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Behaviour consults
Read our curated health and wellness articles about pets to help keep your loved ones healthy!
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Condition · Bird

Feather-plucking is a behavioral disorder that is sometimes also called feather-picking. It is commonly found in captive birds who chew, bite or pluck their own feathers with their beak.

Aug 17, 2021 · 2 min read
Condition · Dog

Deafness in dogs refers to the partial or total loss of hearing in one or both ears. Deafness can occur from a variety of reasons such as heredity, birth defects, infection, trauma, blocked ear canal, or old age. Deafness in dogs is actually quite common.

Aug 17, 2021 · 3 min read
Symptom · Dog

Head pressing is a behavior demonstrated when a dog compulsively faces a wall or corner and remains there without moving or appearing engaged in any kind of activity for a period of time.

Jun 13, 2022 · 3 min read
Condition · Dog

Dementia, or Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (CDS), is an age-related degenerative disease which affects memory and learning in dogs. Dogs with CDS present with a wide variety of progressive symptoms, including disorientation, anxiety, abnormal interactions, disturbances in  sleep/wake cycle, learning or memory changes, house soiling, and changes in activity levels.

Jun 13, 2022 · 5 min read
Symptom · Cat

Pacing is rarely observed in cats. The primary conditions that cause pacing are often accompanied by other symptoms.

Jul 27, 2022 · 4 min read
Symptom · Dog

Pica is an uncommon, abnormal behavior where dogs will obsessively or habitually consume non-food items such as rocks,

Aug 9, 2022 · 5 min read
Symptom · Dog

A dog may obsessively lick and chew themselves, objects in their environment, or towards nothing in midair.

Sep 1, 2022 · 2 min read
Condition · Dog

Dogs are not selective about what they eat compared to humans, and their indiscretion often leads to gastrointestinal symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, and flatulence.

Sep 2, 2022 · 6 min read
Condition · Dog

Canine anxiety disorders are characterized by disproportionate fear in response to stimuli that are not dangerous. Examples include storm phobia and separation anxiety.

Sep 7, 2022 · 8 min read
Symptom · Cat

Undescended testicle(s), or cryptorchidism, is a failure of one (unilateral) or both (bilateral) of a cat’s testicles to properly settle into the scrotum during development.

Sep 16, 2022 · 4 min read
Symptom · Cat

Reverse sneezing in cats is an involuntary reflex involving rapid, forceful inhalation of air. As with normal sneezes, reverse sneezes are the body’s mechanism for clearing an irritant out of the area near the soft palate.

Sep 16, 2022 · 3 min read
Condition · Cat

Dietary indiscretion occurs when a cat eats non-food items or food outside of its typical diet.

Sep 27, 2022 · 4 min read
Symptom · Dog

Reverse sneezing is defined as a sharp inhalation, or sometimes multiple in quick succession, occasionally accompanied by a honking noise.

Sep 29, 2022 · 2 min read
Condition · Cat

Separation anxiety is a complex and rare behavioral condition that affects cats when they are separated from their owners.

Oct 7, 2022 · 3 min read
Symptom · Cat

Head pressing in cats is a behavior where the cat presses its head against a wall or other inanimate object for a prolonged period without obvious awareness of its surroundings.

Oct 7, 2022 · 3 min read
Symptom · Dog

If a dog tilts his head involuntarily or chronically, especially when along with other symptoms like ear pain or lack of balance, it may be a symptom of an underlying medical condition

Oct 17, 2022 · 3 min read
Symptom · Dog

Undescended testicles (cryptorchidism) is observed when one or both testicles are not present in the scrotum after 4 months of age.

Oct 24, 2022 · 4 min read
Symptom · Horse

Owners and trainers often describe poor performance when there is either a decrease in previously achieved performance levels, or a horse is unable to reach a new, expected level of performance.

Oct 25, 2022 · 5 min read
Symptom · Cat

Head tilt refers to an abnormal posture of the head, where the head is tilted to one side with one ear lower than the other.

Oct 25, 2022 · 2 min read
Condition · Cat

Anxiety disorders in cats describe symptoms where cats experience a negative behavioral response to environmental stress which is disproportionate to the risk.

Nov 1, 2022 · 4 min read
Condition · Cat

Noise aversion is a phobia triggered by loud sounds, and is a common condition in dogs. In cats, it is poorly understood and its incidence is unknown.

Nov 10, 2022 · 4 min read
Symptom · Dog

Anal scooting describes the behavior of a dog when it drags its rear end across the floor; usually characterized as sitting, lifting hind legs, and using anterior legs to drag the body forward while the anus area drags on the floor

Nov 17, 2022 · 2 min read
Symptom · Cat

Bowel incontinence in cats is involuntary passage of feces, and appears to happen without awareness. This symptom is not to be confused with straining to defecate or inappropriate defecating/house soiling.

Dec 9, 2022 · 3 min read
Symptom · Cat

Scooting is a behavior where the pet sits, lifts its rear legs into the air and uses its front legs to drag the anal area across the floor. This is a normal behavior in response to itchiness, but becomes a medical concern if it is excessive or accompanied by other symptoms, especially around the perineal area.

Dec 9, 2022 · 3 min read
Condition · Cat

Cat tongues have backward-facing barbs to assist with pushing food towards their throats. As they groom, they constantly ingest small amounts of loose hair. When ingested hair develops into a mass within the GI tract it is referred to as a hairball or trichobezoar.

Dec 29, 2022 · 4 min read
Symptom · Cat

Persistent heat is a rare symptom in cats where the hormonal regulation of the reproductive cycle is disrupted, causing the cat to be in estrus (heat) for an abnormally prolonged period. 

Feb 1, 2023 · 4 min read
Symptom · Dog

Canine bowel incontinence is the inability to control defecation. Incontinence is distinct from inappropriate elimination or house-soiling, in that the bowel movements occur without the dog’s awareness.

Feb 2, 2023 · 3 min read
Condition · Cat

Cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS) is a chronic, progressive disease in senior cats characterized by a loss of cognitive performance, also called senility or dementia. Symptoms include disorientation, anxiety, changes to social interaction, changes to the sleep-wake cycle, and urinating or defecating outside of the litter box.

Feb 15, 2023 · 5 min read
Symptom · Cat

Pica is a behavioral symptom where cats compulsively eat non-food items. It is an uncommon symptom in cats. This abnormal behavior can indicate an underlying medical issue such as infection or nutritional deficiency, or may be due to stress.

Mar 8, 2023 · 3 min read
Symptom · Cat

Regurgitation is the act of involuntarily expelling swallowed food from the esophagus out of the mouth. It can be identified by the tubular shape of the ejected matter as well as the passivity of the process. 

Mar 13, 2023 · 4 min read

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