The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine

Veterinary Anatomy and Radiology

Behavior Service Personnel
Referring Veterinarians
Pet Owners
How to make an appointment
Cost
Board Certification

Radiology

PET OWNERS

IF YOUR PET HAS A BEHAVIOR PROBLEM

Your primary resource is your pet’s regular veterinarian. In many cases, s/he can help you resolve your pet’s problem, and you will not need to see a specialist. If you wish to be referred to the University of Georgia , discuss this with your veterinarian who can make the appropriate arrangements.

What to expect at a typical Behavior appointment

Behavior appointments take 1-4 hours depending on how complex your pet’s case is. In the majority of cases, you would bring your pet with you to the UGA Teaching Hospital. To schedule an appointment, your veterinarian would first need to call in a referral for your pet. (For more information please click on “For the veterinarian”)

The first hour or so of the appointment will involve gathering a detailed history of your pet’s behavior, training, relationship with you, health history and other information necessary to diagnose behavior problems. In addition, the veterinarians will observe your pet’s behavior in the exam room, including your pet’s reactions to them, you, and possibly other stimuli.

After they have gathered all of the necessary information, the veterinarians will discuss diagnoses and explain the treatment recommended for your pet, as well as prognosis for recovery. They will also discuss relevant behavioral issues, including signaling behavior, signs of anxiety, and/or what constitutes normal and abnormal behavior.

Treatment consists of behavior modification, environmental modification and possibly medications. In rare cases, surgery is suggested. Behavior modification involves changing your pet’s reactions to things that would usually cause him/her to react inappropriately. The majority of behavior modification we suggest is based on positive reinforcement (giving the pet something s/he likes so that s/he will be likely to repeat the behavior). No corrective collars (e.g. choke or prong collars) are used. Instead, head collars or harnesses are commonly recommended for dogs.

Environmental modification involves changing your pet’s surroundings to make the inappropriate behavior less likely to occur. Often, this includes changes in management of the animal. Finally, many psychoactive medications are available to decrease anxiety or otherwise assist with treatment.

AFTER THE APPOINTMENT

The cost of the appointment includes 3 months of follow-up via the phone and/or email. The first such recheck will usually be one to two weeks after the initial appointment. You will need to bring your pet back to UGA at 3 month intervals so long as the behavior problem continues. Occasionally, pets need to return more frequently.

THINGS TO CONSIDER

The treatment the doctors suggest for you and your pet will take into account a number of factors, including your pet’s problem, the people in your household, other animals in your household, and you and your pet’s typical schedule.

It is up to you to tell the doctors if a particular treatment is not possible for you to do. They will be as flexible as possible. If your pet does not respond to the initial treatment, let the technician know, as the treatment may need to be modified.

Puppy in the pond