But What Would YOU Do?

I get asked that question a lot....but what would you do if it was your dog/cat? I try to be upfront with people and let them know that what I might choose to do...or what their family/well meaning friends/neighbors/co-workers tell them do...should be taken with a grain of salt. As my grandmother used to say, "opinions are like noses...everyone has one." No one can make that decision for you. You are the one whose pet is effecting your life. You have to decide if modifying *your* behavior, changing the way you confine your pet, signing your dog up for daycare, or whatever the solution might be, will truly work for you, your family, and your budget. Telling someone with a barking dog that they "should" put a bark collar on the dog, crate train it, send it to daycare, etc. is not really all that helpful. I like to help people look at the bigger picture; we need to find out WHY the dog is barking in order to come up with the best possible solution. And I understand that you may not like my solution. Or it may not work fast enough to appease your neighbors. I get that...I really do. However, I simply won't just tell you what you want to hear. That's not in your best interest or the best interest of your dog. While I sympathize with you having trouble in your multi-cat household with spraying and cats not using the litter box, I don't have an instant remedy. We will need to help your cats reduce the social pressure that is leading to the marking behavior. While it will definitely help to add more litter boxes, that won't "fix" the problem.

Behavior problems are frustrating, complicated, often expensive, and potentially damaging to the human-animal bond. I sympathize as I have dealt with behavior problems in my own home. I would never recommend that you do something that I would be unwilling to do myself. However, I can't make your decisions for you. I will guide you and provide the best possible choices for you and your pets. Always.