Rocklin Ranch Veterinary Hospital’s Blog

You pay the bills in your home, but if your dog thinks he’s the boss, it may not feel like you make all the decisions. A bossy dog might be the one setting your schedule, getting first-choice when it comes to where to sit, and pushing their noses into all of your business (literally). If you are tired of bowing down to your dog boss, Rocklin Ranch Veterinary Hospital has some tips to help you take back control in your home:

When it comes to training man’s best friend, many reach for shock collars to help send home a message. While shock collars can have some utility, they are really not the best choice for a first line training tool. Likewise, they also require a good deal of knowledge to utilize well.

At Rocklin Ranch Veterinary Hospital we want pet parents to understand how and when to properly use shock collars and to recognize that there are many valid alternatives. Choosing appropriate training tools for your dog can really help them to put their best paw forward. 

Have you ever spent time carefully and lovingly selecting the perfect adorable toy for your dog, only to come home shortly after to a massacre? Most dogs love toys, but many of them are “toy terrorists”, decimating their beloved belongings for seemingly no reason. 

So just why are some dogs obsessed with toy stuffing? Is it dangerous? What can be done? 

The Temptation That is Toy Stuffing 

It is usually no accident when a dog destroys a toy. In fact most dogs are very methodical about ripping out every last bit of stuffing, locations that blasted squeaker, and shredding the darn thing to pieces. 

Dogs and digging kind of go hand-in-hand. After all, their wild predecessors required good digging skills to pull up roots and other things they can eat. This necessary skill is not always appreciated when it comes to your dug up flower bed, however! Since your dog has the natural instinct to dig, it may begin in puppyhood and continue throughout their adult life, if not redirected. 

If you have a digging doggie, the team at Rocklin Ranch Veterinary Hospital is sympathetic. We are here with some pointers on how to stop your dog from digging and improve their great behavior.

If you haven’t seen a dog chasing its tail in real life, you’ve likely seen an image or video of this uniquely canine behavior. Indeed, dogs provide us with countless hours of entertainment, and the tail-chasing is high on the list. But have you ever wondered why they do it?

As funny as they look while they’re doing it, the reasons why dogs chase their tails aren’t always amusing. Learning about the behavior, along with careful observation of your pup, can alert you to a potential problem…

He never seems to calm down! 

He never stops moving!?! 

She’s always jumping up on everyone and everything!! 

She wears me out…

 As much as you love them, living with a hyper dog can be exhausting, frustrating, and downright upsetting at times.

Many dogs are high-energy, but when the problem starts to interfere with you and your dog’s quality of life, it’s time to seek help. That’s where your Rocklin Ranch Veterinary Hospital family comes in!

Socializing your puppy is perhaps the best way to ensure you have a happy, healthy, and confident dog for life. We all want our dogs to enjoy life’s adventures with us, and socialization teaches them to accept new things, people, and environments in stride. This in turn allows a dog to be adaptable and therefore less likely to experience aggression and other behavioral problems (one of the top reasons that dogs and surrendered to shelters). Don’t let that happen by learning when, why, and how to socialize your puppy.

We not only allow, but wholeheartedly welcome dogs to share in all the trappings of modern living. Some dogs are invited to sleep with their owners on goose-down bedding; others hang out on the sofa for the latest binge-worthy TV. Indeed, dogs are veritable members of the family. That doesn’t mean, however, that we don’t collectively scratch our heads at certain canine codes of conduct. Dog behavior varies between individuals, but as a group, dogs seem to really enjoy slurping from the toilet bowl. But why?

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