Bay Area Vet Behavior

10/08/2025

In a new study from Europe, pet parents had significantly slower cognitive decline in older adults. Owning a dog or cat can be cognitively protective as the pet parent ages. Pet ownership supports healthy cognitive aging.

A recent study found that owning a cat or dog may slow cognitive decline in older adults.

09/08/2025

Thank you Laura, Kris and NBC for having us, Joybound People and Pets, on the Bay Area Morning show to talk about Clear the Shelter and kittens on International Cat day!

“Joybound People & Pets” has found homes for over 52 thousand of pets since its’ inception

08/08/2025

07/08/2025

Small signals.
Big meanings.
These movements and behaviors aren’t random.
They've been carefully chosen and deliberately used by your dog and they're being used to avoid confrontation, deescalate or steer clear of something they feel uneasy about .
They might sense just a little pressure or conflict...so they offer a signal to say, “We’re all good here.”

Growling is a clear signal they can give...but it's risky.
Way before the growl are all these little signals they can give.
It's communication and it's natural....but we can be "offended" when we realise they are aiming them at us.

Instead of taking it personally, we can ask ourselves....
Why do they feel the need to use them?
That question is an opportunity to support our dogs better

Some signals serve a double duty.
A tail lowering, perhaps tucking? Often fear.....but it can also act as appeasement.
A lowered head? Maybe appeasement, maybe fear.
Context matters.

They can be incredibly subtle.
Tricky to spot....but we owe it to our dogs to look a little deeper at why they are behaving the way they are.

It is all communication.

06/08/2025

Did you know Joybound's Shelter to Service team can help match you with an ESA (Emotional Support Animal)? If there's anything you want to know about ESAs or the ESA adoption process, now is your chance to ask away!

https://joybound.org/services/shelter-to-service/emotional-support-animals/

28/07/2025

In this powerful session, you’ll learn how pain-especially chronic pain-can dramatically influence feline behavior, often in subtle and misunderstood ways.

22/07/2025

This is a great option for a pheromone diffuser. I know many pet parents who don’t want to use a plug in to their electrical outlet. Thank you SIGNS for giving us another option to use pheromones to reduce anxiety and improve wellbeing!

19/07/2025

So great to learn about this new product from SIGNS. It is a hand sanitizer with dog and cat pheromones included. Yay! Way to go SIGNS looking out for veterinary staff to improve wellbeing and reduce stress in our patients! wellbeing

18/07/2025

Thank you to the kind anonymous AVMA attendee who went and got this for me and left it next to the speaker podium. You are too kind and generous! This was one of the highlights of the day. The other highlight was nearly 400 people in attendance. Thank you!

17/07/2025

I’m all set for my presentations tomorrow. Come join me to learn how to diagnose, manage and treat behavioral disorders. Improving the quality of life in your patients improves the quality of life of pet owners too!

13/07/2025

Heading to AVMA/WVAC in Washington, D.C. next week?

📅 Join me on July 18th for a full day of veterinary behavior!

I'm excited to be presenting a series of lectures focused on some of the most important and challenging topics in behavioral medicine. Whether you're looking to deepen your understanding or gain practical tools for your practice, there’s something for everyone.

🧠 Topics include:

Understanding anxiety and phobias in dogs

Managing aggression

The role of nutraceuticals in behavior treatment

Providing compassionate care for our senior pets with behavioral changes

Let’s explore how we can better support the emotional and mental wellbeing of our patients together. I hope to see you there!

05/07/2025

I learned something new today. There are breeds of dogs with a forked or split nose, such as Turkish Pointers—or Catalburun, the Spanish Pachón Navarro and the Bolivian Andean Tiger Hound. The forked nose is due to a mutation of the gene PDFGRA. Researchers are looking to see if there is a connection with this gene mutation to people with cleft lip or palate. Fascinating! Now I want to see one of these breeds in person!

It's not entirely understood why some children are born with orofacial clefts, such as cleft lip or palate. But a new study suggests a genetic clue may be found in a rare breed of hunting dog.