this if your pet will be too stressed.

❄ Ask for help!
Ask your friends and family members who will be around to help with your pet's behavior goals. Set rules and expectations for them ahead of time, and add additional management to avoid mishaps. If you are working on your dog's jumping, or need people to stay out of your pet's "safe room", speak up!

11/23/2025

Synergy's Holiday Hours! ❄️

We will be closing early this Wednesday, November 26th at 1:00 PM.
➡ Any medication refills needed before the holiday weekend will need to be submitted by 10am on November 26th to be processed before we leave for the weekend.

We will be closed on Wednesday, December 24th and Wednesday, December 31st. We'll post another reminder closer to these dates 😄

For anyone celebrating the holidays, we hope you have some good food, share some laughs, and have extra time for some self-care 💙 (Even if you don't celebrate, we still wish you the same!)

11/22/2025

⭐ Portland Veterinary Medical Association's Pet Food and Supplies Drive is here! ⭐
We are excited to be one of the collection locations this year! Donations will be accepted through January 15th, 2026.

Donations can be brought to us Sun-Weds from 9am-6pm at 2127 NW York St, Portland, OR 97210. Please email us before arriving at [email protected]

👉 👉 What's needed:
▪ New or gently used: collars, leashes, harnesses, head halters, warm pet clothes, beds, blankets, cat litter
▪ Training treats and dry or canned/pouch food: Must be unopened and in original packaging (must be within 1yr of expiration)
▪ Clinic, medical, and grooming supplies: cleaning products, storage bins, syringes, gloves, etc
▪ Common-use medications, over-the-counter supplements, and flea/tick/HW preventatives (no controlled substances) (must be within 1yr of expiration)
▪ Dog and cat toys (new/gently used)

💙 Recipients of the donations will be: 💙
• Portland Animal Welfare Team: www.pawteam.org
The Portland Animal Welfare (PAW) Team saves lives, alleviates suffering, and keeps pets and people together by providing free veterinary care to the pets of people who are experiencing homelessness or extreme poverty.

• Coffee Creek Puppy Program: www.canine.org
A small group of adults in custody (AIC) at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF) in Wilsonville raise puppies for Canine Companions. Canine Companions is a national non-profit organization that enhances the lives of people with physical, cognitive, and developmental disabilities by providing highly trained service dogs. The AIC handlers raise the puppies for the first year and a half of the dog’s life. PVMA member hospitals provide veterinary sponsorship while the dogs are in our area.

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

http://www.synergybehavior.com/contact/

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