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It’s that time of day again…the coffee is in your travel mug, the lights are off, and your perfect, angelic dog is waiting for your inevitable departure. You assure them it’s going to be okay and that you’ll be home soon. As you leave, you imagine your dog quietly drifting off to sleep for a day-long nap…

While this paints a pretty picture, and it’s not unreasonable to think your dog is pretty quiet when you’re gone, it’s also not accurate to assume they don’t get into some kind of trouble as they wait for you to get home. In neighborhoods around the world, barking dogs have the potential to disturb the peace. The result? Angry (or even hostile) neighbors who can make life very difficult for you and your best friend – but not when you have a back-up plan!  

For many of us, it’s trick-or-treat time, which likely means lots of fun and goodies for your family. But it can also mean dangers for your pets. While many pets do enjoy being included on Fright Night, be cautious about where and what you allow your pet to do on the scariest night of the year. Avoiding scares in your own home is key when it comes to Halloween pet safety, and Leon Valley Veterinary Hospital can help!

Over the past several decades, our understanding of the aging process and the needs of senior pets has improved dramatically thanks to veterinary studies and research. Combine this with the never-ending love and devotion of dedicated pet owners, and you’ve got a recipe for longer, more fulfilling lives for today’s pets.

Whether you adopted your pet as a puppy or kitten or welcomed an adult dog or cat into your home, sharing your life with a senior pet can be a deeply rewarding experience. Providing them with the best in senior pet care will help keep the bond between you as strong as ever and give them the wonderful golden years they deserve.

If you’re just starting to train your pet, you probably have encountered the term “clicker training”. Positive dog training owes much of its success over the years to clicker training, but what is this popular method, and how does it work?

Clicker training is one of the fastest ways to develop a shared language with your dog. Not only is it a rapid way of training your dog, it’s one of the best training methods for fearful or hypersensitive dogs. Basic obedience is important to keep your dog safe, protect him from injuries, and prevent him from getting lost. It’s also a fun way to bond with your dog, give him some exercise, and keep his mind sharp which prevents boredom and unwanted behaviors.

Leon Valley Veterinary Hospital explores this popular training method so you can learn the basics.

October is arguably one of the best months in southern Texas. The heat finally backs off, and there’s an abundance of things to do outdoors. Indeed, with all the fun to experience in and around San Antonio this fall, it just wouldn’t do to leave your dog at home. Instead, check out these tips to experience the best fall pet activities around town!

Ready for This?

Going out in public with your dog is always fun, but it’s more delightful when they’re well-behaved. Don’t take your pet along if they pose a risk to other animals or people. Also be sure they’re fully vaccinated, microchipped, current on parasite prevention, spayed/neutered, and can understand basic voice commands.

All dog owners know their pups are smart and, for many, it seems like their dog really can understand what they’re saying. Although this idea isn’t accurate, animals can associate certain words with behaviors and/or consequences (e.g., “sit,” “walk,” and “no”).

Because of their unique understanding of certain aspects of human speech, body language, and even facial expressions, it’s possible to train your dog to “speak” in a different language. Using foreign language dog commands can be fun and may even be beneficial to your dog’s training and comprehension.

At Leon Valley Veterinary Hospital, we’re lucky enough to be around pets all day. They never fail to make us laugh, give tons of cuddles, and wow us with their funny personalities. But we wanted to dig in deeper, to some of the reasons why we feel owning a pet makes you a better person.

Most pet owners know instinctively that having your dog meet you at the door or your cat jump up on your lap makes you happier. Their unconditional love is a true gift, and one that most of us don’t take for granted.

Cats are pretty awesome for a lot of reasons, but one of them is their stalwart dedication to waste containment. You don’t see cat owners walking around the backyard looking for poop to scoop. Nope, cats visit their litter box, scratch around, relieve themselves, and then cover it up. Sure, they might have accidents occasionally, or passive aggressively suggest that you get up and clean their box tout suite. But overall they are perfect participants in the bathroom department.

All this leads us to wonder if automatic litter boxes are really worth the hype. When a product is designed to eliminate (or reduce) your chores, is it too good to be true? There’s a few strong contenders out there, it just depends on what’s right for your cat, and your wallet.

While it is ideal for people (and pets, too) to be equipped with all of their senses, we are perfectly capable of functioning without one of them. There are many misconceptions surrounding pets that lack full function, in particular deaf dogs. At Leon Valley Veterinary Hospital, though, we know that deaf dogs are perfectly capable of living wonderful lives.

Understanding Deaf Dogs

Dogs may become deaf in several manners. It may evolve slowly over a long period of time, or happen quite acutely. Sometimes both ears are affected, other times just one ear is involved.

If cats and dogs aged at the same rate that humans do, we’d be able to live with our best friends for much longer. Unfortunately, they age about 7 times faster than us, or approximately 7 years for every one of ours.

The good news is that with routine preventive care and early screening of age-related diseases, senior pets over the age of 7 years old are living longer, more complete lives. Growing older is a natural part of life, and with a proactive approach to senior pet health, special pets can live far into their golden years.