We can do imaging under anesthesia. So we can't do internal x-rays or 3-D imaging without anesthesia. And imaging looks at two-thirds of the tooth that is below the gum line you can't see when they're awake. 80% of the cats have problems when you look at that stat. If you don't look underneath the gum line, you'll be missing two-thirds of each tooth, then potentially missing common problems.

It really depends on behavior. We use it for both situations. Maybe you have a dog that's terrified of thunderstorms or fireworks on the 4th of July, and we use a short-acting medication that you give as needed for those kinds of situations that freak your dog out, or maybe your dog has separation anxiety. And now that people are starting to go back to work after COVID, they're struggling with that separation anxiety. Perhaps they need to take something every day, long-term. It depends on your pet's situation and their needs.

If you have any concerns, I don't think it's a problem to ask your vet about them, even if you feel like your dog is too active or your dog is having issues where they constantly need to chew their feet. You’re not sure if it's because they have an allergy or if it's a behavioral thing. Never be afraid to ask your vet any question that you have a concern about, and they'll be able to do a good thorough physical exam on your pet. They’ll perhaps recommend some diagnostics, but then they can also come up with a plan to try to create the best possible outcome for you and your pet.

The more information you have, the better. And suppose the behavior is repeated, and you can catch it on video or take pictures of it. In that case, that's super helpful to us because we're not in your home with you, and we're not experiencing a lot of these behaviors with you because the pets don't like to perform the behavior in the clinic for us. And so anything that you can bring to show us is extremely helpful.

Your veterinarian's going to be the best help with that. Just like the example that I gave, maybe your dog is having accidents in the house, and it could be because of something like a urinary tract infection, or perhaps they've developed urinary incontinence with age. Your veterinarian is going to be the best one to help you diagnose that. Now let's say they rule everything out and can't find anything wrong with the urinary tract or urinary system and deem it a behavioral problem. They can pull in something like a trainer behaviorist or maybe administer some behavior-modifying medications that could help your pet's situation.

Spaying or neutering can help with some dogs. Say, if we've got inappropriate marking in a male or inappropriate urination in a male, or humping behavior in a male, sometimes neutering them can help with that. Or even sometimes, we see a little bit of aggression in females that improves after a spay. It depends, but the best thing to do is have a conversation with your veterinarian.