Greenbriar Animal Hospital

We’d all like to have a very well-behaved dog, or at least a dog that doesn’t pull on the leash, doesn’t jump on people, gets along with other dogs, and is a pleasure to take out and around the neighborhood! For cats, a well behaved cat who gets along with all other pets, always uses the litter box, and who wouldn’t dream of damaging furniture or scratching people is ideal but practically never occurs in real life! The checklist below contains most of the signs of abnormal behavior in cats and dogs. When reading over the ‘does your dog’ list, if you say YES or SOMETIMES to any item, please let us know, as we can help you and your dog!

Does your dog:

• Ever jump up on people? Has your dog ever scared or injured a person by jumping on them?
• Become wild and out of control, and not listen to you? Is this a common occurrence?
• Pull hard when on walks? Do you feel like you do not have good control of your dog?
• Bark too much? When does he do the excessive barking, and what is your response?
• Chase after cats and/or other dogs? Has he ever caught one? If yes, was any damage done?
• Nip and/or bite adults, kids, and/or pets? Even in play this is NEVER appropriate behavior.
• Ever growl at people, including children? This is never appropriate behavior unless the dog is in pain and/or in danger of being hurt. NOTE: some dogs are very protective of toys and/or food; this can be normal for this dog but it is NOT normal dog behavior and should be addressed as this behavior can escalate.
• Have accidents in the house? Are the accidents urine or stool?
• Damage or destroy furnishings in your home? Has this happened more than once?
• Fight with other dogs, or try to? If yes, have there been any times when anyone’s skin was broken, or when an emergency clinic visit was needed? Has there been more than one incident?

Cats are very different from dogs; their behaviors are much more subtle and often missed entirely by their humans. Cats can just look at each other across the room and have a complete ‘fight’ without making a sound or moving out of place! They also have no desire to ‘please their owners’ so their actions tend to be different from dogs. Nonetheless, if you answer YES or SOMETIMES to any of the items below, please let us know as there are a lot of things we can do to help.

Does your cat:

• Not use the litter box, even occasionally? Check out our handout on Litter Box Tips and make sure you are following the recommendations, but please let us know, too.
• Scratch and/or damage household furnishings? Is this an occasional thing, or is it a daily occurrence?
• Attack, scratch, and/or bite people, even in play? This is NEVER appropriate behavior.
• Jump up on kitchen counters and/or tables that you eat on?
• Even occasionally fight with, pick on, or otherwise harass other cats in the household? Is there ever any blood drawn? Is the other cat showingany abnormal behaviors?