Preparing for the Appointment

A senior veterinary student may call a few days before your appointment to acquire a preliminary history.

We encourage as many family members as possible to attend the consultation appointment for better understanding. We also ask that your pet be hungry when arriving to the consultation.

If aggression is occurring between dogs in the same household (sibling rivalry) we would very much like a video tape of the dogs outside interacting with each other without owners present (shoot the video through a window, for example) and also video tape of the dogs interacting inside with the owners present. We understand that in some cases acquiring the video tape may not be possible for safety reasons.

What to bring to the appointment:

• your pet's favorite treats
• all collars, leashes and training tools you've used with your pet
• a videotape of your pet interacting at home or demonstrating behaviors you are concerned about. Please include anything on the videotape that you feel may be helpful to us. However, please do not put anyone at risk of injury.

• If you are bringing a cat that has an inappropriate elimination problem or if there is aggression between cats in the household, it is helpful if you bring a diagram of your home showing:
  • Where that cat is eliminating
  • Note whether the elimination is urine or BM
  • Note the location of windows and doors
  • Note the location of food/water bowls/scratching posts
  • Note the location of litter boxes
  • Areas where you cat(s) spend the majority of their time
    
    

  When multiple cats live in the same household it is helpful to see video tape of their interactions.